Term of Award

Fall 2025

Degree Name

Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.)

Document Type and Release Option

Thesis (open access)

Copyright Statement / License for Reuse

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Department

Department of Art

Committee Chair

Jason Hoelscher

Committee Member 1

Jeff Garland

Committee Member 2

Matthew Mogle

Committee Member 3

Melissa Huang

Abstract

This thesis explores the intersections of indigeneity, mestizaje, and decolonial aesthetics through a mixed-media art practice rooted in Salvadoran history and identity. Drawing on ancestral traditions such as indigo dyeing and backstrap weaving, Guanacos de Corazón investigates how materiality, folklore, and handcraft function as forms of visual resistance, meaning art that disrupts dominant narratives, critiques systems of power, and reclaims erased cultural memory.

Through formal analysis, historical context, and interviews with Salvadoran artists, this thesis challenges ideas of mestizaje that promote cultural and ethnic superiority and contribute to the erasure of ancestral beliefs.

How do we rescue ancestral traditions that are seen as “backwards” or as threats to modernization? Can we embrace both traditions, which suggest continuity, and modernization, which pushes for innovation? In my art, I explore these tensions through digital and tactile media, folk and fine art, and past and present references. I propose a plural and evolving conception of Salvadoran identity. By layering symbolic materials and reinterpreting cultural archetypes, I aim to restore space for marginalized Salvadoran voices and reflect on what it means to heal the wounds of colonization that have broken our connection to the Indigenous roots within our mixed identity.

OCLC Number

1561114038

Research Data and Supplementary Material

No

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