Alma Lopez and the Bikini of Roses
This article originally appeared in Lonely Planet Santa Fe & Taos 1 (2003).
When Los Angeles artist Alma Lopez read Sandra Cisneros’ essay, “Guadalupe the Sex Goddess” (Goddess of the Americas, Ana Castillo, ed), she was inspired by the author’s desire to “lift Guadalupe’s robes” to see if the Virgin was real, like herself. What would such an act reveal? Lopez was sure it would be roses.
Lopez, an award-winning digital artist and cofounder of Homegirl Productions, got to work. Fellow artist Raquel Salinas posed, arms akimbo and chin defiant, as the Virgin, while Chicana activist Raquel Gutierrez revealed her breasts as the butterfly-winged angel holding the mother of Christ aloft. Lopez adorned both women with roses, much, she thought, like those Juan Diego filled his cloak with after the Virgen de Guadalupe revealed herself to him in 1531. She called the piece Our Lady.
In February 2001, the work was included in the International Folk Art Museum’s CyberArte exhibit, but not everyone appreciated it. “You may find yourself in some serious trouble with our Raza in Northern New Mexico,” community activist Jose Villegas wrote Lopez in mid-March, adding that he would “find her supporters” and publicly “hold their actions accountable,” though he declined to give specifics.
Lopez was shocked, particularly after a 200-person vigil was held outside the museum, demanding that the piece be removed. “I see this woman’s legs and belly,” she told the LA Times, “and I don’t see anything wrong.” Others did, however, calling the garlanded Patroness of the Americas insensitive and sacrilegious.
Santa Fe Archibishop Michael J. Sheehan called the piece “particularly offensive…in a state funded institution.” The First Amendment notwithstanding, museum officials held a public meeting to address the controversy; eventually the issue was taken to court. Because of a legal technicality, the judge ruled that the painting could stay. Museum officials chose to close the entire exhibition four months early regardless, “in a spirit of reconciliation.”
“Half a slice of pie is better than none at all,” Sheehan commented of his victory. In October 2001, the roses came down.
Lopez has not wilted, however. “If we grow up with the image of the Virgen de Guadalupe,” the young Catholic woman told reporters, “then we should be able to express our relationship with her.” Lopez’ work may never again be displayed in Santa Fe, but this is cyber art; you can see it for yourself at www.almalopez.net. Or, you can choose not to.