DELILAH MONTOYA VISUAL REPRESENTATION

DELILAH MONTOYA VISUAL REPRESENTATION

Delilah Montoya has had art exhibitions in various parts of the country, especially in Houston, Texas, and Albuquerque, New Mexico. In her art of an image of the Virgin of Guadalupe drawn on the front part of a faceless being of what could be a woman, we are going to present the role of religious iconologies to the people’s faith. The reason I chose the image is that it tries to describe what role the church and religion play in the community where people face different forms of struggles.

Montoya, in the image, has a clear message she intends for the audience to understand. From many of the artist’s work, she has always tried to emphasize the role and struggles women go through in their lives, and this isn’t an exception. In the image, we see a faceless of what appears to be a woman with vegetation of cacti growing in front of her. The background represented in a vintage black and white form. Women have, for a very long period, been the subject of mistreatment in society. Montoya, through the image, she highlights the plight of their course. She uses a black and white background to show the past women have had. By not using a colorful back, she is trying to show how vague women’s past has been. Their past has been periods of bad mistreatments in society. Here we can say that women have had not much to be proud of their history. While the image of the woman appears to be colorful in contrast to the rest of the objects in the image shows that her spirit, though wounded, she has not lost hope in changing her current state of things. She is not showing her face or any part of her skin to illustrate that she has no voice to express her thoughts or show her beauty. By not showing her face, Montoya doesn’t know what to show bias in any manner whatsoever in the form of race and her background, and so she only uses her body to reveal the gender of the person in the photo.

The cactus in front of her is a clear indication that her present and future is not easy as she will face a lot of hardships. These thorns on a cactus plant represent the hardships faced. A woman will have to endure a lot of hard times before she finally gets her voice heard. The robes the woman is wearing has the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe drawn on the chest area. This photo is an indication of what religion and religious iconologies play in her journey to freedom. Delilah Montoya depicts that as women go through these trying times, they have their faith and religion to inspire hope in them. The image is drawn on the front part of the robe and on the chest to show how significant religion or faith plays in their lives. Through prayers and a strong belief in the church, ultimately, the plight of women will be addressed, and they will have their place in the society and given the very much attention it deserves.

Through her art, Montoya is an advocate for the rights of women. She has done several pieces with a woman as a center stage, and being a woman herself; she has had the privilege of experiencing different cultures being born from an American father and Mexican mother she has a great perception of what women in those different communities go through. This privilege is the inspiration behind the image.

In conclusion, Delilah Montoya’s visual representation, like in many of her artwork, has drawn attention to the need for consideration for the rights and voices of women in society. She has used a hilly grey background to illustrate the past a woman has had. The use of this form of imagery indicates the woman’s painful past. The cactus in front of her also shows that she still has a long, challenging way to go. Through the picture of the Virgin of Guadalupe, she has a sense of hope in her faith. Through the church and prayers, she can be able to endure anything, and in the end, she will achieve her freedom from societal constraints.