Cosmic Cruise
Ester Hernandez
Staff Pick | Monthly Muse April 2021
In the summer of 2020, I began researching the Latinx and Chicanx artists in IMCA’s collection. I had very limited education in Latinx/Chicanx art and art history before embarking on this project. This work has emboldened me to continue to pursue a career in art historical education focusing on the Latinx experience. The transcendent feminine connection in Cosmic Cruise by Ester Hernandez has remained with me since I first saw it—that moment when you notice something and then all of a sudden you see it everywhere. A few months later I randomly bought a book on Chicana spiritual art. To my surprise, Cosmic Cruise was featured, and I was able to gain a deeper insight into this print. The inspiration for the work comes from the artist’s mother being the first woman to drive a car in the small agricultural town where she was raised. The theme of motherhood and feminine resilience, and the month of May in which I am writing this, has made me think of my own mother. This month we celebrate Mother’s Day and I also celebrate my mom’s birthday. She is a woman who also embarked on many “firsts”—the first woman in her family to migrate to the US, the first to drive, and the first to hold a job.
Endria Suarez, '21, BA (Art History)
Intern and UCI Student Museum Educator, Langson IMCA