Let’s define our terms: According to the Daily Texican, “naco,” not a nice word, is Mexican slang for a lower class, ignorant country bumpkin, and/or a derogatory term for an “Indio” or native.
“Naco art,” therefore, is the Mexican version of lowbrow “art” like Elvis paintings on velvet or sad clowns and/or big-eyed “Keene” people.
Remezcla’s Daniela Cabera reports:
Who: Ricardo Gonzalez, the Chicago born artist of Mexican parents has been working at his “kitsch Latino art,” for a minute now. We last caught up with him in 2011, and since then his project has only grown – recently getting featured by Instagram as an account to follow. His pieces explore cultural expectations and stereotypes on both sides of the border, incorporating tributes to Latino pop icons, and commenting on the history and representation of Mexicans/Latinos in the U.S. He calls this “naco” art, explaining, “Naco is a lowbrow term, but I thought it was a good fit to question what is high art or low art and really question authenticity in art — and in my own ethnicity, too.”
Why You Should Follow: Gonzalez uses his work to question and explore the meaning of Mexican-American identity in a society flooded with brand culture and iconography. He uses vibrant pop references from his youth and adds a style that is unique to his bi-cultural upbringing and identity. He is also very involved in the Chicago art world, giving you an insight to other Latino artists that are thriving in their community and reaching beyond to a national scale.
Portrait painting I made of my dear grandmother from my memories of family in cuitzeo, michoacan mexico. #nacoart #cuitzeo#michoacan#mexicanamerican #mexicanart #mexigram #abuelita #grandmother #familiarte#cultura #rosas#rebozorevolution #rebozo#chicanoart #postchicanoart A photo posted by NACO (@nacoart) on