Book Talk: Ella Maria Diaz presents "José Montoya"

Artist, poet, and musician José Montoya (1932–2013) was a leading figure of the Chicano movement, producing iconic works in many genres, cofounding the art collective Royal Chicano Air Force, and helping to organize for the United Farm Workers, while also teaching at California State University, Sacramento, and establishing the Barrio Art Program there.
 
In a live, virtual "Chats in the Stacks" book talk, Ella Maria Diaz, associate professor of English and Latina/o studies at Cornell University, will discuss her recently published book on the life and work of this prominent artist, educator, and activist. José Montoya is volume 12 of the A Ver: Revisioning Art History series from UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center Press. Utilizing oral histories, archival, and digital humanities research, Diaz examines Montoya’s long and diverse career while proposing a new model for the study of Latina/o/x artists who transcend boundaries between art, education, and activism. José Montoya is also a visual delight, richly illustrated with reproductions of Montoya’s art from his collections at the California Ethnic and Multicultural Archives at UC Santa Barbara and other institutional collections. The book has been nominated for two 2021 International Latino Book Awards.
 
A live Q&A will follow the talk. The audience is encouraged to submit their questions in the chat.

This event is organized by the Cornell University Library and co-sponsored by the CSRC. This event is free to the public.

A recording of this event is available for viewing on the Cornell University Library YouTube channel.