Exhibit Title: "The Art of Provocation: A Retrospective of Work by Ester Hernández" Date: Oct. 10 to Nov. 17 Where: C.N. Gorman Museum 1316 Hart Hall University of California, Davis Hours: Noon to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and by appointment Reception: 1-3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 22 Artist: Ester Hernández The C.N. Gorman Museum will open its new year with a retrospective of prints and pastels from 1973 through 1995 by Ester Hernández, a San Francisco artist. Hernández is well known for her social and political commentary on farm labor issues and her representations of Chicana/Latina women. Hernández grew up in a farmworker community in the San Joaquin Valley and has committed her art to work toward justice and equality for farmworkers and Chicana/Latina women. Hernández recalls the 1965 farmworker march to Sacramento: "There was Caesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta and a small group of farmworkers -- very vulnerable, standing proud, and knowing their rights. That was a turning point in my life." Hernández will be exhibiting her groundbreaking work, "Libertad" (1975), which transforms the Statue of Liberty to a Mayan goddess and "Sun Mad," her 1981 response to pesticide poisoning of water in which the bountiful "Sun Maid" is revealed as a skeleton offering poisoned grapes. Art historians have described her work as the beginning of Chicana/Latina feminist art. Her exhibition also will include works that honor and celebrate the lives and contributions of individuals such as Tex-Mex music queen Lydia Mendoza, the late United Farm Workers leader Caesar Chavez and Mexican performance artist Astrid Hadad, as well as a well-loved series of works that honor her family and indigenous ancestry. In addition to the exhibition, there will be an artist catalog which includes introductions by Dolores Huerta, Alice Walker and an essay by Chicana scholar Amalia Mesa-Bains. The exhibition is supported by the Native American Studies department, Chicana/o Studies, Chicana/Latina Research Center, Women's Resources and Research Center and the California Arts Council's Multicultural Entry Grant Program. The exhibition and events are free and open to the public. The C.N. Gorman Museum was founded in 1971 and is dedicated to Native American artists and diverse artists whose works address cultural, social and political issues of the Americas.