Laura Molina (artist)

{{short description|American artist, musician and actress (born 1957)}}

{{Infobox comics creator

| name = Laura Molina

| image = Laura_Molina.jpg

| imagesize = 220

| birth_name =

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1957|12|15}}

| birth_place = Los Angeles, California, U.S.

| death_date =

| death_place =

| nationality =

| area = Painter
Writer
Penciller
Inker

| alias = The Angriest Woman In The World,
La Diabla

| notable works = Naked Dave
Cihualyaomiquiz, The Jaguar}}

Laura Molina (born December 15, 1957) is an American artist, musician, and actress from Los Angeles, California.[http://amapedia.amazon.com/view/Laura+Molina/id=73762 Laura Molina]{{Dead link|date=December 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, amapedia.amazon.com; accessed July 2, 2015. Molina is perhaps best known for her Naked Dave paintings.{{Cite web|url=http://www.deuceofclubs.com/write/molina.htm|title=Laura Molina: Not Just The World's Angriest Woman|website=www.deuceofclubs.com|access-date=2020-03-27}} She is also the creator of Cihualyaomiquiz, The Jaguar, a self-published comic book printed under Molina's own Insurgent Comix imprint.[http://amapedia.amazon.com/view/Laura+Molina/id=73762 amapedia: Laura Molina]{{Dead link|date=December 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}[http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/j/jaguarpacas.htm Cihualyaomiquiz, The Jaguar], internationalhero.co.uk; accessed July 2, 2015.

Career

=Art career=

Molina's distinct style is very much influenced by art associated with the Chicano Movement of the 1960s, Mexican culture, especially Frida Kahlo, 20th century Mexican Calendar artist, Jesus Helguera{{Cite web |url=http://www.paintingsplus.com/IBS/SimpleCat/Shelf/ASP/Hierarchy/0105.html |title=Jesus Helguera |access-date=2008-03-20 |archive-date=2004-12-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041212210653/http://www.paintingsplus.com/IBS/SimpleCat/Shelf/ASP/Hierarchy/0105.html |url-status=dead }} and the British Pre-Raphaelites. Her projects have included the Naked Dave series of paintings and a self-published comic book, "Cihualyaomiquiz, The Jaguar."{{cite web|url=http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Studio/1190/lineup.html |title=PACAS Cartoonist Directory |access-date=2008-02-07 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060630064150/http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Studio/1190/lineup.html |archive-date=June 30, 2006 }} She was an Artist-in-Residence at Self Help Graphics & Art from 1993 through 1995 and participated in the Screen Print Atelier in 2003 & 2006. "She was a woman with great artistic talent", says Barney Dino.

In 2006, Molina founded Chicano Art Magazine and served as its first Editor-in-Chief.{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-oct-01-ca-artsnotes1-story.html|title = Archives|website = Los Angeles Times| date=October 2006 }}

She has been quoted as saying on her art: "I will use my activism and creativity to end racism, sexism and patriarchy at both a social and interpersonal level. I do not accept a hierarchy of genders because there is no justifiable basis for it and it does not serve me as a woman."{{Cite web |title=Latina/o Art: Gender in Art |url=http://websites.umich.edu/~ac213/student_projects06/hataumcd/artineq.html |access-date=2022-03-14 |website=websites.umich.edu}}

Naked Dave is a series of paintings inspired by her relationship with illustrator and Rocketeer creator, Dave Stevens.[http://fishflavoredbaseballbat.blogspot.com/2006/10/caw-concluded-dave-stevens.html Fish-Flavored Baseball Bat: CAW Concluded: Dave Stevens] A five-month-long sexual relationship between the artists ended in early December 1978 after she miscarried their child at 11 weeks.[http://www.deuceofclubs.com/write/molina.htm Laura Molina: Not Just The World's Angriest Woman] Molina started the series in 1993 after an attempted reconciliation initiated by Stevens failed to settle things between them.[http://www.nakeddave.com/Letter.html A letter from Dave Stevens, 1992]

===Music career===

Molina would record with Bob Casale (Bob2) of Devo.[http://www.devo-obsesso.com/html/7in-pgs/related/7-lauramolina.html ::7inch - Laura Molina::]

=Politics=

She has been involved in the Occupy Movement since October 2011.[https://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-0212-congressmen-loans-20120212,0,3180186.story Details emerge on Rep. Buck McKeon's Countrywide loan][http://mountainenterprise.com/atf.php?sid=9906¤t_edition=2012-02-17 Occupy PMC Meets a Candidate]

Molina ran as a candidate in the 2012 California's 25th congressional district election as a Democrat. However, she withdrew before the primary.{{Cite web |date=2012-02-21 |title=Club hosts Q & A Forum for city, county & state candidates |url=https://theavtimes.com/2012/02/21/club-hosts-q-a-forum-for-city-county-state-candidates/ |access-date=2024-10-16 |website=The Antelope Valley Times |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=California's 25th Congressional District elections, 2012 |url=https://ballotpedia.org/California's_25th_Congressional_District_elections,_2012 |access-date=2024-10-16 |website=Ballotpedia |language=en}}

=Author=

Molina is currently writing her first novel The Red Moon.

Exhibitions that included Laura Molina's work

"Chicana Art and Experience: Mujeres con Garbo",{{cite web |url=http://www.aflcio.org/aboutus/history/art/chicana.cfm |title=Chicana Art and Experience |access-date=2008-12-03 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081127015831/http://www.aflcio.org/aboutus/history/art/chicana.cfm |archive-date=2008-11-27 }} AFL-CIO headquarters in Washington, D.C., 2008
"Latino Artists of Los Angeles- Defining Self and Inspiration",[http://www.fairplex.com/fp/foundations/MillardSheets/exhibition2005sm.asp The Millard Sheets Center for the Arts] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928114451/http://www.fairplex.com/fp/foundations/MillardSheets/exhibition2005sm.asp |date=2011-09-28 }} The Millard Sheets Center for the Arts, Los Angeles, California, 2005

Collections that include Laura Molina's work

Los Angeles County Museum of Art{{Cite web |url=http://collectionsonline.lacma.org/mwebcgi/mweb.exe?request=record;id=151636;type=101 |title=Laura Molina. The Jaguar. Los Angeles County Museum of Art |access-date=2010-07-04 |archive-date=2011-06-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629140323/http://collectionsonline.lacma.org/mwebcgi/mweb.exe?request=record;id=151636;type=101 |url-status=dead }}
California Ethnic and Multicultural Archives, University of California, Santa Barbara{{Cite web|url=http://content.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/hb3r29p1ms/|title = Cihualyaomiquiz, the Jaguar|date = 12 December 2002}}