FoundSF

Oral History

Interviewed by Adriana Camarena and Chris Carlsson for Shaping San Francisco on September 22, 2019.

Yolanda Lopez, 1942-2021, was a remarkable artist, activist, and longtime participant in radical women's and art movements in the Mission District of San Francisco.

Yolanda Lopez memorialized in this mural on the new building at 17th and Folsom.

Photo: Chris Carlsson; Mural by Jess Sabogal

Yolanda Lopez on voting, citizenship, and engagement

Video: Adriana Camarena and Chris Carlsson, 2019

Yolanda's most iconic poster, reprinted thousands of times.

Art by Yolanda Lopez

Yolanda Lopez on self-representation, art, and the importance of artists as political actors themselves.

Video: Adriana Camarena and Chris Carlsson, 2019

Photo: from Yolanda Lopez retrospective at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, 2021

Yolanda Lopez recounts her family history, tracing her grandparents and parents as they worked in tailoring and clothing in Louisiana, New York, and eventually landing in San Diego where she was born in 1942, months after the start of WWII. She covers her childhood, schooling, student elections, and more, including some early artistic influences.

Video: Adriana Camarena and Chris Carlsson, 2019

With her remarkable openness and no-nonsense frankness, Yolanda discusses her going off and back on Hormone Replacement Therapy as an example of how women protect doctors from the poor decisions they make regarding women's health. She also reflects on facial hair and hair on women's bodies more generally, leading to some thoughts on gender and sexuality, aging, dementia, and menopause.

Video: Adriana Camarena and Chris Carlsson, 2019