The Big Idea

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Christie Tirado
Big Idea
The Big Idea

The Mexican Graphic Tradition

Printmaking and the Political

April 1 - June 8, 2022

Since the late 19th century, artists in Mexico have used printmaking as a tool for disseminating news, sharing political views and celebrating Mexico’s national culture. Throughout the 20th century, Mexican printmakers synthesized text and images in prints that documented the events of the Mexican Revolution, promoted leftist politics (including anti-imperialism) and, during World War II, warned Mexico’s citizens of the dangers of fascism. In other prints, artists honored Mexico’s cultural traditions, from Day of the Dead to folk dances, often within the framework of the country’s post-revolutionary national identity. Inexpensive to make, reproduce and distribute, prints in Mexico have been a popular means for trying to shape public opinion.

This BIG IDEA project offers an opportunity to dig into the history of printmaking in Mexico, consider the deep connections between printmaking and the political, and explore the printmaking tradition among Mexican and Mexican American artists today.

 


La Tradición Gráfica Mexicana:
El Grabado y Lo Político

1 DE ABRIL–8 DE JUNIO DE 2022      
Una GRAN IDEA Proyecto del Museo de Arte de Sun Valley

Desde finales del siglo XIX, los artistas en México han utilizado el grabado como una herramienta para difundir noticias, compartir puntos de vista políticos y celebrar la cultura nacional de México. A lo largo del siglo XX, los grabadores mexicanos sintetizaron texto e imágenes en grabados que documentaron los acontecimientos de la Revolución Mexicana, pro movieron la política de izquierda (incluido el antiimperialismo) y, durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial, advirtieron sobre los peligros del fascismo. En otros grabados, los artistas honraron las tradicio es culturales de México, desde el Día de Muertos hasta las danzas folclóricas, a menudo dentro del marco de la identidad nacional posrevolucionaria del país. Baratos de hacer, reproducir y distribuir, los impresos en México han sido un medio popular para tratar de moldear la opinión pública.
 
Este proyecto de GRAN IDEA ofrece la oportunidad de profundizar en la historia del grabado en México, considerar las conexiones profundas entre el grabado y la política, y explorar la tradición del grabado entre los artistas mexicanos y mexicoamericanos de hoy.



Museum Exhibition

The exhibition features prints from The Calle Collection, including works by José Guadalupe Posada and prints by many well-known artists affiliated with the Taller de Gráfica Popular in the mid-20th century. Alongside these historic works are prints by contemporary Mexican and Mexican American printmakers, including commissioned works by printmaker Christie Tirado. The exhibition illustrates the powerful role the Mexican graphic tradition has played in shaping political discourse, and the ways that contemporary artists use that legacy now.

19th- and 20th-Century Artists

Alberto Beltrán
Ángel Bracho
Celia Calderón
Fernando Castro Pacheco
Jesús Escobedo
Arturo García Bustos
Leopoldo Méndez
José Chávez Morado
José Clemente Orozco
José Guadalupe Posada
Fanny Ravel

Contemporary Artists

SVMoA invited printmaker Christie Tirado, based in Yakima, Washington, to participate in a residency in the summer of 2021. Tirado interviewed a variety of members of the Wood River Valley community who have been essential workers during the pandemic, and she made linocut portraits of seven of those whose work ensured that our community has continued to have access to safe and clean schools, healthy food, grocery stores and health care. The exhibition features Tirado’s portraits of these essential workers alongside their stories.

During her visit to the valley, Tirado conducted a free bilingual printmaking workshop. Families were invited to respond to a question: Who has been essential in your life during the pandemic? Using a Styrofoam plate as a printing block, participants made a portrait of that person; the exhibition includes their thoughtful creative responses.

Northern-California-based printmakers Melanie Cervantes and Jesus Barraza are printmakers and co-founders of the graphic arts collaboration Dignidad Rebelde (which translates as “Rebellious Dignity”). In their own practices and together as Dignidad Rebelde, Cervantes and Barraza use printmaking as a form of activism and a tool for drawing attention to issues ranging from the rights of Indigenous peoples and other people of color to housing, education, health care and the environment. Drawing on the history of Mexican and Chicano printmaking, their prints feature bold graphics and vivid colors that amplify their messages of support for social justice.

Born in Tacámbaro, Michoacán, Mexico, where he studied printmaking with a master printer, Artemio Rodríguez spent several years in Los Angeles before returning to Mexico. Inspired by the work of famed printmaker José Guadalupe Posada as well as medieval European woodcuts, Rodríguez uses images drawn from folklore, religious iconography and contemporary popular culture in the creation of linocut prints that are often sharply satirical in their view of everything from socio-economic divides to the U.S.-Mexico relationship.

Based in Mexico City, Sergio Sánchez Santamaría works with equal facility in woodcut, linocut, mezzotint and lithography. He trained at Mexico’s National School of Painting, Sculpture and Engraving, where he studied with artists who were part of the Taller de Gráfica Popular. His prints reflect the influence of his teachers and the legacy of Posada while also incorporating pre-Columbian imagery and contemporary references. Sánchez Santamaría’s work celebrates Mexico’s history and national culture while sometimes offering satirical social commentary in the tradition of the printmakers of the TGP.

EXPOSICIÓN DEL MUSEO

La exposición presenta grabados de la Colección Calle, incluidas obras de José Guadalupe Posada y grabados de muchos artistas conocidos afiliados al Taller de Gráfica Popular a mediados del siglo XX. Junto a estas obras históricas hay grabados de grabadores mexicanos y mexicoamericanos contemporáneos. La exposición ilustra el poderoso papel que ha jugado la tradición gráfica mexicana en la configuración del discurso político y las formas en que los artistas contemporáneos usan ese legado ahora.

ARTISTAS DE LOS SIGLOS XIX Y XX:

Alberto Beltrán
Ángel Bracho
Celia Calderón
Fernando Castro Pacheco
Jesús Escobedo
Arturo García Bustos
Leopoldo Méndez
José Chávez Morado
José Clemente Orozco
José Guadalupe Posada
Fanny Ravel

ARTISTAS CONTEMPORÁNEOS:

SVMoA invitó a la grabadora Christie Tirado, con sede en Yakima, Washington, a participar en una residencia en el verano de 2021. Tirado entrevistó a una variedad de miembros de la comunidad de Wood River Valley que han sido trabajadores esenciales durante la pandemia, e hizo retratos en linóleo de siete de aquellos cuyo trabajo aseguró que nuestra comunidad continúe teniendo acceso a escuelas seguras y limpias, alimentos saludables, supermercados y atención médica. Las exposiciones presentan los retratos de Tirado de estos trabajadores esenciales.

Durante su visita al valle, Tirado realizó un taller gratuito de grabado bilingüe. Se invitó a las familias a responder a una pregunta: ¿Quién ha sido fundamental en su vida durante la pandemia? La exposición incluye sus reflexivas respuestas creativas.

Los grabadores del norte de California Melanie Cervantes y Jesús Barraza son cofundadores de la colaboración de artes gráficas Dignidad Rebelde. Cervantes y Barraza utilizan el grabado como una herramienta para llamar la atención sobre temas que van desde los derechos de los pueblos indígenas y otras personas de color hasta la vivienda, la educación, la salud y el medio ambiente. Basándose en la historia del grabado mexicano y chicano, sus estampados presentan gráficos audaces y colores vivos que amplifican sus mensajes de apoyo a la justicia social.

Nacido en Tacámbaro, Michoacán, México, Artemio Rodríguez pasó varios años en Los Ángeles antes de regresar a México. Inspirándose en el trabajo del afamado grabador José Guadalupe Posada, así como en xilografías europeas medievales, Rodríguez utiliza imágenes extraídas del folclore, la iconografía religiosa y la cultura popular contemporánea en la creación de grabados que a menudo son agudamente satíricos en su visión de todo, desde los aspectos socioeconómicos divide a la relación México-Estados Unidos.

Radicado en la Ciudad de México, Sergio Sánchez Santamaría se formó en la Escuela Nacional de Pintura, Escultura y Grabado de México, donde estudió con artistas que formaban parte del Taller de Gráfica Popular. Sus grabados reflejan la influencia de sus maestros y el legado de Posada al mismo tiempo que incorporan imaginería precolombina y referencias contemporáneas. El trabajo de Sánchez Santamaría celebra la historia y la cultura nacional de México y, a veces, ofrece comentarios sociales satíricos.

 

Associated Exhibition Events

Big Idea
The Big Idea
Exhibition Tours & Events
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Verlene, Christie Tirado

EXHIBITION OPENING CELEBRATION: Mexican Graphic Tradition

Printmaking and the Political

5:00 PM

The Museum
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Big Idea
The Big Idea
Exhibition Tours & Events, Lectures & Talks
Image
Sergio Sanchez Santamaria

(SESSION 1) EVENING EXHIBITION TOUR: Mexican Graphic Tradition

Printmaking and the Political

4:30 PM

The Museum
This event has already passed.
Big Idea
The Big Idea
Film
Image
Art is the Permanent Revolution Film Screening

FILM: Art is... the Permanent Revolution (First Screening)

4:30 PM

Magic Lantern Cinemas
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Big Idea
The Big Idea
Exhibition Tours & Events, Lectures & Talks
Image
Sergio Sanchez Santamaria

(SESSION 2) EVENING EXHIBITION TOUR: Mexican Graphic Tradition

Printmaking and the Political

5:30 PM

The Museum
This event has already passed.
Big Idea
The Big Idea
Film
Image
Art is the Permanent Revolution Film Screening

FILM: Art is... the Permanent Revolution (Second Screening)

7:00 PM

Magic Lantern Cinemas
This event has already passed.
Big Idea
The Big Idea
Adult Classes
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Craft Series Workshop Proclamation Meets Paper with Marne Elmore

CRAFT SERIES WORKSHOP: Proclamation Meets Paper

with Marne Elmore

1:00 PM

Hailey Classroom
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Big Idea
The Big Idea
Film
Image
Searching for Posada: Art & Revolutions

FILM: Searching for Posada: Art & Revolutions

With pre-screening introduction by Dr. Courtney Gilbert

5:30 PM

The Museum
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Big Idea
The Big Idea
Exhibition Tours & Events, Lectures & Talks
Image
Melanie Cervantes - They Tried to Bury Us

(SESSION 1) EVENING EXHIBITION TOUR: Mexican Graphic Tradition

Printmaking and the Political

4:30 PM

The Museum
This event has already passed.
Big Idea
The Big Idea
Exhibition Tours & Events, Lectures & Talks
Image
Melanie Cervantes - They Tried to Bury Us

(SESSION 2—EN ESPAÑOL) EVENING EXHIBITION TOUR: Mexican Graphic Tradition

Printmaking and the Political

5:30 PM

The Museum
This event has already passed.
Big Idea
The Big Idea
Exhibition Tours & Events, Lectures & Talks
Image
Christie Tirado

(SESSION 1) EVENING EXHIBITION TOUR: Mexican Graphic Tradition

Printmaking and the Political

4:30 PM

The Museum
This event has already passed.
Big Idea
The Big Idea
Exhibition Tours & Events, Lectures & Talks
Image
Christie Tirado

(SESSION 2) EVENING EXHIBITION TOUR: Mexican Graphic Tradition

Printmaking and the Political

5:30 PM

The Museum
This event has already passed.