The Workshop for Popular Graphic Art in Mexico: Prologue*

Leopoldo Méndez

In some corners of Mexico, corners that do not easily change customs for those of any second rate town on the other side of the northern border, ambulating photographers habitually come with their “props”: a painted backdrop, a wooden horse and a chair. The simple people of Mexico goes [sic] to these photographers, people who could not pay to have photographs made in a regular “Studio” where they could change the traces of Indian blood of a country girl from Ixtapalapa to resemble the Hollywood artist.

Without technique or superfluous details, this photographer for a few pesos can give you the “people’s” face. He is the photographer of the fairs and the parks. To him comes the godfather who wishes to imprison the fugitive moment of infantile happiness on the birthday of his godson. The photographer uses all his props and soon gives back a picture of what the godson will be in the future, an aviator flying over the valley of Mexico. The ambulating photographer may make many mistakes, but he would not change a face into a mask.

The Estampa Mexicana in planning this album resembles the ambulating photographer. In this edition you will find the TGP as it really is. There is no retouching or make-up. There are no reflectors to spotlight any detail that appears positive or to shadow a mistake. This is an attempt to present the faithful image of the TGP on its twelfth anniversary.

It is an attempt, I would say, to present a catalogue of works done and work realized. As the above mentioned photographer, so does the Estampa lack resources. Because of necessity the Estampa Mexicana could not waste paper by having large margins; to work in the proportions of the album it needed a format adequate to the needs of the material that had to be included. In spite of this, many pages were omitted because of the raised standard of the dollar. Nevertheless every artist and his work of [sic] the TGP has been represented equally in this album.

In spite of the limitation of resources, this album-catalogue will satisfy all those who are interested in knowing what the TGP has done in its twelve years of existence.

Above all, it will serve as an example to plastic artists who are interested in joining together so as to work progressively and collectively. It will help those artists who form groups that they can’t give life to in spite of all good intentions.

Another purpose of this album, is to show the working class that art and artists are not strangers to it; that some artists faithfully fight beside them, faithful also to the traditions of Mexican plastic realism, trying always to put their creative capacity at the service of the people, conscious that thus they raise the desire of the development of art to the heat and height of the daily battle that the workers fight for their well being and progress. Thus, the workers can also realize that art is a career and a social activity that is useful, and not the idle pastime that the bourgeois philosophers pretend it is. The artists and the workers will understand that the artist can be a useful collaborator with whom it can acquire an effective, solid and permanent collaboration.

Finally, with the edition of this album, the Estampa Mexicana puts into the hands of the artists and all people interested, the experiences of the TGP of Mexico as a living contribution, the study of several problems of art for a cause; and at the same time it will be an answer to the greetings that the TGP has received like the one in 1948 from Los Angeles, California, containing as many signatures as will possibly fit on a piece of paper ten yards long, which said: “We have seen an exhibition of your work at the CIO Freedom Fiesta in Los Angeles the week of the 18 of September, 1949. We send our best wishes to the artists of the TGP. Long live the TGP. Long live the people’s struggle so faithfully reproduced in your art.”

Note: The numbers of the illustrations correspond to those used in our archives and photographic files. We invite anyone interested in TGP’s graphic works to use these numbers in their correspondence with “LA ESTAMPA MEXICANA”.

* Leopoldo Méndez, in The Workshop for Popular Graphic Art: A Record of Twelve Years of Collective Work (Mexico City, La Estampa Mexicana, 1949), iv.