The Mexican Graphic Tradition: Printmaking and the Political APRIL 1–JUNE 8, 2022 A BIG IDEA PROJECT
THE MUSEUM 191 Fifth Street East, Ketchum, Idaho Tue–Fri, 10am–5pm Sat, 11am–4pm HAILEY CLASSROOM 314 Second Ave South, Hailey, Idaho Scheduled Class Times SUN VALLEY MUSEUM OF ART P.O. Box 656, Sun Valley, ID 83353 208.726.9491 • svmoa.org
COVER: Sergio Sánchez Santamaría, TGP: 1937-2017, 2017, linocut, courtesy the artist and Annex Galleries, Santa Rosa, CA INTRODUCTION PANELS: José Guadalupe Posada, El vaquero de la muerte [The Cowboy of Death] or La gran calavera de Emiliano Zapata [The Great Skeleton of Emiliano Zapata], c. 1911-1916, relief etching, restrike, The Calle Collection Christie Tirado, Trabajador esencial [Essential Worker], 2020, linocut, courtesy the artist and Davidson Galleries, Seattle
INTERIOR, TOP TO BOTTOM, CLOCKWISE: Artemio Rodríguez, ¡Mickey va!, 2018, linocut, courtesy the artist and Davidson Galleries, Seattle Melanie Cervantes, They Tried to Bury Us, 2019/2022, giclée print, courtesy the artist Melanie Cervantes & Jesus Barraza/ Dignidad Rebelde, The Salmon Will Run Again, giclée print, courtesy the artists Christie Tirado, Dolores (detail), 2022, linocut, courtesy the artist
BACK PANEL: Jesús Escobedo, El fascismo: como combatir el fascismo [Fascism: How to Fight Fascism], 1939, lithograph, The Calle Collection
ince the late 19th century, artists in Mexico
the Dead to folk dances, often within the frame-
have used printmaking as a tool for dis-
work of the country’s post-revolutionary national
seminating news, sharing political views and cel-
identity. Inexpensive to make, reproduce and
ebrating Mexico’s national culture. Throughout
distribute, prints in Mexico have been a popular
the 20th century, Mexican printmakers synthe-
means for trying to shape public opinion.
sized text and images in prints that documented
This BIG IDEA project offers an opportunity
the events of the Mexican Revolution, promoted
to dig into the history of printmaking in Mexico,
leftist politics (including anti-imperialism) and,
consider the deep connections between print-
during World War II, warned Mexico’s citizens
making and the political, and explore the print-
of the dangers of fascism. In other prints, artists
making tradition among Mexican and Mexican
honored Mexico’s cultural traditions, from Day of
American artists today.
The Mexican Graphic Tradition: Printmaking and the Political APRIL 1–JUNE 8, 2022 A BIG IDEA PROJECT 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.
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.
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 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 healthcare. The exhibitions 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.
EXHIBITION OPENING CELEBRATION Fri, Apr 1, 5–7pm The Museum, Ketchum FREE Join us as we celebrate the opening of The Mexican Graphic Tradition. Artist Christie Tirado will speak about her work at 6pm.
EVENING EXHIBITION TOURS Thu, Apr 7, May 12 and Jun 2, 4:30pm and 5:30pm (2 sessions) The Museum, Ketchum FREE, pre-registration required (space is limited) Enjoy a glass of wine as you tour the exhibition with SVMoA’s curators. Para arreglar visitas guiadas en español, favor de llamar al Museo.
COMMUNITY COLLABORATION THROUGH THE EYES OF: HIGHLIGHTING THE UNSEEN IN THE WOOD RIVER VALLEY A PhotoVoice Project of the "I Have a Dream" Foundation Leadership Lab FREE Opening Celebration and Public Hours: Thu, Apr 20, 5–7pm FREE Public Hours: Fri, Apr 21, 12–2pm Hailey House, Hailey View photographs students have made exploring what gets overlooked in our valley.
FAMILY PROGRAM AFTERNOON ART (for families with kids ages 5–12) Fri, Apr 29, May 6 and May 13, 2:30pm and 3:30pm (2 sessions) The Museum, Ketchum FREE, pre-registration encouraged Families will make art and view the exhibition together. Projects will change weekly and always connect to the artwork in the exhibition. Participants are encouraged to register in advance, and walk-ins will be accommodated if space allows.
CLASSES
Northern-California-based printmakers Melanie Cervantes and Jesus Barraza are printmakers and cofounders 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, healthcare 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
CRAFT SERIES WORKSHOP PROCLAMATION MEETS P APER WITH MARNE ELMORE
FILM
Sat, Apr 23, 1–4pm Hailey Classroom, Hailey $45 member / $55 nonmember The power of the print as easily reproduced, distributed, and infused with message makes it one of the most influential forms of visual voice. In this workshop, participants will design an image with boldness, print several impressions using a printing press in the method of lithography, and share their visual m essage. What will be your proclamation on paper? 18 years and older, beginners welcome. 2022 Craft Series Workshops are generously supported by Heather Horton.
Thu, Apr 7, 4:30pm and 7pm Magic Lantern Cinemas, Ketchum $10 member / $12 nonmember The outrage captured by graphic artists has defined revolutions through the centuries, dramatically influencing attitudes and politics. In Art Is...The Permanent Revolution, three contemporary artists and a master printer explore how printmakers convey social reality and protest. While graphics by Rembrandt, Goya, Kollwitz, Dix, Grosz and Picasso sweep by, the making of an etching, a woodcut and a lithograph unfolds before our eyes as contemporary artists join their predecessors in the art of social engagement.
TEEN WORKSHOP GEL PRINT EXPLOSION BOOKS WITH KRISTEN KENT (FOR STUDENTS IN GRADES 6–12)
SEARCHING FOR POSADA: ART & REVOLUTIONS
Sat, May 7, 9am–12pm Hailey Classroom, Hailey $10, pre-registration required Join us for an exploration of color and printmaking. Students will work with gel printing plates to create colorful printed papers using a variety of techniques. They will then use those papers to construct a handmade explosion book! All supplies will be provided. Teen workshops are generously supported by Joyce B. Friedman.
ART IS...THE PERMANENT REVOLUTION
Thu, May 5, 5:30pm FREE at The Museum, Ketchum Join Curator of Visual Arts Courtney Gilbert for a screening of Searching for Posada. Gilbert will introduce the life and art of printmaker José Guadalupe Posada, the subject of the film, whose art lampooned politicians, recorded vivid images of the Mexican Revolution, inspired Mexico's famed Taller de Gráfica Popular to use art for social causes, and more. The documentary reveals hidden aspects of the artist’s life and legacy, and his impact on everything from the Cuban revolution to the Grateful Dead.