The Rise and Impact of Chicano Graphics - Google Arts & Culture (2024)

Chicanx artists have forged a remarkable history of printmaking grounded in social justice. Explore this innovative and vibrant tradition through works in SAAM's collection.

By Smithsonian American Art Museum

RIFA, from Méchicano 1977 Calendario (1976) by Leonard CastellanosSmithsonian American Art Museum

Artworks from the exhibition, ¡Printing the Revolution! The Rise and Impact of Chicano Graphics, 1965 to Now, all part of SAAM's collection, revise notions of Chicanx identity, spur political activism and educate viewers in new understandings of U.S. and international history.

Hasta La Victoria Siempre (1975) by Luis C. González, Héctor D. González, and Royal Chicano Air ForceSmithsonian American Art Museum

In the 1960s and 1970s,the Chicano Movement announced a new political and cultural consciousness among people of Mexican descent in the United States.

Chicano activist artists created vivid, eye-catching posters with domestic and global politics in mind.

They channeled social activism in support of farm workers’ rights, civil rights, labor equity, anti-war, and, later, feminist and LGBTQ+ movements into assertive aesthetic statements in the graphic arts.

Mujer de Mucha Enagua, PA' TI XICANA (1999) by Yreina D. CervántezSmithsonian American Art Museum


By the 1970s, self-identified Chicana artists challenged the overwhelming representation of men in defining the Movement.

Artists such as Ester Hernandez, Yolanda López, and Yreina D. Cervántez sought to challenge ways of conceiving community, aesthetics, and politics that were patriarchal and silenced LGBTQ voices.

Often in the face of hostility, they ushered in new imagery and conceptual frameworks that centered on women’s lives, feminist changemakers, spirituality, and paved the way for future examinations of identity, including Indigeneity.

Migration is Beautiful (2018) by Favianna RodriguezSmithsonian American Art Museum

Exploring the mentor-mentee relationships that have sustained the field is an illuminating look into the Chicanx artistic community. There is a through-line of direct relationships leading from the founders of the movement to printmakers who are active today.

Chicanx artists and institutions welcomed, nurtured, and supported each other, as well as other cross-cultural collaborators. The artworks map a dense matrix of relationships that reveal the importance of intergenerational support structures and far-reaching networks.

El Animo es Primero (Encouragement Is First) (2018) by Juan de Dios MoraSmithsonian American Art Museum

The broad network that resulted includes Latinx artists with links to other Latin American nations, white allies, card-carrying Chicano activists, or recent Mexican immigrants who may or may not identify as Chicanx.

Included in this broad category of Chicanx graphics are works by more recent Mexican immigrants such as Juan de Dios Mora, whose prints delve into the contemporary nuances of the transnational border space that is South Texas.

Day Dreaming/Soñando despierta, from the portfolio Manifestaciones,, Dominican York Proyecto GRAFICA, Scherezade García, 2010, From the collection of:

Smithsonian American Art Museum

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Intrépido, from the portfolio Manifestaciones, Dominican York Proyecto GRAFICA, Pepe Coronado, 2010, From the collection of:

Smithsonian American Art Museum

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Vale John, from the portfolio Manifestaciones, Dominican York Proyecto GRAFICA, Carlos Almonte, 2010, From the collection of:

Smithsonian American Art Museum

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The relationships expand throughout the nation, including in Midwest and on the East Coast. Dominican American artist Pepe Coronado's transformative experience at the Serie Project, a print residency established by the late Chicano artist Sam Coronado in Austin, Texas, led him to found the collective, the Dominican York Proyecto GRAFICA, in New York.

Justice for Our Lives (2014-2020) by Oree OriginolSmithsonian American Art Museum

The legacy of Chicanx graphics establishes how interracial and cross-cultural solidarity was and remains an important element of Chicanx print networks.

"Justice for Our Lives" is an online and public social justice artwork. Using original photographs, artist Oree Originol creates black-and-white digital portraits of men, women, and children killed during altercations with law enforcement.

Installation of "Justice for Our Lives" (2020) by Oree OriginolSmithsonian American Art Museum

The artist makes each portrait available for download for community members to use. He also creates dynamic, large-scale installations, placing them in public spaces to draw the attention of passersby.

I Am UndocuQueer-Reyna W. (2012) by Julio SalgadoSmithsonian American Art Museum

Like Originol's prints, the digital works of Julio Salgado, a Dreamer who received legal status through the federal immigration policy called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), show the innovative practices of today’s Chicanx printmakers that go beyond paper.

"Sun Mad" and "Sun Raid" (1982; 2008) by Ester HernandezSmithsonian American Art Museum

The long legacy of the activism by Chicanx graphics artists can be seen in the iconic work of Ester Hernandez, who explores the social justice issues facing the community in 1982 and that persist almost 30 years later.

In her 1982 print, "Sun Mad," Hernandez reconfigures the cheerful branding of the Sun-Maid raisin company into agrim warning, a response to her family’s exposure to polluted water and pesticides in California’s San Joaquin Valley.


Twenty-six years later, she reimagines her classic poster as acondemnation of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). She outfits the calavera (skeleton) with an ICE wrist monitor and ahuipil, atraditional indigenous garment.

Boycott Grapes, Support the United Farm Workers Union (1973) by Xavier ViramontesSmithsonian American Art Museum

The powerful socially-minded artistic legacy forged by activist Chicano artists working in the Movement and passed through Chicanx mentorship networks, remains visible in the art of printmakers working today.

View a selection of iconic and innovative Chicanx graphics from "Printing the Revolution."

La Curandera (1974) by Carmen Lomas GarzaSmithsonian American Art Museum

Frida Kahlo (September), from Galería de la Raza 1975 Calendario (1975) by Rupert GarcíaSmithsonian American Art Museum

Undocumented (1980) by Malaquias MontoyaSmithsonian American Art Museum

Messages to the Public: Pesticides! (1989) by Barbara CarrascoSmithsonian American Art Museum

Quiero Mis Queerce (2020) by Julio SalgadoSmithsonian American Art Museum

Bee Pile (2010) by Sonia RomeroSmithsonian American Art Museum

Between the Leopard and the Jaguar (2019) by Melanie Cervantes, Dignidad RebeldeSmithsonian American Art Museum

Who's the Illegal Alien, Pilgrim? (1981) by Yolanda LópezSmithsonian American Art Museum

El Coyote (2010) by Michael MenchacaSmithsonian American Art Museum

¡Printing the Revolution! The Rise and Impact of Chicano Graphics, 1965 toNow will soon be making its first stop on a national tour. For more information, please visit the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Changemakers Portraits from "Printing the Revolution" (2020) by VariousSmithsonian American Art Museum

¡Printing the Revolution! The Rise and Impact of Chicano Graphics, 1965 to Now presents, for the first time, historical civil rights-era prints by Chicano artists alongside works by graphic artists working from the 1980s to today. It was on view at the Smithsonian American Art Museum from November 20 - November 22, 2020 and May 14, 2021 - August 8, 2021. For more information on the exhibition and the accompanying catalogue, please visit: https://americanart.si.edu/exhibitions/chicano-graphics

This exhibition is organized by E. Carmen Ramos, former curator of Latinx art at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, with Claudia Zapata, curatorial assistant for Latinx art.

Credits: Story

¡Printing the Revolution! The Rise and Impact of Chicano Graphics, 1965 to Now is organized by the Smithsonian American Art Museum with generous support from The Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center, Michael Abrams and Sandra Stewart, The Honorable Aida Alvarez, Joanne and Richard Brodie Exhibitions Endowment, James F. Dicke Family Endowment, Sheila Duignan and Mike Wilkins, Ford Foundation, Dorothy Tapper Goldman, HP, William R. Kenan Jr. Endowment Fund, Robert and Arlene Kogod Family Foundation, Lannan Foundation, and Henry R. Muñoz, III and Kyle Ferari-Muñoz.

Credits: All media

The story featured may in some cases have been created by an independent third party and may not always represent the views of the institutions, listed below, who have supplied the content.

Smithsonian American Art Museum

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The Rise and Impact of Chicano Graphics - Google Arts & Culture (2024)

FAQs

What was the impact of the Chicano art movement? ›

It is through these murals that the Chicano communities of the United States have raised public awareness surrounding issues such as immigration, racism, workers' rights, gender equality, and much more.

What led to the rise of Chicano artists? ›

Much of the art and the artists creating Chicano Art were heavily influenced by Chicano Movement (El Movimiento) which began in the 1960s. Chicano art was influenced by post-Mexican Revolution ideologies, pre-Columbian art, European painting techniques and Mexican-American social, political and cultural issues.

Why is Chicano art important to American culture? ›

Chicano activist artists created vivid, eye-catching posters with domestic and global politics in mind. They channeled social activism in support of farm workers' rights, civil rights, labor equity, anti-war, and, later, feminist and LGBTQ+ movements into assertive aesthetic statements in the graphic arts.

What was the impact of the Chicano Mural movement on American society? ›

Although the Chicano Mural Movement helped form their identity through its powerful paintings, it brought up concerns that it had fundamentally become a form of politicized art. Nevertheless, it increased cultural awareness among educators which gave a new rise of activism that led to the formation of ethnic studies.

What was the biggest impact of the Chicano Movement? ›

Ultimately, the Chicano Movement won many reforms: The creation of bilingual and bicultural programs in the southwest, improved conditions for migrant workers, the hiring of Chicano teachers, and more Mexican-Americans serving as elected officials.

How is the Chicano art movement today? ›

Today, Chicano art is still influenced by those original tenets but stretches beyond any one identity constraint. It is important to note that although not always given credit, the Chicano culture has come to influence many facets of art, fashion, typography trends, street art, photography, and film.

What was the main reason for the Chicano Movement? ›

The Chicano Movement had many goals, some of which varied by location. Overall, the movement aimed to end discrimination and negative stereotypes against Mexican Americans, and it sought to expand workers' rights, voting rights, educational equality, and land usage.

What inspired Chicano culture? ›

The Chicano Movement was influenced by and entwined with the Black power movement, and both movements held similar objectives of community empowerment and liberation while also calling for Black–Brown unity.

Who are the three Chicano artists? ›

Gilbert Luján, Carlos Almaráz , along with Frank Romero and Robert de La Rocha, or "Beto de la Rocha" were the original members who came up with Los Four as their group name as a way to demonstrate the duality of being Chicano and their Chicano culture.

What are the characteristics of Chicano art? ›

Chicano art style is heavily influenced by the Chicano movement and is a reflection of the experiences and struggles of Mexican-Americans. Chicano art style is characterized by its use of bold colors, political and social themes, and a fusion of Mexican and American cultural elements.

What makes Chicano murals unique? ›

The murals are characterized by their art style of bright color, religious symbols, and cultural references to Mexican and Mexican American history.

How does art influence Mexican culture? ›

While Mexican art is beautiful, unique and distinct, it is primarily used to represent Mexico's rich culture. It is used to share their history, heritage, mythology and traditions. Paintings are used to tell stories and share traditions and values, particularly of the ancient Mayans.

How did artists show Chicano Pride? ›

Chicanos are able to affirm their cultural, ethnic and religious identities through daily life in the barrio, and artists draw upon these traditions, experiences and images, such as sugar skulls and La Virgen de Guadalupe, in their artwork to reflect the importance of self-determination and cultural difference to ...

Why is it important for Chicanos to visually represent pre-Columbian culture? ›

Visual references to the Pre-Columbian period convey a message of cultural pride, paying homage to the ancient civilizations from which modern Mexicans and Chicanos descended and differentiating Chicano culture from dominant Anglo society.

Is the Chicano Movement still around? ›

In any case, the origin of the Chicana/o Movement is at best ambiguous, but nevertheless, it represents an ethnic struggle that has been fought for many decades now, and continues today

What was the significance of the Chicano Movement? ›

The Hispanic community embarked on a social movement aimed at combating institutional racism, increasing cultural hegemony, and guaranteeing equal labor and political rights. The Chicano Movement sparked national conversations on the political and social autonomy of Hispanic groups everywhere in the United States.

What was the lasting impact of the Chicano mural movement? ›

Murals created by Chicano artists reclaim public spaces, encourage community participation, and aid in neighborhood development and beautification. “In communities of Mexican descent within the United States, the shared social space has often been a public space.

What was the significance of the Chicano Movement quizlet? ›

A movement that fought against the discrimination of Mexican Americans and Latinos during the 1960s and 70s. It was mostly active during civil rights movements. What did the Chicano movement fight for? Equal rights, equal education, equal jobs, and equal housing opportunities.

What was the Chicano Movement trying to change? ›

The Chicano Movement, then, did not seek to overturn a government or start a revolution. Instead, the Chicano Movement sought to empower Mexican Americans, and give them a voice. How they did this was varied, and depended on what group one dealt with.

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