Entre Tinta y Lucha: 45 Years of Self Help Graphics & Art
group exhibition
California State University Los Angeles Fine Arts Gallery
Los Angeles, CA
August 21-Septemer 29, 2018
Curators: Michelle Lopez (Lecturer, Cal State LA), Victor Hugo Viesca (Professor, Cal State LA)
Organizers: Betty Avila (Acting Director, Self Help Graphics & Art), Joel Garcia (Artist and Former Co-Director, Programs & Operations, Self Help Graphics & Art), Michelle Lopez (Lecturer, Cal State LA), Victor Hugo Viesca (Professor, Cal State LA)
Entre Tinta y Lucha celebrates the 45th anniversary of the East Los Angeles cultural and community art organization, Self Help Graphics & Art (SHG). The exhibition looks back at over four decades of the organization’s artistic innovation and excellence, organizational resilience and expanded activity, by featuring a display of over fifty fine art prints from throughout the organization’s history. Inspired by the Chicano Movement of the late 1960s and the rise of printmaking as a legitimate art form during the same period, SHG was founded by Franciscan nun, Sister Karen Boccalero, and local Chicano artists Carlos Bueno, Antonio Ibañez, and Frank Hernandez in East Los Angeles. Since its incorporation in 1973, SHG has produced over 1,000 art print editions, including 54 Atelier projects and exhibitions all over the world. The organization remains dedicated to the production, interpretation and distribution of prints and other art media by Chicana/o and Latinx artists; and its multidisciplinary, intergenerational programs promote artistic excellence and empower community by providing access to working space, tools, training and beyond.
The exhibition also looks forward to an exciting evolution of Chicana/o and Latinx aesthetics. Undeniably, Self Help Graphics & Art has continued to represent the heart of the Chicano Art Movement in Los Angeles. Before major art institutions began exploring community engagement in the arts, SHG understood the power of art to affect change in our communities and that this shared experience defined how people from diverse backgrounds related to each other through their creative practices. Now, nearly a half century later, SHG continues to foster emerging Chicana/o and Latinx artists through its world-class printmaking studio and supports the role of artists as leaders, both within its organization and the community. A series of artist-led panels from the perspective of SHG’s print studio (see programming), will accompany the exhibition to get perspective from the artists themselves about the history and value of the organization to the community and the greater Los Angeles art world.
Entre Tinta y Lucha marks a historic collaboration between Self Help Graphics & Art and Cal State LA– two community institutions with roots in the Eastside of Los Angeles. The exhibition, panel discussions and workshop will be hosted at Cal State LA’s Fine Arts Gallery and is curated by university faculty members Michelle Lopez, MA/MFA and Victor Hugo Viesca, PhD., in partnership with Self Help Graphics & Art.
Artists included: William Acedo, Margaret Alarcon, Judy Baca, Sandow Birk, Chaz Bojorquez, Barbara Carrasco, Yreina Cervantez, Sam Coronado, Alfredo de Batuc, Frank Romero, Roberto Delgado, Victoria Delgadillo, Alex Donis, Richard Duardo, Felipe Ehrenberg, Enik One, Luis Genaro Garcia, Lilia Ramirez, Mark Steven Greenfield, Dolores Guerrero-Cruz, Gronk, Miles Hamada, Wayne Healy, Ester Hernandez, Bernard Stanley Hoyes, Jean LaMarr, Leo Limon, Alma Lopez, Jose Lozano, El Mac, Dalila Paola Mendez, Willie R. Middlebrook, Delilah Montoya, Malaquias Montoya, Eduardo Oropeza, Raymond Pettibon, Miguel Angel Reyes, Sonia Romero, Favianna Rodriguez, Shizu Saldamando, Teddy Sandoval, Miyo Stevens-Gandara, Joey Terrill, Eloy Torrez, Peter Tovar, John Valadez, Patssi Valdez, Vincent Valdez, Linda Vallejo, Lawrence M. Yanez, Ernesto Yerena and Jaime (Germs) Zacarias.
Cultural Significance and Social Justice in Printmaking
panel discussion
California State University Los Angeles Fine Arts Gallery
Los Angeles, CA
September 13, 2018
This panel will explore the role of the printmaking studio in increasing access to pre-colonial knowledges and practices, such as Día de los Muertos, and influencing the role of art in political struggles in Southern California. This discussion features Favianna Rodriguez (moderator), Linda Vallejo, Malaquias Montoya, Ernesto Yerena and Luis Genaro Garcia, and is in conjunction with the Entre Tinta y Lucha: 45 Years of Self Help Graphics & Art Exhibition, which runs August 21 to September 29 at the Cal State LA Fine Arts Gallery.
Self Help Graphics announcement Exhibition invitationCal State LA panel announcement LA Weekly panel discussion announcement