Bella Lang- Claudia Zapata

 I personally enjoyed reading Claudia Zapata’s Printing the Revolution and learning about how printmaking/technology in general have helped the Chicanx movement. Printmaking and portraiture are unique forms of art, ones that appear bold and sharp. These characteristics allow artists to layer their art, and convey messages very clearly. For example (this was not in the essay but I thought it was a good example), Amado M Peña Jr.’s work speaks volumes on police brutality. One of his portraits, which was a screen print, shows a 12 year old boy who was shot and murdered by an officer, which was based on his school portrait. Recreating this school photo in color and adding the blood on the innocent boy’s face is more powerful than the photo alone. His smile is pure, which directly contrasts the violence in the portrait. The background that he added gives the portrait depth, and creates a darker tone.  

On page 147 of the book, Zapata talks about Xico Gonzalez’s work, and how she used the HP Reveal app to share her work with other artists and creators. Her work and use of this app shows the importance of technology in exposure and publicity. Through the Chicanx and other civil rights movements, voices must be heard, and apps like these give people a chance to speak to the public through their art.

For my wiki project, I am writing about Jacalyn Lopez Garcia, whom Zapata talks about in her essay. I thought this was very interesting, and I loved to hear Zapata’s perspective on her popular work titled “Glass Houses.” Glass houses is an immersive website that takes the viewer on Garcia’s journey of cultural identity. Zapata highlights the question Garcia asks; “How do we survive in a world driven by assimilation and maintain our cultural identity?” This question is not fully answered in the Glass Houses, website and is left somewhat to interpretation. Glass Houses was just another innovative and powerful way technology was used in the Chicanx movement. Because her website was online, it was easy to access, from places all over the world. Many people would not have been able to see this work if it were in a specific gallery or location; the internet gave her a larger audience to speak to.