Zill, Madison Week 7 Claudia Zapata

In “The Rise and Impact of Chicano Graphics, 1965 to Now,” by E. Carmen Ramos, Tatiana Reinoza, Terezita Romo, and Claudia E. Zapata, the role of technology in arts activism is explored. It is emphasized that technology has made it easier to reach a larger number of people. For example, in 1989 Barbara Carrasco created a digital piece called Pesticides! to inform the people about the harmful chemicals used on grapes that are impacting the consumer and the farm workers (Ramos et al. 132). Pesticides! was on a Times Square Spectacolor Board in New York City. Carrasco was able to work with a professional programmer to make her work a reality (132). The digital format of the piece also allowed for storytelling like that of a comic book (132). 

Beyond a digital billboard, there is the transmissibility of art through the internet. For Chicanx artists, the internet has provided a space where they can share art that is promoting a socially conscious cause (138). Currently, it is the age of technology and the fact that artists are shifting with the times to promote causes that are important to them is amazing. As an artist, I have shifted with the times and have created work that was completely digital and made possible by the internet. 

During the pandemic, I was on the UCLA Sex Squad. The UCLA Sex Squad aims to educate high school students about sexual health through performing arts. Traditionally, this show was in person. Because of the circumstances, the show was shifted to Zoom. Through Zoom, I was able to record my monologue about my Grandfather’s experience during the AIDS epidemic. The recording of my monologue was shown to well over 500 students. I do not think it would have reached that great of an audience if the performances were in person. The internet made it so my Grandfather’s story was heard. 

Works Cited

Ramos, E. Carmen, et al. “The Rise and Impact of Chicano Graphics, 1965 to Now.” Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Barbara Carrasco, Messages to the Public: Pesticides! (Presented by Public Art Fund, July 1, 1989-July 31, 1989 on Times Square Spectacolor board, New York City), 1989, analog video transferred to digital video; 00:48 minutes, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist, 2020.31, © 1989, Barbara Carrasco