Blog Post 2

Q: What benefits does the internet provide as an “alternate gallery space” for Chicanx socially conscious artists?

The benefits of printmaking and posters as artistic mediums used by socially conscious Chicanx artists have been apparent since the early 80’s, when the United Farm Workers union gained public support and solidarity through the use of strikes, boycotts, and very coherent and effective graphics that created an unified identity and easily identifiable symbols. In addition, the prints and posters made by Chicanx artists in support of this cause and other social movements were effective and iconic due to how informative, accessible, and easily distributed they were. However, these physical formats had their limitations, and were not easily distributed nationally or internationally, and far from the speed necessary to effectively support urgent movements. With increased access to the internet came a change in the production, as well as distribution, of art by chicanx artist involved in social movements. Rupert Garcia is an example used in “Printing Revolution” by Claudia Zapata, who notes that Garcia’s switch to digital mediums

Homoland, Julio Salgado

“reflects artistic adaptation and curiosity in new techniques that a ford a newfound speed, but most importantly it highlights Garcia’s ongoing efforts to address themes of social justice he has touched upon since the 1960’s.” (Zapata, 133) Garcia has long been an icon in the medium due to his striking and compelling prints, my personal favorite being ¡Fuera de Indochina! (1970), which was made in protest of the Vietnam War, which led to the disproportionate deaths of thousands of brown and Black Americans drafted to fight. Garcia’s adaptation to the digital medium has provided new tools for his artistic production, but for other Chicanx artists like Julio Salgado, the internet has served as an alternative space whose potential for anonymity and ease of sharing has made it possible to create intimate pieces and spaces for community members who are often persecuted in their physical communities, such as undocumented
and queer folk. The intersectional nature of this identity and the experiences of repression and discrimination faced by these individuals is more easily, and safely, discussed in online spaces than in physical ones, something Salgado has utilized very effectively.