Week 2 : Claudia E. Zapata Reading

(Q) In what ways have technological advancements benefited Chicanx artists?

(A) In the reading “The Rise and Impact of Chicano Graphics, 1965 to Now” by Claudia E. Zapata, technological advancements for the most part have been a beneficial way for Chicanx artists to express themselves politically. Poster and print were and still are an important means of Chicana art and activism, and digital technology have helped facilitate these same objectives. For example, the Chicana artist Barbara Carrasco incorporated digital tools and strategies to communicate the dangers of pesticides. This was in support of the United Farmworkers Union and to protest the horrible effects of toxic chemicals. The artwork was displayed on a digital billboard in Times Square for the public to see. Carrasco’s artwork is just one of the many examples as to how digital technologies can be a beneficial tool for advocacy, educating the public, protesting, and showing solidarity. Not only can digital tools provide artists with a different perspective of displaying their art, but it is also a beneficial way to reach a wider audience. With Carrasco’s artwork on full display in one of the busiest cities in the country, the use of technology proven to be beneficial and has influenced many Chicanx artists to come. Technology has created more ways to continue advocacy through art and increased the different ways to spread awareness. 

Also, with the number of social media platforms, there is more room for artists to display their work, engage a wide audience, and get the public involved. For example, the artist Favianna Rodriguez’s website (Favianna.com) was a digital space where her art was displayed. The website also serves as a space for viewers to look at instructional videos as to how to create a protest poster/banner and provides digital downloads. This online platform is an effort to facilitate and increase the spread of advocacy through art. The term “artivist” is used to describe such artists you use their work to advocate for a certain cause. For example, Rodriguez uses online tools to share her art of a monarch butterfly to symbolize the beauty of migration and to advocate immigration. Overall, Chicanx artists are using digital technology to their advantage and is used to continue their advocacy.