Week 2: Claudia Zapata Reading

      Claudia Zapada's !Printing the Revolution!: The Rise and Impact of  Chicano Graphics, 1965 to Now delves into Chicano digital art. After reading the essay, I pose the question: "In what ways does technology broaden the concept of art for Chicano/a artists?" 

    Due to the invention of technology, more tools, like VR, AR, photoshop, interactive websites, computers, laser cutting tools and ink became readily available. Chicano/a artists honed these tools and used them to create unique, mesmerizing and impactful works of art. In particular, VR, which stands for Virtual Reality is a computer generated tool that creates an immersive environment of a real or unreal world for viewers to interact in. In Out of Exile: Daniel's Story audio recordings and visuals were used in VR so participants could experience the vulnerability Daniel felt when he was kicked out of his home for being gay. Another device is AR, which stands for Augmented Reality and it puts digital images onto real world objects in order to add something to reality. A lot of graphic artists used AR in their art to create new visual experiences. As for photoshop, it's image editing software that allows users to manipulate and rearrange photographs in numerous ways. This allows artists to create countless impossible realities. A popular form of photo rearrangement is digital collages. With the help of computers and editing softwares, artists can create collages using digital pictures, digital graphics digital markers, digital stickers, etc.  The possibilities are truly endless. Another way computers are useful is through interactive websites. Glass Houses by Garcia is an interactive muli-media website that allows users to explore the house of a family by clicking on buttons that sends them to sub pages that show intimate digital images of their home. As for inks and laser cutting tools, they allowed users to create neater pieces. In particular, inkjet is able to create photographic quality and the laser cutting tools allows for precise cuts. With the help technology, Chicano/a artists were able to broaden their ideas of art by creating new art forms, like interactive worlds, and digital pieces and by using new methods to perfect their works.