Week 7 Claudia Zapata

We read “Chicanx Graphics in Digital Age” by Claudia E Zapata together, and in this essay, she addresses the impact of the development of digital platforms and the impact of the digitization of art on Mexican people, Chicano/a, and people of color. Through this essay, I found that with the development of digital technology, the digitization of art was pushed and the presentation of Chicano graphics was expanded, thus pushing the development of social movements of Mexican people, Chicano/a, and people of color.

One of the most impressive examples to me is the project Justice for Our Lives (p142). Artist Oree Originol innovated the way posters were previously only produced through printing or hand-drawn images by uploading images and names of victims to a public website platform so that more people could download, print, and distribute them. Through this example, I realized that the development of digital platforms has been a great catalyst for art and social movements. The effect of digitizing art is not only to make distribution easier, but also to create a larger Internet community through digital platforms, through which more and more people can access information, connect and bond with others who share similar background experiences. This means that, compared to the non-digital age, the digital age of art allows an unimaginably larger number of people to share the same information and ideas, and on this basis, a social movement becomes more widespread and more easily valued than ever before.

I grew up in a world that has witnessed the explosion of digital, online, and informational development over the past 20 years. People are now very accustomed to accessing and disseminating knowledge, information and ideas through digital and online platforms. The digitalization of art is the result of the artists' response to the development of this era. Claudia's essay gave me an insight into the efforts and contributions of Mexican artists, Chicanx artists, and artists of color to promote social movements in the digital age.