I thought Claudia Zapata’s essay on The Rise and Impact of Chicano Graphics was very eye-opening. It reminded me of the importance of technology and the implications it had on Chicano art. For many years, Chicano art has been known to be displayed as 2-dimensional: work on paper like print making and paining. However, the downside to this is that its not as easy to mainstream to the community compared to a virtual piece. In addition, Chicano art has been a hallmark for fighting against injustices and being a symbol for resilience in underserved communities. Because it is such a central role to this, it makes sense why so much of our art is on paper; it is much easier to carry around a poster than to be carrying your computer monitor around. Zapata does bring up a good point in saying that new forms of art don’t, or shouldn’t at least, replace old art. With the brink of the 21st century, digital art allowed us to reach more people and in turn, Chicano art was able to have a bigger, lasting impact not only within the Chicano community, but also for the general public. For example, Chicano artist Barbara Carrasco’s work being portrayed on the Spectacolor light board in New York was a big achievement. At that time it was not common for work like hers to be featured on such stages that even Cesar Chavez himself couldn’t believe it. The next big thing was the web. This was a major technological trade for art, because now not only was Chicano art being able to be spread throughout the communities, but so were the artist’s stories. Their background, who they were, and what they represented was only a click away. Through these mediums, including media, Chicano artwork was transformed and evolved into a vessel that more people could relate to.
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