¡Printing the Revolution! The Rise and Impact of Chicano Graphics, 1965 to Now
June 28–September 29, 2024
The Frist Art Museum presents ¡Printing the Revolution! The Rise and Impact of Chicano Graphics, 1965 to Now, an exhibition that explores how Chicano activist artists forged a remarkable and enduring legacy of politically engaged printmaking rooted in cultural expression and social justice movements. Organized by the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the exhibition will be on view in the Frist’s Upper-Level Galleries from June 28 through September 29, 2024.
¡Printing the Revolution! is drawn from the Smithsonian’s extensive collection of Chicano graphics—the largest museum collection of its kind on the East Coast—and features nearly 120 works—ranging from traditional screen prints to digital graphics and augmented reality projects—by more than 70 artists. The exhibition examines how graphic arts have been utilized to build community, engage the public around social concerns, and wrestle with shifting notions of the term Chicano—once a derogatory term for people of Mexican heritage that was defiantly adopted in the 1960s and 1970s as a sign of a new political and cultural identity.
“Inspired by the civil rights and anti-war movements of the 1960s and beyond, Chicano artists used prints and posters to reflect their culture and advocate for equal justice and human dignity for their communities and other marginalized people around the world,” writes Frist Art Museum chief curator Mark Scala.
¡Printing the Revolution! extends the artistic calls for social justice and political awakening that were central to the Frist’s 2007 Mexico and Modern Printmaking: A Revolution in the Graphic Arts, 1920–1950, which featured works by such icons as Diego Rivera and José Clemente Orozco. Both exhibitions underscore the idea that, as an affordable and easy reproduceable medium, prints can reach an exceptionally wide audience. ¡Printing the Revolution! continues this narrative by showing how posters, often marked by vibrant colors, bold lettering, and striking images, have effectively communicated the prevailing social causes of their day—labor strikes, immigrant rights, opposition to the Vietnam War—and been a tool for forging community. By highlighting previously marginalized voices, including women and LGBTQIA+ artists, the exhibition offers an expanded view of American art and the history of graphic arts.
Organized thematically, the exhibition begins with the section “A New Chicano World” showing Chicano artists embracing and projecting their ideals of a distinct bicultural identity. Expressions of pride can be seen in such works as Gilbert “Magu” Luján’s festive and funky Cruising Turtle Island, showing a low-rider cruising through a neon-lit desert, densely packed and teeming with activity.
“Urgent Images” confronts issues such as workers’ rights, migration and deportation, and police brutality. On view are posters supporting the United Farm Workers union (UFW), which was founded in the 1960s to combat the intolerable working conditions of California’s migrant laborers. Graphic artists supported the movement, as seen in Xavier Viramontes’s poster, Boycott Grapes. With its subject’s intense facial expression, Aztec-style headdress, and strong farmworker hands crushing grapes, this was a fierce call to action against the exploitative labor practices of grape growers.
The section “Changemakers” includes portraits of advocates for political, civil, and human rights. These are adapted from historical photographs, with such figures as Frida Kahlo and Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata rendered in patches of bright color and bold letters evoking the graphic style of pop art.
“Digital Innovations and Public Interventions” shows how artists use electronic media to reach new audiences. Favianna Rodriguez’s 2012 online image Mi Cuerpo. Yo Decido (My Body. I Decide.) has notable relevance today after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. Likewise, her Migration Is Beautiful, showing a monarch butterfly as a symbol of migratory passage,challenges anti-migrant sentiments in the United States and elsewhere.
The final section, “Reimagining National and Global Histories,” shows Chicano printmakers expressing solidarity for people around the world who, like them, struggle for social justice. Many address genocides committed against Indigenous peoples, while others focus on the Cuban Revolution, the Vietnam War, the civil rights movement, and Apartheid in South Africa. Beyond the specific political cause promoted by each work is a broad humanitarian perspective that links people across time and place.
Programs
Thursday, June 27th
Curator’s Perspective: ¡Printing the Revolution! Presented by E. Carmen Ramos, PhD
6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Auditorium, free, first come, first seated
Join exhibition curator E. Carmen Ramos for this lecture that explores the remarkable history of printmaking by Chicano artists. Learn how artists in the exhibition build community, engage with social justice concerns, and assert the value of Mexican American culture and history through their innovative uses of graphic arts.
E. Carmen Ramos is the chief curatorial and conversation officer at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. She was previously the acting chief curator and curator of Latinx art at the Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM). During her tenure at SAAM, Ramos expanded the museum’s leading collection of Latinx art with an eye toward challenging the exclusion of Latinx art from US art history and capturing the broad aesthetic and regional range of the field. She curated major exhibitions, including ¡Printing the Revolution! The Rise and Impact of Chicano Graphics, 1965 to Now. Other notable exhibitions include Tamayo: The New York Years (2017), Down These Mean Streets: Community and Place in Urban Photography (2017), and Our America: The Latino Presence in American Art (2013), which traveled to eight cities across the country and received a 2014 Excellence Award from the Association of Art Museum Curators.
Ramos holds a PhD and MA in art history from the University of Chicago and a BA in art history and psychology from New York University. She serves on the board of the Association of Art Museum Curators and on the editorial board of UCLA’s journal Latin American and Latinx Visual Culture.
Thursday, July 25th
Educator Workshop: ¡Printing the Revolution! The Rise and Impact of Chicano Graphics, 1965 to Now
9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Studios A, B, and Upper-Level Galleries
Open to educators of all subjects, pre-K–12; limited to 15 participants; register by July 18
During this workshop, educators will have the opportunity to:
- Engage in a guided tour of ¡Printing the Revolution!, learning about how graphic arts have been utilized to build community, engage the public around social concerns, and wrestle with shifting notions of the term Chicano.
- Learn about the cultural and historical influences that inspired artists featured in the exhibition.
- Take part in an art-making activity inspired by the exhibition.
- Participate in conversations and cross-curricular dialogue.
Workshop and Instructor Details
Dr. Hilario Lomelí will deliver a presentation contextualizing art from the exhibition, informed by his interdisciplinary scholarship. Dr. Hilario Lomelí is a Mellon Assistant Professor of Latinx Studies (2022–25) in the Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latinx Studies at Vanderbilt University.
Bobbilyn Negrón will lead a hands-on art-making workshop. Bobbilyn is an artist and art teacher at Paragon Mills Elementary who was recently named 2023–24 MNPS Teacher of the Year.
Sunday, August 27th
Family Drop-In ARTlab: Let’s Go Print LEGO
1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Studio C, free, no registration required; all skill levels are welcome
Presented by Sydney Bridwell
Join the Frist Art Museum for this printmaking studio workshop led by Sydney Bridwell, inspired by the exhibition ¡Printing the Revolution! The Rise and Impact of Chicano Graphics, 1965 to Now. In this workshop, participants will create prints using LEGOs by arranging a variety of blocks and colors to create unique designs. All supplies will be provided.
About the Teacher
Sydney Bridwell is a graduate from Middle Tennessee State University with a degree in studio art. She has worked with children in art-focused summer camps and is currently working as a Martin ArtQuest facilitator at the Frist Art Museum. She loves watching people explore different ideas and mediums to create wonderful works of art.
Friday, September 13th
Maker Memories: A Dementia Social Engagement
10:45 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. Meet in the Grand Lobby, free, registration required
Presented in partnership with the Alzheimer’s Association, Tennessee Chapter
Featured exhibition:
¡Printing the Revolution! The Rise and Impact of Chicano Graphics, 1960 to Now
The Frist Art Museum partners with the Alzheimer’s Association®, Tennessee Chapter for this special event for those living with dementia and their care partners. Making Memories gives those affected by the disease an expressive outlet and forum for dialogue through guided exhibition tours, social interaction, art-making activities, and lunch. Register here.
Questions or trouble registering? Contact Harlyn Hardin at hahardin@alz.org or 615-622-4176.
Supported in part by the Sandra Schatten Foundation and Ameriprise Financial
Spanish translation and program sponsor: The Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latinx Studies at Vanderbilt University
The Frist Art Museum is supported in part by The Frist Foundation, Metro Arts, the Tennessee Arts Commission, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
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