Ok - so I have to admit I am one of Shakira's biggest fans. I like almost all of her stuff up until she started singing in English. I wasn't feeling her songs in translation. Somehow, Spanish has a much nicer flow for her love/hate songs. There is a song of hers - "Las de la Intuición." The video is awesome, it shows her in purple hair dancing in front of a mirror and in some kind of saran wrap.
What's even better though is a line she has in the song, which is about giving in completely to love and desire. The song says: "...Yo me propongo ser de ti Una victima casi perfecta..."
Translated that means: I propose to be your almost perfect victim
I heard this song for the first time in Japan in 2006, when I was hanging out with some Peruvian Japanese folks at a Latino bar. It's still one of my favorites. This print is about what she sings about. I used the same image but offset it a few times, to create the feeling of chaos, a beautiful chaos that is. I completed this piece on a Vandercook letterpress, using linoleum blocks and a polymer plate. Here is a close up:
Now the funniest thing about this piece is actually WHO helped me make it. My tutor's name is Nick Hurd. As we were working, he was telling me that his grandfather was also a printmaker. Clement Hurd enjoyed doing wood blocks. So he passed this on to his grandson. Well, the young Nick Hurd, is the one guilty for getting me into letterpressing. He has taught me everything I know about it, and I have to say, my letterpress prints have given me great joy.
His grandfather is Clement Hurd, illustrator of Goodnight Moon, the timeless children's classic. My friend, Gan Golan, recently released a parody of Hurd's book - Goodnight Bush. I interviewed him back in July (click here to check it out). I traveled to Denver for the Democratic National Convention along with Goodnight Bush to promote by own new book, Reproduce & Revolt. While I was there, this photo was taken. It was later used by UTNE Reader to profile my work.
I recently completed a poster for Policy Link, for their 1st National Black and Latino Summit. I didn't realize just how central the concept of the poster was to the entire event until I recently saw some images from the event.
Angela Glover Blackwell of Policy Link explained: “We decided that we needed
to start focusing on the alliance-building part of the equation, and
therefore we had this summit to really be able to come together, talk
about policy, share some cultural and artistic experiences, and spend
most of the time talking about how we build strong alliances across
black/Latino communities.”
Click on image to see it bigger.
Here are some photos from the event itself. Angela Blackwell shown below. You can see these photos and more at the National Black and Latino Summit.As you can see, my art is pretty visible - yeah!!!!
I have realized that I am on plane on average every two weeks. I take planes attend art openings in Los Angeles, to sit in meetings in New York, to organize art events in Mexico City, to meet with printmakers in Texas, to be challenged in retreats in British Columbia. Lonely airports, cold planes, unhealthy food, and cheap wireless connections that you pay by the hour are a part of my life. I hate airports because I usually am inside them alone, I'm usually half asleep, carrying too many things and sweating, my hair all raggety and uncombed, thinking about all the things I forgot to do. I am the kind of person that always imagines that my plane is going to crash, I am completely not afraid of turbulence, but I think to myself - "what if this plane ran out of fuel? will my cell phone work if I try to call my mom and say goodbye?" Yes, a bit fatalist, but I only think about it so that it won't really happen.
When I am walking to my gate, I usually feel lucky, powerful, blessed in a way. I feel happy to be able to explore the world's most happening cities. I feel like a badass actually, like "Yes! I'm going to Vancouver baby!!! I hope the boys look good there!" or I think to myself, "I am going to be in another time zone in 5 hours! RAD!!!" But as soon as I get on the plane, the nostalgia kicks in. I feel incredibly lonely on the plane as I look at the city get smaller, I realize we are like little ants. Literally, the things outside the window look so tiny and insignificant. At that point I get nervous, I start to feel lame for being a single, crazy artist, I start hating the traveling. These periods are usually short, but they are intense. And so I then usually put on my earplugs, my dark sunglasses, and cover my head with a hoody, and try hard to sleep. Often, about 50% of the time I would say, I cry, about the people I am leaving behind, or the people I am going to see. I begin to think about how my dogs are gonna be mad at the fact that I'm leaving them, again! I think about the fact that it will be a long time before this lifestyle ends, in fact, it's gonna get worst before it gets better. I see the trips increasing! I am one of those artists that wants to be flying to a different city every week. I want to live here, in LA, in Tokyo, and in Berlin (all at the same time). So planes, airports, and all the depressing feelings of loneliness they trigger in me, are going to be a part of my life for a looong time. But then again, that is the choice I am making. (a photo I took as I left Texas)
On November 4th I left to Los Angeles to complete a print at Self Help Graphics in East Los Angeles. This print was the 6th silkscreen I have done at the 30+ year old, internationally acclaimed, Latino Art printmaking center. As many of you know, Self Help lost their building back in the Summer, and so I was invited to make one of the last prints in their current facility. They will be moving to a new location in 2009, but everyone knows that after they leave, it will never be the same. Perhaps it will be better, perhaps worst, but it will not be the same. The building carries years and years of LA's Chicano art history that cannot be replaced.
So I arrived on Nov 4th a little late because the Oakland airport was understaffed. The day felt magical, you could sense a big tension in the air, but a positive one. I got on the plane knowing that something was about to change. I am not referring to Obama, although, of course he was on my mind - I am referring to the general mood in the air that day. Obama's campaign branded themselves with the word "Change," and in many ways, I think many of us internalize that. That is, change is just not what happens in the land of politics, but also what happens in ourselves, the transitions we go through as humans, in love, in loss, etc. I was feeling open to whatever that change was, and I was feeling extremely excited about going to LA to make art, nothing could make me happier at that moment. The picture you see on the left is how I showed up with my materials. You can see my original piece in the background. The clear film is what it used in making a silkscreen. (click on images to enlarge them)
That evening, I watched Obama speak and I felt proud to be a person of color. I remember getting texts that evening from activists all over the country, talking about our black brother, and that it was a beautiful day for all of us. I remember feeling like I was witnessing a historic moment, and began to think to myself - what can I do in my own life to be happier, to feel like I am accomplishing my purpose in life, which is to succeed as a political artist. What Obama showed me was that people needed to dream and think big. I have always believed that and it has been my own modus operandi, but I usually felt like a fish swimming against a current. That night I felt like the current was about to change. I was feeling High on LIFE. That evening I partied and danced and drank loads of tequila, and spent some great moments with people I love.
The next few days it was back to work. And work work work it was. One thing that I do when I am at Self Help is that I push myself to my limits. I stay awake until I can't fight it anymore, I try to experiment with my drawing when I'm zombied out, I try to do things I normally don't do. These photos show the process of the print being developed - the piece itself takes on it's own life. It cannot be tamed nor told what to do - it just exists on paper. My piece was talking to me, telling me what it wanted to be named. This photo shows the first color drying on the rack.
This is the green I used. Josue (pictured here) is checking how the ink lands on the paper.
The green was looking super hot!!!
This is the Master Printer, Jose Alpuche, running the color. He has the smoothest touch I've ever seen and he is one of my favorite mentors! He is always challenging me to work harder, faster, better.
This is what my print begins to look like with the 5th color, magenta!
Ahhh, finally the print is done. But then comes the work of signing about 100 sheets of paper and finding the title! That is what I enjoyed most. I had a rough week in LA. Not only was I extremely tired for the lack of sleep (not from partying, from artmaking) but I also gone through some internal transformations myself. I felt like I was a different person than 1 week ago. I also realized a big lesson, and that is that time teaches you lessons. Everything happens in its due time. The things you neglect, the things you ignore that you shouldn't, time makes them more evident and before you know it, they bite you in the ass. My shero, Andrea Echeverry, lead singer for the Columbian rock group, Aterciopelados, and Hector Buitrago, also from the band, have a great song that I will quote here (original song is in Spanish):
It's time to carry out the plan
It's time to have one intention
Everything happens in its due time
Everything comes a its exact and correct moment
Even the galaxy feels it
It's time to hear the voice of forgiveness
It's time for a revolution
It's time to be alive
Everything happens in its due time
Everything comes a its exact and correct moment
So I named this piece, "llega todo a su tiempo." Translated it says, "Everything arrives at its due time."
Here is a picture of me signing my prints.
I had planned to leave on Saturday, but after seeing my friend, Artemio Rodriguez, and his work in the Hammer Museum's exhibit, Gouge - I felt so INSPIRED to keep going. I had to stay another day to work with Artemio, I rarely see him, and he is one of the artists I most admire.
Of course, before another day of hard work, I had to stop at the Electro/80's/Pop club that my friend Julie throws - Ultraluxx!! That was an awesome night of dancing! This is a photo of my homie Contra and myself.
The next morning, Contra and I headed over to Artemio's to make some linocuts and to learn from the maestro himself.
Here is the pic of the block after it's inked, and then of the final print.
This piece I titled, "Mental Hopscotch," after a song by LA's famous 80's band, Missing Persons.
Check out how good the singer looks singing her song!
You go girl! Well, that about wraps up my week of art, Obama, and self realization in LA, a city that I plan on eventually living in. A great way to wrap up this story is by ending with the song that inspired the woodcut! MENTAL HOPSCOTCH 1981, by Missing Persons, straight outta LA. Hit Play to hear.
My art work is included in an awesome show currently on display at the AFL-CIO headquarters in Washington, D.C., from now through May 31, 2009. The show is titled, "Chicana Art and Experience: Mujeres con Garbo," andincludes more than 30 prints, posters, paintings and photographs by some of my favorite Chicana Artists, including Yreina Cervantez, Barbara Carrasco, and Yolanda López. You can see some great images from the show by visiting this site!
The exhibition was organized by Rex Weil, an artist, independent curator, writer and educator living and working in Washington, D.C. Mr. Weil teaches art theory and criticism at the University of Maryland, College Park, and is a contributing editor at ARTnews. In his Curatorial statement he writes, "...Chicana art emphasizes traditional modes of public art: murals, agit-prop posters and prints and other modes of mass communication, including inexpensive publications and websites. These public methods are chosen with the aim of reaching a wider audience than typical fine arts galleries and underscore the populist roots of Chicana art. "
In regards to my own work, he writes, "Favianna Rodriquez has produced an impressive array of political posters often in connection with specific organizing campaigns. She freely appropriates motifs from vintage posters and magazine covers and assimilates those sources into a style all her own."
This is a show not be missed for all art fans in Washington DC!!!
Just returned from the EXONOME Opening. I had some work in the show for a wall of posters that featured the work of the Taller Tupac Amaru. The exhibit EXONOME is at the Mexican Consulate this coming through December 18th. There are over 40 artists from all over Latin America, Spain, and Portugal in the show. EXONOME was curated by Sergio De La Torre, Nora Enriquez, Raul Garduño and Ana Labastida. All the artists in the show are based in the Bay Area.
532 Folson St @ 2nd San Francisco, CA 94105
November 18th - December 18th
From left to right: TALLER TUPAC AMARU: Favianna (me), Melanie Cervantes, Jesus Barraza Myself and the coolest photographer I know - Salvador Ibe This is what part of our super dope wall looked like! This is the waiting room. Can you imagine how many people will be staring at our posters!? This is one of the curators. He worked HARD for the show - could hardly keep his eyes open.
This past weekend, the Taller Tupac Amaru was at Facing Race, National Conference about racial justice sponsored by the Applied Research Center. For those of you who don't know, the Taller Tupac Amaru was started in 2003 by Jesus Barraza, Estria Miyashiro, and myself, Favianna. Jesus and I remain with our newest member, Melanie Cervantes.
At the conference, we set up a table with our artwork, did some live screenprinting, carried out a "how-to" workshop about political design, and participated in a panel. I was incredibly surprised to see so many organizers of color at the event, some who I had only known via email. Our mission as a Taller is focused on the screen-printed political poster. We consistently develop posters in collaboration with community organizations, so that we can better reach the audiences we want to reach and so that our posters can have a lasting impact. It is important for us to have strong relationships with or fellow organizers, and vice versa. This gathering allowed us to do that while showcasing our work. It was AWESOME! When people think of "art for social change" - they do not always know how to visualize that. The ability to display our work made that possible. Big shot out to ARC for recognizing that our presence was valuable and for actively encouraging it and big shot to Melanie for coordinating the effort.
The ARC websites writes this about Facing Race. "This presidential election has created an opening for dialogue about
racial justice that we haven’t seen in decades. Questions of racial
justice dominate debates in academia, government and the media. This is our moment. Critical Moments Require Critical Mass."
My good friend, Adrienne Marie Brown, wrote this on the Race Wire blog. (click on link below) http://www.racewire.org/archives/2008/11/creating_a_culture_of_racial_j.html
I have a new puppy in my household, who we have named Pisco, after the delicious Peruvian alcohol! He is super young, about 8 weeks old. He is teaching me many things, mostly, how to be patient and persistent. I live a FASSSTTTTT paced life, so slowing down for a puppy is not the ideal situation for me. It drives me a bit crazy to tell you the truth. I also am very impatient- I like fast results. So having to train this dog is an exercise in patience. I mean, I can't be mad at the little creature for not being on time with his doings. I have to repeat things 2-3-6 times, you know, it takes a while for an animal to pick stuff up.
He came into my family's life rather unexpected. One evening my mother was wishing for her own dog, because she is nervous about the increasing violence in our neighborhood. A dog, she thought, would be a good companion, and could alert her when people tried to enter the house. Yes, this kind of stuff happens in my hood, people break in and rob you. The next day, a friend sends out an email that he has rescued an abandoned puppy. That puppy was Pisco. So we adopted him a little less than a month ago.
Pisco is something I look forward to when I come home. I look forward to playing with him and taking all of his cuteness in. It's an interesting feeling to have. I am also happy to see my mom and dad charmed by the new little guy. I hope he does not try to punk my other two dogs, they are pitbulls. But they are old, and slow.
I was recently profiled in UTNE Magazine as one of 50 Visionaries who are changing the world. I'm delighted about this, and honored to be in the company of such strong and powerful sisters like Rinku Sen and Adrienne Marie Brown.
The online blog, Aid and Abet, wrote,"...I am most pleased at the number of truly radical people profiled.
By radical, I mean individuals who have a truly deep critique of
capitalism and other root causes of social issues, and who are truly
working for social change. They’ve included for example, Adrienne Marie
Brown, Rinku Sen, and Favianna Rodriguez. Also nice that they’ve
recognized a lot of women."
The photo in the article was taken at the Democratic National Convention. I am standing in front of my friend's banner for this book, Goodnight Bush.
I was recently profiled in 
