This lecture will deal with the very broad and complex topic of
politically-based art. It will only touch upon significant topics which,
in themselves, could serve as the basis of an entire course.
We will begin by looking at art in Puerto Rico in the 1950s, a time when
the poster and print Renaissance was occurring and political and
politically-engaged imagery was at the root of the work of artists like
Lorenzo Homar and Rafael
Tufino.
The revolutions of the late 50s and 60s were enormously significant
regarding the consequences for visual culture. The Cuban revolution which
witnessed the take-over of the country by Fidel Castro in 1959 produced -
and continues to produce - extremely significant examples of political art
in posters, wall paintings and the photographic medium. The mural movement
that accompanied the revolution in Chile during the Allende years and the
years of Sandinista hegemony on Nicaragua will also be considered.
The Chicano movement in California, Arizona, New Mexico, Illinois and
elsewhere also engendered a vast and important body of work. The reading
by Chicano theorist, historian and philosopher Tomas Ybarra-Frausto will
do a good deal to illuminate you on these areas.
We will also look at a politically motivated spirit in some more recent
work by the Puerto Rican artist Juan Sanchez.
