VIDEO
Bring your appetite for art and food history and dig into Breakfast Tacos with two Smithsonian experts. This rich photograph by artist Chuck Ramirez magnifies the remnants of a hearty meal to reveal the personal and cultural significance of the foods we eat. Join Claudia Zapata, curatorial assistant for Latinx art at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and Steve Velasquez, curator for the division of cultural and community life at the National Museum of American History, for this engaging virtual program.
This program is part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s Double Take series. Widen your perspective on American art as Smithsonian specialists from different disciplines team up to talk about artworks from SAAM’s collection. This popular series features experts from an array of fields—from anthropology and geology to aeronautics and history—and shows how art can connect to just about anything.
ON MAKING (ART) WORK
LATINX ART PRODUCTION AND CURATORIAL PRACTICE
A CONVERSATION WITH CLAUDIA ZAPATA
EVENT HELD ON FRIDAY, MAY 6, 2022, IN AUSTIN ARTS CENTER AND VIA ZOOM.
On April 23, 2022, curators E. Carmen Ramos, Chief Curatorial and Conservation Officer at the National Gallery of Art, and Claudia Zapata, Curatorial Assistant of Latinx Art at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, along with artist Ester Hernández discussed how printmaking played a role in the civil rights, labor, anti-war, feminist, and LGBTQ+ movements of the last 60 years.
Presented by E. Carmen Ramos, chief curatorial and conservation officer at the National Gallery of Art, and Claudia Zapata, curatorial assistant at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Taína Caragol, the Portrait Gallery’s curator of painting and sculpture & Latinx art and history, moderated the Q & A.
In the 1960s, Chicano activist artists forged a remarkable history of printmaking rooted in cultural expression and social justice movements that remains vital today. The exhibition “¡Printing the Revolution! The Rise and Impact of Chicano Graphics, 1965 to Now” presents, for the first time, historical civil rights-era prints by Chicano artists alongside works by graphic artists active from the 1980s to today. It considers how artists innovatively use graphic arts to build community, engage the public around ongoing social justice concerns, and wrestle with shifting notions of the term “Chicano.”
Chicanx artists and their collaborators often tackled history through portraiture, recognizing that the lives and deeds of those who have fought for political, civil, and human rights are rarely acknowledged in U.S. history classes. Many of these portraits rely on historic photographs and quote their sitters or recount their achievements. Employed in this way, portraiture shifted attention away from privilege, self-aggrandizement, and vanity toward activism, sacrifice, and social transformation.
This program is part of the Greenberg Steinhauser Forum in American Portraiture and is hosted by PORTAL, the Portrait Gallery’s Scholarly Center.
On May 13, 2021, the Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM) presented a virtual conversation featuring artists from “¡Printing the Revolution! The Rise and Impact of Chicano Graphics, 1965 to Now” who use digital strategies as a form of political advocacy for issues such as immigration, the commodification of personal data, and LGBTQ+ rights. Learn more about how the digital realm is defining a new chapter of Chicanx graphics and how artists use technologically based artwork to critique Big Tech, as well as distribute digital graphics across social media networks as a unifying call for social justice.
Panelists include San Antonio–based artist Michael Menchaca, whose multimedia works incorporate ancient Mesoamerican iconography and digital interfaces to comment on tech culture and its adverse effects on communities of color; and Los Angeles–based undocumented queer artist and social justice activist Julio Salgado, who is best known for his digital images supporting the migrant rights movement. This virtual conversation is moderated by Claudia Zapata, curatorial assistant for Latinx art at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Zapata also authored the essay “Chicanx Art in the Digital Age,” in the “¡Printing the Revolution!” catalogue.
This program is part of an online conversation series that examines Chicanx graphics and how artists have used printmaking to debate larger social causes, reflect on issues of their time, and build community. Hear from artists, scholars, and activists about the Chicanx graphics movement, from civil rights–era prints to today’s digital landscape.
This program received generous support from the Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center.
On April 15, 2021, the Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM) presented a virtual conversation featuring artists whose work is represented in the landmark exhibition “¡Printing the Revolution!: The Rise and Impact of Chicano Graphics, 1965 to Now.” https://americanart.si.edu/exhibition...
The conversation highlighted how the ancient world, specifically Mesoamerica, has been a source of inspiration for Chicanx and other artists of Mexican descent. It also explored how Chicanx artists incorporate ancient Mesoamerican iconography with contemporary political efforts as an act of honoring and reinforcing Indigenous histories.
Panelists include internationally renowned Mexican-born printmaker Enrique Chagoya, who creates prints conceptually fusing Mesoamerican mythology, western religious iconography, and American popular culture; currently, he is a professor in the department of art and art history at Stanford University. Chagoya is joined by Yreina D. Cervántez, a Xicana feminist artist based in Los Angeles. Her multimedia works incorporate ancient spirituality and feminist histories as a commentary on Chicana political consciousness. Cervántez is a professor emeritus in the department of Chicana/o studies at California State University at Northridge. This conversation is moderated by Claudia Zapata, curatorial assistant for Latinx art at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Zapata is also a contributor to the “¡Printing the Revolution!” catalogue.
This program is part of an online conversation series that examines Chicanx graphics and how artists have used printmaking to debate larger social causes, reflect on issues of their time, and build community. Hear from artists, scholars, and activists about the Chicanx graphics movement, from civil rights–era prints to today’s digital landscape.
This program received generous support from the Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center.
Artist Lalo Alcaraz created the striking digital portrait "I Stand with Emma" of Emma González after watching the high school senior advocate for stronger gun control in an impassioned speech days after surviving the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
Join Claudia Zapata, curatorial assistant for Latinx art at the Smithsonian American Art Museum for a closer look. Learn how "I Stand with Emma," an artwork that was created and distributed within the digital sphere, honors the traditions of Chicanx artists while also embracing new digital landscapes for printmaking and celebrating a new generation of activists, "guiding us towards a better tomorrow."
This video is part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's ongoing series "American Art Moments." Join a SAAM expert and go beyond the artwork label to discover the untold stories and rich connections represented in some of the museum's most iconic artworks.
Image: "L.A. Stands With Emma, Too"
February 19, 2018
Photograph by Robb Wilson
https://www.flickr.com/photos/robb_wi...
CC BY-SA 2.0
Texas Tech University’s Spring 2021 Race & Social Justice in the Arts Speaker's Series:
Claudia Zapata: ¡Printing the Revolution! The Rise and Impact of Chicano Graphics, 1965 to Now
On November 19, 2020 the Smithsonian American Art Museum celebrate the opening of its landmark exhibition ¡Printing the Revolution! The Rise and Impact of Chicano Graphics, 1965 to Now, which unites historic civil rights era prints alongside works by contemporary graphic artists for the first time.
This video provides a dynamic walk-through of the exhibition.
¡Printing the Revolution! explores the rise of Chicano graphics within these early social movements and the ways in which Chicanx artists since then have advanced innovative printmaking practices attuned to social justice.
Curator E. Carmen Ramos and curatorial assistant, Claudia Zapata, discuss the exhibition’s objectives and themes.
November 19, 2020
Opening reception for ¡Printing the Revolution! featuring an exhibition overview by curator E. Carmen Ramos; a panel discussion between E. Carmen Ramos, Juan Fuentes, Ester Hernandez, Zeke Peña, and Claudia Zapata; excerpts from a conversation with donors Tomás Ybarra Frausto, Harriett and Ricardo Romo, Gil Cárdenas, Rosa Terrazas, and E. Carmen Ramos.
October 9, 2020
Prints and Politics: Print Study Day at the Met, in Collaboration with the IFPDA
Print Study Day is organized annually by the Department of Drawings and Prints at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, in association with the IFPDA.
Featuring:
Urgent Images: Chicanx Graphic Arts, 1965-Now
E. Carmen Ramos, Acting Chief Curator and Curator of Latinx Art; and Claudia Zapata, Curatorial Assistant of Latinx Art at the Smithsonian American Art Museum
The term “digital courage” in a museum context refers to a practice of equality that is linked to the idea of small steps and decisions that are person-centred, values-led and context-based.
Sophie was joined by members of the museum community in both the UK and the US to discuss how they are practising courage through their use of digital technology in pandemic times.
This session was staged like a live radio broadcast and the second of three exploring new keywords that have emerged during 2020. It saw the launch of People. Change. Museums., a six-part podcast series which takes a snapshot of current attitudes and practices in museum technology, acting as a platform for the lived experiences of museums and museum workers in this period of change and uncertainty.
The session was chaired by Sophie Frost, Research Associate, One by One, University of Leicester. Speakers included Steven Franklin, Digital Engagement Officer, Egham Museum; Claudia Zapata, Curatorial Assistant (Latinx Art), Smithsonian American Art Museum; and Jack Yates, Communications Officer, Royal Armouries.
Join La Trienal curators in conversation with artist Michael Menchaca and Claudia Zapata, Curatorial Assistant at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, for the launch of the online artist’s project, “The Wall.” Together they will discuss issues related to the border wall crisis through the lens of video art, gaming, and Chicanx aesthetics. This event marks the fifth online artist’s project commissioned as part of ESTAMOS BIEN – LA TRIENAL 20/21.
Moderator: Jennifer Stayton, Schreiner University
Panelists: Jonathan Coopersmith, Texas A&M University; Jason Helms, Texas Christian University: Claudia Zapata, Southern Methodist University
I presented my paper “Keywords American, Art, Museum: Our America: The Latino Presence in American Art .“ In this panel, I discussed the Our America: The Latino Presence in American Art (October 25, 2013 – March 2, 2014) YouTube video keywords, “American, Art, Museum, Smithsonian American Art Museum (Museum), Latino Art, Contemporary Art (Art Period/Movement).”
September 21-23, 2017
University of North Texas
Published on Jul 19, 2016
artsincontext.org | purochingoncollective.com
"The Puro Chingón Collective is a Latinx art trifecta specializing in happenings, the activation of nontraditional spaces, designer toys, and art zines. Collective members are three Austin, Latino artists: Claudia Aparicio-Gamundi, James Huizar, and Claudia Zapata. By breaking with tradition, Puro Chingon Collective provides an experience, and happenings, not just art."
As part of the Puro Chingon Collective LLC, Claudia Aparicio-Gamundi, James Huizar, and I held a release party for the fourth ChingoZine and the debut of the Chingolandia toy line. This event was part of the Fusebox Festival in Austin, Texas.
As part of the Puro Chingon Collective LLC, Claudia Aparicio-Gamundi, James Huizar, and I designed the Pachanga Latino Music Festival festival grounds, graphics and brand design.
Interviews with Mexic-Arte Museum director, Sylvia Orozco, and curator, Claudia Zapata, about the Masked: Changing Identities exhibition at Mexic-Arte Museum in Austin, Texas. This exhibition showcased over two hundred Mexican dance and popular masks from the museum’s permanent collection.
Artists Scherezade García and Sonia Romero with Claudia E. Zapata, curatorial assistant of ¡Printing the Revolution!, in a panel discussion moderated by Mary Coffey, professor of art history, Dartmouth. Panelists speak to how Chicanx artists have forged a remarkable path within printmaking history and helped to advance innovative printmaking practices that are attuned to social justice.