postcard design by favianna

Artist Statement

I was schooled in East Oakland by Chicano political poster artists at a very young age. The free neighborhood art classes of the 80's were a great opportunity that allowed me to learn alongside established third world artists. It is through this training that I became a community poster artist.

I make posters. My art pieces reflect national and international grassroots struggles, and tell a history of social justice through graphics. I am inspired and informed by the stylistic and radical impact of Chicano painters and printmakers. Like the "old-school" artists, my work reflects a growing national consciousness that speaks to the contemporary urban barrios, rebelling against racism, homophobia, sexism and corporate irresponsibility. There has never been a movement for social change without the arts ­ posters in particular ­ being central to that movement. All art is political, but not all art is overtly political. Protest posters flaunt their politics and court discussion. They can deepen compassion and commitment, ignite outrage, elicit laughter, and provoke action. The power of the poster is that it is produced in multiples, and therefore can be easily distributed for all to see.

As a native of Oakland, the home of the Black Panther Party, my work is focused in this community. I am a core member of the EastSide Arts Alliance, a third world artist collective that supports and challenges all its members to think critically about revolution and be accountable to the grassroots. Through the alliance I am also a teacher, and have learned the importance of regeneration, that is, to pass on our skills to the next generation of cultural workers. Our role as revolutionary artists is to define and create a revolutionary culture. To make revolution irresistible! Our role is to undermine the deeply-embedded sickness of this country, to subvert this repressive culture and to build something transformative.

Now more than ever, our protest culture is being coopted by the mainstream. Counter-culture is in style! But the requirement of study, political debate and practice is absent. We the artists of the people have a responsibility to expose our truths so that we don't become maintainers of this corrupt sytem. In this age of extreme capitalism, we are surrounded by corporate media that influence our decisions about everything we wear, everything we eat, and everything we buy. We are constantly fed messages to be consumers. I am not in the business of crass commercial advertisement. I am in the business of education and liberation. My subjects are Black, Latino, Asian and Native communities that have been ignored and smashed by this government.

It is in this spirit that I has created artwork: to translate the messages of the frontlines into works of art that can be used to educate and mobilize. I am part of a long tradition of political artists who have used their art to dismantle and expose this fascistic culture. I send a shot out to Rini Templeton, Malaquias Montoya, Victor Jara, Emory Douglas, Paul Robenson, Juan Fuentes, Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, Ester Hernandez, Rene Mederos, and Rupert Garcia ­ political artists that inspired and informed my work and set the stage for political graphics in the 20th century.