Saturday, March 24, 2018

Print Talk at the Rubin Center in El Paso

On March 29th, 2018, Manuel Guerra and Krrrl gave a noon time talk at the Rubin Center, of UTEP (University of Texas at El Paso)  --"Prints: Breaking Out of the Time Zone."  Manuel Guerra is a lecturer at UTEP.

at UTEP 


Manuel Guerra talking to the students at noon


After the talk

Catalogs on the table at the talk


Manuel Guerra giving his printmaking class,
after the talk









Screen capture of the Rubin Center's Facebook page,
of posting about the talk



OUTLINE

The below is an outline, which was loosely followed during the talk at the Rubin Center.


WHAT

  • PRINTS TRAVEL EASILY  -- and therefore are a great way for an artist to break out of his local bubble.  Too hard to move painting and sculpture.
  • Next stop, the Desert Triangle shows in Riverside, California and Miami, breaking into 2 more time zones --Pacific and Eastern.  It's happening!

HOW

  • This started at Chalk the Block in 2013, showing prints from Tucson (and El Paso) -- as YayBig Southwest.
  •  Then that collection traveled through pop-up exhibitions in the Southwest (Albuquerque, Phoenix, Las Cruces, San Antonio), and snowballed, picking up more prints along the way.
  • 2 venues at that Chalk the Block (2014) -- the Print Exchanges show and the Maintain Collective exhibition -- joined forces and conceived of the Desert Triangle Print CarpetaThat effort lead to an exhibition at the El Paso Museum of Art in 2016.

WHY


  • Because El Paso has talent!
  •  Moreover, the talent in El Paso is not second to that in Austin, Dallas or Houston (in my opinion).  However, because El Paso is so far removed from the rest of the state, they have to try a bit harder to get attention.  Prints can lead as the van guard.

THE EL PASO ADVANTAGE

  • Just hours away from Mexico City on a cheap flight.  Most UTEP students speak Spanish, and can navigate that culture.
  • 5/6 hours away from Tucson/Phoenix, Albuquerque/Santa Fe, and about 8 hours from Austin/San Antonio.
  • El Paso is not close to anywhere, but with a little effort, there is a huge access to everywhere.


BREAKING BORDERS


  • We have exhibited across borders as well as in different time zones
  • Before all of this, Manuel Guerra was rallying up El Paso artists to participate in an international print exchange between the US and Colombia -- Dialogos E Interpretaciones.
  • Fantasy of showing prints in China, or Asia.

WHAT NEXT?

  • Dry point face off with Oaxaca. 8 x 8 inch dry point works, to be shown in pop-up shows in both countries.
  • Print Wars across time zones?  Why not El Paso vs Austin printmakers?  Exchange a few prints in the mail, and have pop-up shows in both cities.  Post on Instagram.  Make it a 3-way and include Albuquerque.  El Paso has the muscle of Proper Print Shop behind them, having done a year's worth of Art en Vivo events.

Prints might not be the only way for an artist to get seen outside of El Paso, but they might be the easiest way.



OTHER TALKS

Francisco Delgado
Talk at Yale

The next day, March 30th, Desert Triangle artist Francisco Delgado did a talk at Yale, about the mural he painted there 16 years ago.




Francisco's Yale talk



Francisco said that he left some Desert Triangle Print Carpeta catalogs at the Yale Latino library and at the Yale print shop.


Zeke Peña Talk
at the El Paso Museum of Art

Zeke Peña and Isabel Quintero gave a talk at the El Paso Museum of Art on April 5, 2018, about the graphic novel they did together -- Photographic: The Life of Graciela Iturbide -- put out by Getty Publications.

Poster for the talk
at the El Paso Museum of Art


For sale in the bookstore
of the El Paso Museum of Art


Zeke Peña and Isabel Quintero
giving their talk 
about their graphic novel collaboration


A week after Manuel Guerra and Krrrl's talk at the Rubin Center, Antonio Castro and Ben Saenz gave a talk, on April 5th, 2018.

giving a noon time talk at the Rubin Center
on April 5th, 2018




Faculty Art Exhibition at UTEP

The Faculty Exhibition and other shows were up at the Rubin Center, where Manuel Guerra gave his talk.  Below is a sampling of some of the art displayed:












Siqueiros-Pollock 
Bi-National Painting Exhibition

Downstairs in the Rubin Center, was the Siqueiros-Pollock Bi-National Painting Exhibition, featuring some artists from the Desert Triangle -- Zeke Peña and Los Dos.






In the stairwell was an exhibition from Projectos Impala of Alejandro Morales, of Juarez.



New Murals
Downtown El Paso

Later that night (March 29th), during the Last Thursdays Gallery Crawl in downtown El Paso, Cimi Alvarado's Kalavera store celebrated their one year anniversary at the Roderick Artspace building.  In the back of that building, Cimi painted a huge mural of Abraham Chavez, former conductor of the El Paso Symphony Orchestra.


Cimi's new mural
on the Roderick Artspace building in downtown El Paso
of former conductor Abraham Chavez




Los Dos painted a new mural on the side of Cinco Puntos Press (701 Texas Street) that was featured on the cover of the  El Paso Times (March 24th -- see Instagram photo).  El Paso Times article here.  

The mural is of Oscar Acosta, friend of Hunter S Thompson.  He is featured recently in a PBS program -- The Rise and the Fall of the Brown Buffalo.

Los Dos mural
on the side of Cinco Puntos Press
near downtown El Paso

Los Dos just finished a mural on the side of Mexic-Arte, in Austin Texas, earlier this year.



El Paso Museum of Art

Also, the El Paso Museum of Art is currently showing -- Papel Chicano Dos: Works on Paper from the Collection of Cheech Marin.


"Soy Chicana"
in the Cheech Marin show at the El Paso Museum of Art


Rio Sangre Print Collective
Las Cruces

On First Friday, April 6th, the Rio Sangre Print Collective had a pop-up show during the monthly Las Cruces Art Ramble.



Anne Quinones
of Rio Sangre


Also visited Rick Rotante at the Raven Art Studio, and Victor Whitmill of the Blue Ant Gallery during the Art Ramble.