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Catalog Data

Artist:
Rupert García, born 29 Sep 1941  Search this
Sitter:
David Alfaro Siqueiros, 29 Dec 1896 - 6 Jan 1974  Search this
Medium:
Screenprint on paper
Dimensions:
Image (overall): 45.7 × 47.9 cm (18 × 18 7/8")
Sheet (overall): 50.5 × 55.9 cm (19 7/8 × 22")
Frame (overall): 64.3 × 69.4 × 5.1 cm (25 5/16 × 27 5/16 × 2")
Type:
Print
Date:
1974
Exhibition Label:
Born Mexico City, Mexico
A key figure in the Mexican mural movement that began in the 1920s, David Alfaro Siqueiros believed in the power of public art to inspire revolutionary change. Witnessing the struggles of Mexican peasant laborers only strengthened his Marxist ideology, and he grew interested in technology’s potential to create a better world. Siqueiros, who used modern tools, such as airbrushes, often expressed his views through public murals that reinterpreted Mexican folk imagery in an avant-garde style.
In the 1930s, Siqueiros shifted most of his activities to the United States. He led a team of artists who created politically themed public murals in Los Angeles and taught an “Experimental Workshop” in New York City that is credited with inspiring Jackson Pollock’s drip-and-pour painting technique. Siqueiros’s political activism and artistic experimentation continued through the Chicano art movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Rupert García, who created this bold poster portrait, was a leader of that movement.
Rupert García (born 1941) Screenprint, 1974
Gift from the Trustees of the Corcoran Gallery of Art (Museum Purchase, Gift of Richard Rodriguez)
NPG.2019.80
David Alfaro Siqueiros 1896–1974
Nacido en Ciudad de México, México
Figura clave del movimiento muralista mexicano iniciado en la década de 1920, David Alfaro Siqueiros creía que el arte público podía inspirar cambios revolucionarios. La penuria de los campesinos no hizo sino reforzar su ideología marxista, y se interesó en el potencial de la tecnología para crear un mundo mejor. Empleando herramientas modernas tales como el aerógrafo, expresaba a menudo sus ideas en murales públicos donde reinterpretaba el imaginario folclórico mexicano en un estilo vanguardista.
En la década de 1930, Siqueiros trasladó gran parte de su actividad a Estados Unidos. Aquí encabezó un equipo de artistas que crearon murales públicos de tema político en Los Ángeles y dirigió un “Taller Experimental” en Nueva York que, según se afirma, inspiró a Jackson Pollock su técnica de chorrear pintura sobre el lienzo. El activismo político y la exploración artística de Siqueiros continuaron a través del movimiento de arte chicano entre los años sesenta y setenta. Uno de sus líderes, Rupert García, creó este impactante cartel-retrato.
Topic:
Poster  Search this
David Alfaro Siqueiros: Male  Search this
David Alfaro Siqueiros: Visual Arts\Artist\Painter  Search this
David Alfaro Siqueiros: Visual Arts\Artist\Painter\Muralist  Search this
David Alfaro Siqueiros: Society and Social Change\Reformer\Activist\Political activist  Search this
Portrait  Search this
Credit Line:
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift from the Trustees of the Corcoran Gallery of Art (Museum Purchase, Gift of Richard Rodriguez) The Corcoran Gallery of Art, one of the country’s first private museums, was established in 1869 to promote art and American genius. In 2014 the Works from the Corcoran Collection were distributed to institutions in Washington, D.C.
Object number:
NPG.2019.80
Restrictions & Rights:
Usage conditions apply
Copyright:
© Rupert García
See more items in:
National Portrait Gallery Collection
Location:
Currently not on view
Data Source:
National Portrait Gallery
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm4fc6efa1b-0656-47a6-95fc-abe73911b0ec
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:npg_NPG.2019.80