Graphic art at the service of social protest

Madrid, 22 Mar The Reina Sofía Museum in Madrid dives into a forgotten chapter of art history: the role of graphic art as a tool for social vindication in Germany and Mexico in the first half of the 20th century with “From Posada to Isotype, from Kollwitz to Catlett”, a large exhibition made up of half a thousand works. “It is a unique exhibition, reflecting a forgotten episode of art history that has not been sufficiently studied and which is very important for the museum,” explains Manuel Borja-Villel, director of the museum. “From Posada to Isotype, from Kollwitz to Catlett”, which can be seen until August 29, is made up of half a thousand works of various techniques: woodcuts, lithographs, drypoint, linoleum and many other formats, from large collections such as MOMA, the Met, the Art Institute of Chicago, the US Library of Congress or the Center Pompidou. This is the first of two exhibitions on graphic art that the Reina Sofía Museum is preparing for its programming this year. The exhibition is signed by critic Benjamin Buchloh and Michelle Harewood, two internationally renowned curators. The exhibition is the result of lengthy research that began with a Buchloh seminar at Harvard University. He proposed it to several German museums until Reina Sofía accepted it. “They didn't understand it, it's not an easy project,” says the curator today during the presentation of the exhibition. “From Posada to Isotype, from Kollwitz to Catlett” is an academic research exhibition, on which the idea of how an “old-fashioned medium”, such as engraving and other manual graphic arts, can represent popular culture over “more modern media,” Buchloh says. INN AND KOLLWITZ, TWO REFERENCES The exhibition dates back to the figures of the Mexican José Guadalupe Posada (1852-1913) and the German Käthe Kollwitz (1867-1945). He was an artist with many facets and overwhelming personality, “Warhol type”, who made scathing political caricatures very popular in his time, especially of skulls; while she, of more refined technique, and inspired by the great masters, denounces the problems of Germany of her time. De Kollwitz's exhibition includes beautiful and evocative prints of self-portraits, and you can also see “The Revolt of the Weavers” and “The War of the Peasants”. Both engravers, despite different themes and miles apart, influenced entire generations of later artists equally. GERMAN EXPRESSIONISM AND TGP The German engraving reflected the impact of World War I and its traumas. Max Beckmann (1884-1950), Otto Dix (1891-1969) and George Grosz, all painters, reflect in their pieces the militaristic rise and revanchism of the right wing in the country. Meanwhile, in Mexico, the Popular Graphic Workshop (TGP) emerges as one of the most successful projects in the history of graphic art at the service of social protests, which supported causes such as the nationalization of mines, land rights for indigenous peoples and the fight against fascism Raul Anguiano, Luis Arena, Pablo O'Higgins, Ángel Bracho or Alfredo Zalce and Leopoldo Mendez were its founders. The latter was the most prominent member of the workshop, strongly inspired by the legacy of José Guadalupe Posada. Many European artists took refuge in the TGP during the rise of fascism in Europe, but also American artists such as Elizabeth Catlett, an African-American tape recorder, with an interesting legacy, in which you can see “I am the Black Woman”, based on popular prints and photographs of African-American heroines. The pieces of the American tape recorder are among the most interesting parts of the tour. The exhibition concludes with an extensive graphic documentation of the Isotype Project, which began after the IGM and which escapes realism to embrace new codes that its promoters called “figurative constructivism”. The project was internationally recognized for formulating universally understandable signs. By Celia Sierra.