Viewing page 17 of 20

This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.

FOREWORD

It is with great satisfaction that the Museum of Contemporary Hispanic Art presents to New York audiences the works of artists who have been instrumental in making the graphic arts a major force in the evolution of Latin American Art.

This is the first Latin American Graphic Arts Biennial for MoCHA, although the concept and the first three such exhibitions—in 1980, 1982 and 1984—were originated at the former Cayman Gallery where I served as Director for eight years from 1976. The idea for a Biennial resulted from my collaboration with Juan Bujan (then Artistic Director for the Gallery), who felt that the emergence of a strong tradition in the various techniques, use of materials, artistic modes of expression and the artists themselves all needed to be resented in a consistent and comprehensive manner to build a new audience in the United States for the graphic arts of Latin America.

This current Biennial reiterates and further validates those three smaller endeavors by expanding the exhibition's reach in addition to augmenting the number of artists participating and the countries represented. The purpose of the biennial is to provide wider exposure to printmakers, while showing the gamut of traditional as well as innovative use of techniques. Moreover, the exhibition serves to foster and promote the interest of a broad public in the Latin American graphic arts.

With these purposes in mind, the Biennial exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Hispanic Art sought to show the works of very well established printmakers and also some emerging talents that are continuing the tradition. Along with the central exhibition at MoCHA, the museum organized various satellite exhibits to afford a wider audience the opportunity to view different thematic shows that illustrate the full range of this movement. 

Hostos Community College in the Bronx featured Master Printmakers from Latin America which highlighted well-known Hispanic graphic artists. Women Printmakers from Latin America at Arch Gallery in lower Manhattan focused attention on the variety and depth of experience that women artists have in this medium. The Borough of Manhattan Community College exhibited the work of over a dozen talented emerging printmakers, and the Oller-Campeche Gallery at the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico in Manhattan hosted a selection of recent works by Puerto Rican artists.

The development and success of this rich artistic expression around the world, particularly in Latin America, is a phenomenon that has brought much controversy. First, there is the question of whether prints should be considered a fine arts expression or continue to be a craft; second, the bloom of artists who have chosen the various printmaking techniques over those of painting and sculpture; and lastly, there are those who attribute the movement to economic reasons rather than artistic concerns

To address these issues, albeit in a modest way, we have included two essays herein. These are: an excerpt from the Introductory Essay by Marta Traba, published in Selections from the Permanent Collection of the Museum of Modern Art of Latin America, and an essay written by Luis Camnitzer- a scholar, teacher, writer, artist and printmaker- to serve as the introduction to this Biennial catalog.

By presenting different viewpoints as to the reasons for the flourishing of this artistic phenomenon, these two highly controversial figures have offered this exhibition a foundation for discernment and discussion on the theme. Both written pieces are informative and provide the reader with an historical context. Moreover, they raise additional questions for us to think about and they invite us to look more closely into the importance of this medium in Latin American art today.

MoCHA has established with this Biennial several prizes to be awarded to selected artists whose works display mastery of techniques, excellence in execution and high elements of innovation. The award winners will be chosen by a group of jurors who bring expertise, knowledge and many years of experience in the field: Sylvan Cole, Director of the Sylvan Cole Gallery in New York City; Ofelia Garcia, President, The Atlanta College of Art, Atlanta, GA; Andrew Stasik, Gallery Director of the Silvermine Guild Center for the Arts, New Canaan, CT; and Barry Walker Associate Curator, The Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY.

This exhibition was partially underwritten by a very special grant from the Museum Aid Program of the National Endowment for the Arts. Other valuable support was provided by Mackie & Damast Associates and all of the various colleges and institutions who aided in the endeavor.

We appreciate the valuable collaboration of the Museum of Modern Art of Latin America, Washington, DC; Centro de Arte Contemporaneo, Caracas, Venezuela; and Galeria Costa Azul and the Institute for Puerto Rican Culture, both in San Juan, Puerto Rico- all of whom assisted MoCHA in making this exhibition an event in New York. Finally, the Museum of Contemporary Hispanic Art is thankful to the numerous artists from throughout the United States, South and Central America and the Caribbean who accepted the invitation to the Biennial.

NILDA M. PERAZA

DIRECTOR
MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY HISPANIC ART

CURATOR, LATIN AMERICAN GRAPHIC ARTS BIENNIAL
1986

Transcription Notes:
presented, not resented