The collective printmaking workshop, Taller de Gráfica Popular (TGP), was founded in 1937 by Leopoldo Méndez, Pablo O’Higgins, and Luis Arenal. During the progressive era of post-revolutionary Mexico, TGP quickly grew into Mexico’s foremost political printshop. It was a vibrant collective of both established and emerging artists who were committed to the direct use of visual art in the service of social change.
TGP printed posters and broadsides in support of unions and agricultural workers; endorsed movements for social justice; and condemned fascism. In the tradition of José Guadalupe Posada, they produced a constant stream of handbills and fliers using witty corridos (topical songs) and satirical calaveras (skeletons) to caricature politicians and corrupt officials.
The Graphic Arts collection is fortunate to have acquired a small group of posters and fliers by the TGP (http://diglib.princeton.edu). A selection will be exhibited from September 21, 2007 to February 10, 2008 in the Milberg Gallery for Graphic Arts.
To open the exhibition, the Friends of the Princeton University Library and the Program of Latin American Studies, are sponsoring a lecture at 3:00 on Sunday 7 October 2007. Mexican novelist, poet, and playwright Carmen Boullosa will give a talk entitled “The Struggle is on the Walls: Antecedents and Inheritors of the TGP,” followed by a reception in the gallery.
