The (TGP, ) is an artists' print collective founded in Mexico in 1937 by artists Leopoldo Méndez, Pablo O'Higgins, and Luis Arenal. The collective was primarily concerned with using art to advance revolutionary social causes. The print shop became a base of political activity and abundant artistic output, and attracted many foreign artists as collaborators.
Foundation The workshop was founded in 1937 following the dissolution of the Liga de Escritores y Artistas Revolucionarios.
Initially called the , its founders built upon a rich tradition of printmaking in Mexico, particularly the legacy of José Guadalupe Posada and Manuel Manilla.
Under President Lázaro Cárdenas, the work of the supported the government's policies, including the nationalisation of oil.
In 1940, muralist David Alfaro Siqueiros launched an armed assault on the residence of exiled Russian Revolutionary Leon Trotsky, using the 's print shop as a headquarters and including some artists affiliated with the in his squad.
There was some collaboration between the TGP and the artists of the New Deal-era Works Progress Administration, including Rafael Tufiño.
Artists from outside Mexico came to work and study at the Taller, including Mariana Yampolsky, the first female member of the Taller, who arrived in 1945 and remained until 1960, and Elizabeth Catlett, who worked with the Taller from 1946 to 1966. Both took Mexican citizenship. During the Civil Rights Movement, Chicano and African American artists produced work at the Taller. The collective became an inspiration to many politically active leftist artists; for example, American expressionist painter Byron Randall went on to found similar artist collectives after becoming an associate member. See also Prignitz, Helga (1992). El Taller de Gráfica Popular en México 1937–1977. Mexico: Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes.
The TGP faced financial instability and had to relocate several times, but Jesús Álvarez Amaya kept it running until his death in 2010.
Work During its heyday, the specialized in linoleum prints and woodcuts. It produced posters, handbills, banners, and portfolio editions. The art supported causes such as anti-militarism, organized labor, and opposition to fascism.
The art was often made through the collaborative process, and the took the anti-commercial policy of not numbering prints, but it did sell prints and was the first political publishing workshop in Mexico to do so.
Under the brand , the TGP sold song lyrics, posters of heroes, Mexican culture, and Left movements worldwide. It also gave rise to a new generation of , the Mexican tradition of humorous poetry ridiculing politicians and other popular figures. The raised fist emerged as a graphic symbol of resistance and unity.
It is still working on art and social issues and is located at Dr. Manuel Villada 46, Colonia Doctores, Mexico City.
Decline
The TGP declined from the 1960s amid political repression, internal divisions, and shifting artistic priorities. In 1960, David Alfaro Siqueiros was arrested and accused of social dissolution. The (MLN), founded in 1961 with the backing of former president Cárdenas, introduced new political alignments that divided the membership. Artists including Francisco Mora, Xavier Guerrero, Elizabeth Catlett, Alberto Beltrán, and María Luisa Martín departed the collective.
Legacy The TGP's influence extended beyond Mexico, informing Chicano and African American printmaking in the United States in the 1960s and 1970s. Although collective projects and political posters became less frequent, the TGP continued producing , prints reflecting on political, social, and economic events. In the late 1990s, the government of the Mexican Federal District granted the collective a building under the direction of Alvarez Amaya. The TGP's model of collective political printmaking experienced renewal in 21st-century Oaxaca, where groups including ASARO, Colectivo Subterráneos, and Lapiztola employ relief printing and democratic assembly structures to address contemporary issues such as indigenous rights and state violence.
References Citations
Works cited
External links Walker, John. "Taller de Gráfica Popular". Glossary of Art, Architecture & Design since 1945, 3rd ed. Gráfica Mexicana, a searchable, sortable catalog of works from the Taller de Gráfica Popular, with more than 4,700 entries and 150 works of art