Tag: printmaking

Postcard from Norfolk, Virginia: ‘Nobodies’ somebodies at the Chrysler

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Above: One of Colectivo Subterraneos’ “Nobodies” on exhibit at the Chrysler Museum of Art through May 11.

Oaxaca has emerged as a global hub for contemporary printmaking, fueled by the medium’s rich history in Mexico and the city’s vibrant artistic heritage. Internationally renowned Oaxacan artists, most notably Rufino Tamayo and Francisco Toledo, invested heavily in developing their native city’s cultural infrastructure. Building on this foundation, numerous printmaking workshops now thrive in Oaxaca, fostering an environment of experimentation and collaboration.”

Curator’s notes, “Oaxaca Central: Contemporary Mexican Printmaking”

Unless you are new to my blog, you know I wander streets far and wide prowling for street art. I’ve been pursuing Colectivo Subterraneos‘ “Nobodies” around corners in Oaxaca, Mexico, during numerous visits over the past few years.

When I went back to the land where I grew up, Virginia Beach, to visit my sister and her husband in early March, I was surprised to encounter a fresh crop of migrating “Nadies” peopling gallery walls in Norfolk’s Chrysler Museum of Art as part of “Oaxaca Central: Contemporary Mexican Printmaking.”

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Postcard from Oaxaca, Mexico: Always welcome more candles on your cake

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This woman’s anxious expression on a wall in Oaxaca is a bit frightening to have surfaced close to my birthday. I’ve decided to consider her as successfully defiant.

Some years are harder than others. The image below of the late Vicente Fernandez did not weather well this past year.

But walls in Oaxaca are everchanging canvases for artists, new discoveries encountered with every walk. As prints peel and fade, other layers soon are plastered over them – palimpsests of life.

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Postcard from Oaxaca, Mexico: How many stamps does it take to mail a Beetle?

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“Vocho Mufi,” 1993 Volkswagen Beetle covered with postage stamps, 1999

I know, I know. Visiting a stamp museum seems about the nerdiest, most boring thing to do, but exhibits at the Museo de Filatelia de Oaxaca are truly interesting. The museum doesn’t simply display stamps, it exhibits postage art. And there are a surprising number of imaginative artists who work in this medium, naturally including postcards sometimes.

Take the Volkswagen Beetle above. Not withstanding that all vintage Beetles are cool to begin with, weaving a complex design based on the distinctive needlework of regions of the state of Oaxaca found in the collection of Museo Textil de Oaxaca into this collage of 50,000 stamps stuck on a Bug? That’s pretty impressive and should certainly be enough postage to mail a Beetle almost anywhere.

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