On July 27th we arrived in Uruapan, Michoacán, and visited the printmaking studio at MAPECO the next day.
14 PRINTMAKERS submitted from Uruapan (though some of those were from Morelia).
Mural in downtown Uruapan
TEAPA MAPECO
Taller de Grabado
From an earlier posting:
MAPECO printmakers in Uruapan, Michoacan, (l to r)
MAPECO printmakers in Uruapan, Michoacan, (l to r)
The printmaking department at MAPECO has been run since the 1970s by Samuel Diaz Gaona and Irma Reyes Almanza (both of whom participated in the Ambos Lados exchange).
meet Marco Sanchez and Manuel Guerra of El Paso
Marco Sanchez watches Samuel Diaz Gaona
Rafael Sosa with his print --
Karl (blogging) and Rafael were at the
Mission Cultural Center in San Francisco
in the early 1990s
P O R T F O L I O S
*EL PAPEL DEL CARTEL*
View selected prints for the portfolio "El Papel del Cartel" on two web pages: PART 1 and PART 2
This print portfolio focused on preserving Lake Pátzcuaro, and was printed on paper made from the water lilies (water hyacinth) that grow on the lake.
*A 100 AÑOS DE LA MUERTE DE ZAPATA*
The printmaking studio of TEAPA MAPECO organized a wheat paste print exchange to commemorate the 100th year anniversary of the death of Emiliano Zapata. The artists made large prints on cheap paper, which were then to be pasted on the walls of the cities of the participating printmakers -- Uruapan, Guadalajara, Oaxaca, Morelia, Tepic, Arantepacua, and Cheran.
Especially noteworthy is that the prints were wheat pasted inside the Community House of Cheran, by invitation.
Cheran is a self-governing village in Michoacan, where the people kicked out the police, politicians and gangsters in 2011.
Angel Pahuamba is an artist from Cheran, whom we later met in Patzcuaro.
Previously we had seen some of the Zapata prints wheat pasted on the streets of Guadalajara.
*GRAFICAS CONTRA EL HORROR
DE LA VIOLENCIA,
EL OLVIDO Y LA DESESPERANZA*
View selected prints from "Graficas Contra el Horror de la Violencia, el Olvido y le Despesperanza" at THIS LINK.
*ACORDES DE LA VIDA
GUITARRAS GRAFICAS*
GUITARRAS GRAFICAS*
MAPECO participated in "Acordes de la Vida: Guitarras Graficas," a portfolio inspired by the Disney animated movie Coco. View selected prints from "Acordes de la Vida: Guitarras Graficas" at THIS LINK.
After participating in the "Acordes de la Vida" project shown in Chicago, the MAPECO printmaking studio became more interested in showing prints in more distant places. They saw the call-to-printmakers online for Ambos Lados, and also heard about this exchange through Tres Gatos Press ( run by Luis Xavier Moreno and Alejandra Mares in Ambos Lados) via Eunice Barajas.
***
MAPECO DRYPOINT TECHNIQUES
The MAPECO printmaking studio is very resourceful, and makes etchings using discarded materials -- in particular drypoint etching using aluminum cans and old milk cartons (Tetra Pak) containers.
Drypoint and shellac intaglio
using old aluminum cans
Old milk carton containers
can be used to make drypoint etchings
made some milk carton drypoint etchings
during their visit to MAPECO
Krrrl (Karl Whitaker) posted more photos and information about his milk carton drypoint on his blog.
***
Manuel Guerra holds up a print by Irma Reyes Almanza,
with Samuel Diaz Gaona standing over her
MAPECO
is named after Manuel Perez Coronado
a local printmaker who died in 1970
Many of the MAPECO printmakers came to Oaxaca for the Ambos Lados presenation at the IAGO, and then visited the Taller Grafica Libre in Zaachila afterwards.
Every print studio needs a cow in the back yard
We left Uruapan on July 29th.
