The instructor in Plastic Arts, Mario Guzmán, relates that after the magisterial conflict of 2006, graphic art was no longer the same, since it began to be an alternative for the people to make their feelings and way of thinking known through painting , murals and engravings.
For this reason, he created a group in which he shares his knowledge, whose main objective is to make visible the social problems that exist not only in the state, but also in the country.
Through the Community Artistic Workshop (TAC), Mario and other young people also interested in graphic art, have traveled to communities in Oaxaca to teach them this means of expression to be heard and made visible.
Mario Guzmán affirms that using graphic art as a means of expression is not something that was born recently, since José Guadalupe Posada, through graphics, reported and made known what was happening, since the level of illiteracy was very high, for what was communicated with images.
“The artists realized the role of graphics as a means of communication, whether in World War II, in the golden age or in the case of Oaxaca, from the 2006 conflict,” he says.
It highlights that being a flexible and inexpensive material, it has become a widely used instrument in rebellious art, which is why it indicates that graphic artists are those who communicate the feelings of the people, being the counterpart of the State.
“Sometimes, the media do not publicize the problems or criticisms so that society knows and that is why there are graphics, to show people’s feelings and the means to spread it are the streets; the graphics reflect the voice of the people and the people ”, he emphasizes.
The graphic artist details that a few months ago, together with 25 other young people, they visited different communities on the Costa Chica of Oaxaca, mainly of Afro-descendants, where they collected experiences and points of view that they reflected on the walls.
It highlights that they also made a series of graphics with the theme of the Mayan Train, as it underlines that “although governments talk about development, part of the history of Latin America, including Mexico, has to do with dispossession and how to alienate the peoples” .
Mario shares that many consider Oaxaca as the capital of graphics, since there are many workshops, since only in the Historic Center there are around 25 of these, but there are more in the different regions of the state.
Remember that before 2006, graphics were not taken into account, but after the magisterial conflict it was when the workshops began to open and with this the diffusion of their production began to grow more.
“2006 was a trigger for public interventions and in recent years they have begun to have more acceptance among the people and also with cultural and municipal authorities,” he says.
He points out that although there are two audiences: those who identify with the interventions and those who are bothered, have been more the first, who sometimes come to comment that the art they make is very beautiful and important, in addition to that they feel identified .
“Art is not exclusive to who can buy it, so it is important to take it to the streets because it is a right that the people have,” he highlights.
The Visual Arts instructor comments that within the TAC they have free workshops for all people who are interested in this form of communication and know techniques such as engraving, stenciling or screen printing.
There are workshops for children, young people, women and everyone who wants to express themselves in this way, which can be express, mainly for tourists, or for several days, even months.
“We are currently giving a mural painting workshop in which 25 young people are enrolled and this has been going on for more than a year. There are long workshops because they require greater specialization, there are graphic workshops that don’t need that “, he details.