Excellent Resource for Printed Works Published by Antonio Vanegas Arroyo

https://literaturaspopulares.org/ipm/w/Inicio/ENGExcellent This link will allow you to access Ibero-American popular prints, mainly from the 19th and early 20th centuries,from Mexico. It is a significant depository of works published by Antonio Vanegas Arroyo containing the images made by Jose Gudalupe Posada and Manuel Manilla.

EUROPE MEETS MESOAMERICA -- A CULTURE CLASH OF SKULLS AND LETTERS

A talk looking at the blending impact of European printed works with indigenous imagery in the worlds of art and letters, including some reflections on how Jose Guadalupe Posada together with his main editor, Antonio Vanegas Arroyo created an amazing body of influencial work. https://letterformarchive.org/shop/europe-meets-mesoamerica-a-culture-clash-of-skulls-and-letters/ Watch talk on VIMEO: https://vimeo.com/1045555379

Jose Guadalupe Posada: Legendary Printmaker of Mexico Exhibition

Catalina Island Museum exhibition open from Dec. 23, 2017 to April 8, 2018.

Mexican Art comes to Catalina Island for the first time in this exhibition celebrating Mexico’s most prolific artist. José Guadalupe Posada’s images captured all aspects of daily life in Mexico City from 1889-1913, directly influenced artist like Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, shaped the Mexican identity and continue to inform contemporary image making today. A wide representation of Posada’s work, including his famous Day of the Dead calaveras and the artist’s original printing plates, make up this first-of-its-kind exhibition. 

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The exhibition will feature text in English and Spanish.

Posada Ilustrates Pancho Villa and Firing Squad

Posada sometimes used photographs as templates to create his illustrations. This allowed him a greater degree of control over the image. He could emphasize certain elements and also make the image more generic so it might be used over for a variety of stories that Vanegas Arroyo published. It also allowed his publisher the flexibility to see what news was current and then rehash it with its own artwork. In this example Pancho Villa is facing a firing squad. The image above left is from a halfsheet broadside published by Antonio Vanegas Arroyo. The image below is from the archives of the Hemeroteca Nacional in Mexico City, it is dated 1912, from the year before Posada's death. Note how efficiently Posada uses the space setting the image up in a way that draws the eye to Pancho Villa. In the photo there is a large amount of "useless" empty space to Villa's left.

 

 

Filming on Location in Mexico

Documentary director, Victor Mancilla, is seen here checking the scene for our recreation of Posada's workshop. Note the printing plates and trays of lead type on the left. Still used today as the they were over one hundred years ago in the time of Posada.

Happy Birthday to La Catrina (1912-2013), Jose Guadalupe Posada's Most Famous Calavera

Perhaps the most famous image that Posada created seen here is known today as La Calavera Catrina, which is the feminine of the Catrin or male dandy. The current year of 2012 marks the 100th anniversary of her first appearance in the publications of Antonio Vanegas Arroyo. Posada never illustrated her in any form other than as she appears here. As far as we know she appeared first in November of 1912, a mere three months before Posada died in January of 1913. But the popular image has since been portrayed countless times in full length. This credit perhaps goes to Diego Rivera who created a full-length version La Catrina in honor of Posada in his mural at the Hotel del Prado in Mexico City.

Jose Guadalupe Posada and Sensational Press Images

"Very Interesting News" reads the 1910 headline about the sensational story of Antonio Sanchez who goes berserk with an axe killing his parents, wife and infant son. He then eats his son! The image communicates the horror of the event in no uncertain terms. If Sanchez did devour his son, any question of what it might have looked like is resolved with this image. Although it is unsigned it was likely drawn by Posada and certainly approved by Antonio Vanegas Arroyo. We believe it serves as an excellent example of Vanegas Arroyo's sensational practices and also indicative of the collaborative nature of their relationship. Who directed the body parts with bodies strewn about, the bulging eyes and mad look of Sanchez? Then there is the baby being eaten, not chopped up into bits but eaten whole, perhaps while alive! The shear grotesque look and terror of the image helps to reinforce the moralistic aspects of the story line, which ultimately is warning the reader not to gamble. Sanchez loses all he has gambling and when his father refuses to pay his debt, the tragedy ensues. Eventually Sanchez is apprehended, tried, convicted and put to death. His body is then destroyed by natural elements. It seems justice must be served. Posada throws in some diablitios "little devils" perhaps to show how the devil is around to lead us astray. There are many examples of such sensational images in Posada and Vanegas Arroyo's collaborative work. In Posada's day images could be constructed to portray events or emphasize certain points. Now days we have color photographs and film, digital and immediate appearing via Internet or satellite broadcast but the fundamental sensational elements used by Vanegas Arroyo and Posada are the same that we use today.

Arsacio Vanegas Arroyo Honored in Mexico City: Part of the Legacy of Antonio Vanegas Arroyo and JG Posada

In this poster from left to right are Arsacio Vanegas Arroyo, Maria Antonia Medrano and young Fidel Castro Ruz.  The legacy of Antonio Vanegas Arroyo and JG Posada is demonstrated here by answering the question whether Arsacio would have been in a position to help the Cuban Revolution if his grandfather and Posada had not had such a successful collaboration? We will explore this concept in the documentary.