TGP artists were heirs to a dizzying array of both cultural riches and brutal conflicts, grounded in the legends of pre-Conquest Mexico, Father Miguel Hidalgo's initiation of the first revolution against Spanish control, Benito Juarez's later attempts at reform and the late 19th and early 20th century home-grown dictatorship of Porfirio Diaz. By , Mexico's revolutionary struggles crested with the overthrow of Diaz. The TGP founders came of age in the ongoing revolutionary atmosphere that demanded social justice and an end to war and poverty. Little wonder theirs was an exceptionally lively political graphic workshop. The turbulence of the 'second' Mexican Revolution of their times and Mexico's larger history is chronicled in their lithographs and linoleum blocks. Michael Ricker's essay is a good introduction to the development of the TGP in its historical and cultural context, with descriptions of the printed broadsides and posters volantes and carteles through which the TGP communicated its political and social commentary.
TGP Mexico: The Workshop for Popular Graphic Art, A Record of Twelve Years of Collective Work
Taller de Gráfica Popular - Wikipedia
Access to the full text of the entire article is only available to members of institutions that have purchased access. If you belong to such an institution, please log in or find out more about how to order. The TGP was founded in Mexico City in and although it is still in existence at present, it maintained its original form until the end of the s, which will be the period focused on here. The TGP was primarily a workshop for graphic art, and produced thousands of handmade prints and posters.
Orozco y TGP: Political printmaking after the Mexican Revolution
Part of a set. See all set records. Mexico, 20th century. Sheet: Gift of Elizabeth Snodgrass in memory of James Snodgrass
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. In , muralist David Alfaro Siqueiros launched an armed assault on the residence of exiled Russian Revolutionary Leon Trotsky , using the Taller's print shop as a headquarters and including some artists affiliated with the Taller in his squad. Artists from outside Mexico came to work and study at the Taller, including Mariana Yampolsky, the first woman member of the Taller, who arrived in and remained until , and Elizabeth Catlett, who worked with the Taller from -