 Estados Divididos By Chandler O'Leary and Jessica Spring Tacoma, Washington: Anagram Press / Springtide Press, 2017. Edition of 200. 10 x 18" single sheet. Broadside. Printed on an antique Vandercook Universal One press, onto archival 100% rag paper. Illustrated by Chandler O'Leary and printed by Jessica Spring. Signed by both artists. Chandler O'Leary & Jessica Spring: "This broadside depicts both the horrors being carried out in 2017 in America, and our hope for clearer skies ahead. The broadside’s two separate color schemes represent two worlds: Mexico and what Frida Kahlo called 'Gringolandia,' peace and war, heaven and hell, tolerance and bigotry, freedom and captivity, friend and foe. Like a flag—or a war zone—the two full-bleed color fields are sharply bifurcated by the border wall of white supremacy that has long since been erected in America. Yet if you follow Frida’s words and footprints, starting in the trouble below and heading upward, you’ll find a way through—a path across the divide. "This is our 26th broadside, created in opposition to racism, injustice, intolerance, and walls of hate. "At issue: Ongoing injustice and brutality inflicted upon Latino-Americans and immigrants (ICE raids, DACA repeal, border wall, deportations, Joe Arpaio’s tent cities, racism, etc.) "Significance of edition number: Frida Kahlo completed approximately 200 paintings in her lifetime. "A portion of our proceeds went to two different nonprofit organizations. One is Border Angels, a San Diego-based organization that provides free bilingual immigration services and consultations, as well as migrant and day-laborer aid and outreach—including border rescue stations and desert water drops. The other donation supports Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, a Seattle-Tacoma-based advocacy group that provides legal assistance to community members facing deportation. This is our second donation to NWIRP, acknowledging the very important and difficult work they tackle, especially in our hometown of Tacoma, at the Northwest Detention Center. " Dead Feminist blog, 10.17.17: "Estados Divididos is largely inspired by two of Frida’s paintings. The first is Self Portrait Along the Border Between Mexico and the United States, which she painted in 1932 in Detroit, while Diego [Rivera] worked on a mural commission there. … The other painting that inspired our broadside is What the Water Gave Me, painted in 1938. This is the first Frida Kahlo painting I (Chandler) ever saw—and it has, in a way, haunted me my entire life, even as my understanding of it has grown and changed as I’ve aged. This painting is largely known as Frida’s autobiography: scenes from her life, both joyful and painful, as well as symbolic figures are combined in a tableau reminiscent of an allegory by Hieronymus Bosch."
|