El Coyote, from Al Norte y Patras Series
22''x30'' Linoleum print on stonehenge, black ink
by Alvaro D. Marquez
The Self Help Graphics and Art center in East LA held their annual printmaking sale in which I came across a series of prints depicting common situations experienced by undocumented laborers. The artist, Alvaro D. Marquez drew his inspiration from his childhood. Marquez grew up in Salinas, California in a community of immigrant farm and working class laborers. Marquez was exposed to many social issues and racism throughout his childhood that most first generation children face which ultimately served as an inspiration in his artwork. The artist is inspired by comics and story telling and is very evident in his dynamic prints.
Out of the 12 prints in his Al Norte y Patras series, El Coyote was one of the more animated prints that I enjoyed looking at. The name Al Norte y Patras translates to "to the north and back". The print depicts a man paying a coyote money. This is humorous to me because obviously El Coyote is a colloquial term for people that smuggle migrants to the U.S.for a fee. Marquez decided to use the image of an actual coyote for the sake of story telling. Although the print is in black and white, the artist was successful at utilizing his space with different types of details and seeming textures. I love the simplicity of the image and the artist usage of caricatures which ultimately does a great job at bringing about the artists personality.
Janeth Briceno, 12/08/19
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