Papel Chicano: Works on Paper from the Collection of Cheech Marin

Papel Chicano W o r k s o n pa p e r from the collection of cheecH marin

Mesa contemporary arts at Mesa Arts Center

PAPEL CHICANO: Works on Paper from the Collection of Cheech Marin Exhibition Organized by Mesa Contemporary Arts in partnership with Cheech Marin Managed by Melissa Richardson Banks of CauseConnect Mesa Contemporary Arts - Mesa, Arizona September 14, 2007 through January 6, 2008 www.mesaartscenter.com MUZEO - Anaheim, California January 26 through April 27, 2008 www.muzeo.org

Catalog Publisher: La Mano Press – www.lamanopress.com Editor: Melissa Richardson Banks – www.causeconnect.net Graphic Design: Silvia Capistran and Artemio Rodriguez of La Mano Press Photography: Lefteris Photography – www.lefterisphoto.com Framing & Art Handling: Magda Audifred Made possible by

Copyright © 2007 by Cheech Marin Images of all artwork herein copyright © by the artists All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher and the copyright owners.

First U.S. Edition La Mano Press ISBN 0-9724735-5-6 Printed in Hong Kong Cover: Vincent Valdez, The Death of Wino (Grandpa Gabriel Santana), detail Back Cover: Margaret Garcia, La Jarocha, detail Pages 2 & 3: John Valadez, Couple in Downtown L.A., detail Page 6: Margaret Garcia, Red Dress by Moonlight, detail Page 9: Alex Rubio, San Jacinto Senior Scoota, detail Page 10: Roberto Gutierrez, East L.A. -Cesar Chavez Ave. & Lorena St., detail Page 94: Gaspar Enriquez, Ojos de Miel, detail

table of Contents

FOREWORD

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INTRODUCTION

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WORKS ON PAPER

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BIOGRAPHIES

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ARTWORK CHECKLIST

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

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5

FOREWORD

esa Contemporary Arts is pleased to have worked in partnership with Cheech Marin to present the exhibition, Papel Chicano: Works on Paper from the Collection OF Cheech Marin.

Unlike typical museum exhibitions that can take up to two years to curate and another year to produce a catalog, this experience has been a fantastic whirlwind of collaboration, travel, planning, and curating in a relatively short period of time.

Mesa Contemporary Arts (MCA) is part of Mesa Arts Center, the largest performing arts, visual arts and art education complex in Arizona. At MCA, we provide contemporary exhibitions and educational opportunities for artists and viewers alike. Located in the Phoenix metropolitan area with a population of nearly four million, and — like many areas of the country — a thriving and active Hispanic/ Latino population; presenting exhibitions that reflect and engage our multiethnic community is of great importance. While planning our third full exhibition season, my staff and I followed the mission to “seek only the best works in contemporary art” and curate exhibitions that are of great interest, thought-provoking, relevant and visually stunning. Taking all this into consideration, the search was on.

The idea to present an exhibition from Cheech’s collection began over a year ago (July 2006). At that time, Chicano Visions: American Painters on the Verge, an impressive exhibition of artworks—the majority of which were curated from Cheech’s collection, was traveling across the country. Chicano Visions was scheduled to end in the summer of 2007 prior to our availability for the exhibition in September 2007.

Six months later in January 2007, in the hopes of generating interest for a new exhibition specifically for MCA, I had the opportunity to meet Cheech during his visit to Phoenix as the keynote speaker for the Southwest Arts Conference. During our conversation, Cheech indicated his long-held desire to have an exhibition of pastels from his collection travel to selected venues throughout the Southwest.

Given the tight timeline (it would need to be developed in time to open in midSeptember), the possibility of the exhibition was left uncertain.

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FOREWORD

It wasn’t until April that I received the call that the exhibition was to come to fruition.

Arriving in Los Angeles to curate the exhibition, the scope of which was widened to include all works on paper, we met with Cheech to go through his collection.

One of the highlights of this experience was having him personally present artwork for consideration, each of which had a special story attached, either about the artist, the artwork, or where and when it was acquired.

After selecting the work, the race was on to photograph the art; contact the artists to invite their participation; transport the pieces from Los Angeles to Mesa; build crates for the exhibition to travel; design, print, and distribute this catalog; and finalize all the dozens of details associated with creating an exhibition.

While many of the artists in Papel Chicano draw from their life experiences and heritage for inspiration, ultimately the exhibition is a collection of exquisitely crafted, timely and relevant works of art.

I would like to thank Melissa Richardson Banks of CauseConnect for being our liaison with Cheech and for her tireless work to make sure this project came to fruition. Finally, I would like to thank Cheech Marin for his generosity with his collection, time and talent.

Patty Haberman Curator Mesa Contemporary Arts

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introduction

early every artist starts out drawing, usually when they should be doing something else. You can always tell the budding artist hunched over his desk at school, intently involved in something that the teacher presumes is geometry. Upon closer inspection, it is usually a picture of a car or a girl or a monster or a superhero. The urge to draw is at the bottom of all art and that urge never leaves the artist.

The ability to draw is the first thing that sets the artist apart from his or her peers.

It is what makes them special. They may not have been the most athletic or the best looking or the smartest in their class, but when they draw, they are at least the equals of anyone. The urge strikes them at all hours of the day and night, and they reach for the first piece of paper available. It is always paper that they reach for because it is cheap and ubiquitous. Paper is democratic--it is there for everyone.

It is the most common material; only original ideas are uncommon.

Chicano artists are unusually good drawers. I say this not out of ethnic pride (although there is some of that involved), but out of simple observation over many years. There seems to be some element of handcrafted art that is part of the Chicano artistic DNA.

What we present here in Papel Chicano is the product and application of Chicano identity, paper, and the urge to draw.

Cheech Marin June 3, 2007 Malibu, California

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WORKS ON PAPER

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Gaspar Enriquez, Ojos de Miel, 1995

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César Martínez, Purple Bato, 1993

CĂŠsar MartĂ­nez, Bato Con Camisa Amarilla, 1993

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CĂŠsar MartĂ­nez, La Copetona, 2001

Patssi Valdez, Small House on a Table, date unknown

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Patssi Valdez, Fenye’s House Entry, 2001

Patssi Valdez, Red Chair, 2001

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Eloy Torrez, Saving Angel, 1992

Eloy Torrez, Red Floor, 1990

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Leo Limรณn, Aztlรกn, 1995

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Leo Limรณn, Temptation, 1977

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Leo Limรณn, In the Light of Dark, 1993

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Roberto GutiĂŠrrez, East L.A.-First St. Bridge, 2003

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Roberto GutiĂŠrrez, East L.A.-Cesar Chavez Ave. & Lorena St., 2001

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Roberto GutiĂŠrrez,East L.A.-Hollenbeck Park, 2003

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Frank Romero, Johanna, 1991

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Frank Romero, Toni, 1990

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John Valadez, Pedro, 1982

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John Valadez, Couple in Downtown L.A., 1984

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Wayne Alaniz Healy, Study for Pre-Game Warm-Up#2, 2001

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Wayne Alaniz Healy, Study for Pre-Game Warm-Up#1, 2000

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Wayne Alaniz Healy, Study for Pre-Game Warm-Up#3, 2001

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Adรกn Hernรกndez, Apariciรณn, 2002

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Adรกn Hernรกndez, El Gato Negro, 1998

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RaĂşl Guerrero, Club Manhattan, 1989

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RaĂşl Guerrero, Coco Club-Tijuana, 1989

Margaret GarcĂ­a, Red Dress by Moonlight, 2004

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Margaret GarcĂ­a, La Jarocha, 2007

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Jesús “Chuy c/s” Rangel, Día de los Muertos, 1999

JosĂŠ Lozano, The Last Laugh, 1998

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José Lozano, Soy El Más Chingón, 1998

Alex Rubio, San Jacinto Senior Scoota, 2007

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Alex Rubio, The Backstabbers, 1998

Alex Rubio, Los Borrachos, 2001

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George Yepes, Amor Matizado, 1988

Vincent Valdez, The Death of Wino (Grandpa Gabriel Santana), 2002

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Vincent Valdez, Dog Fight, 2001

biographies

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GASPAR ENRÍQUEZ El Paso-born Gaspar Enríquez provides a significant voice for people of the communities along the U.S.-Mexico border. His series Una Página Más is a visual novel, complete with enduring images of the Mexican-American community from World War II to present day. It features people who have been a part of his life, directly or indirectly, over the years. Overall, the images reflect a lifestyle and an attitude dominant in the barrios, uniquely identifiable by dress, mannerism, and language (Calo) for which Ojos de Miel serves as an example.

In describing one of his works, Enríquez said, “one is born a Mexican-American, but one chooses

to be a Chicano.” Politically charged, the Chicano lifestyle has been passed from one generation to another, surviving wars, prisons, and strife.

Enríquez is a retired art teacher from Bowie High School in El Paso whose students often provided inspiration for his work. He has been included in numerous exhibitions, including the nationally touring Chicano Visions: American Painters on the Verge and CARA–Chicano Art: Resistance and Affirmation 1965-1985. Enríquez has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Texas at El Paso and a Master of Arts from the New Mexico State University.

He also studied art in Los Angeles. To request more information, contact genriq4709@sbcglobal.net.

MARGARET GARCÍA

Margaret García says her work “provides a look at my community through the presence of the individual.” Although she does not consider her portraits overtly political, over time, she has come to realize that their very specificity belies the stereotypes given to any one culture by the media.

Also known for her portrayals of sensual women of mixed race, her pastel La Jarocha features a young dancer about to perform the traditional Baile de las Brujas (Dance of the Witches) at Plaza de la Raza in East Los Angeles. This dance comes from the Afro-Mestizo culture of Veracruz and is often performed for Día de los Muertos (Day

of the Dead), an annual commemoration of those who have passed away. Dancers paint their faces as calaveras and wear beautiful white dresses.

As their feet rhythmically drum, they delicately balance votive candles on their heads.

García studied at California State University, Northridge; Los Angeles City College; and the University of Southern California where she attended the graduate program in fine arts. Her work has been exhibited in group shows throughout the United States and in Europe. García teaches and lectures extensively on art in different cultures.

To learn more, contact magpie-g@att.net and visit www.margaretgarciatheartist.com.

RAUL GUERRERO Raul Guerrero’s series of paintings and drawings entitled Aspectos de La Vida Nocturna en Tijuana, B.C. (1989-1991) was inspired by his youthful memories, experiences, and observations in the border town’s red-light district, an area commonly visited by Southern California teenagers in the 1960s, then considered a rite of passage. The series takes note of soon-to-be illegals, Indian men straight out of the Oaxacan mountains mixing it up with peroxide blonds, pickpockets looking for easy marks, velvet-draped entryways, prostitutes, johns, colorful surreal murals, ubiquitous taco vendors and all sorts of other images and personalities that

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make up the unique character of that zone.

Guerrero’s work has been exhibited in numerous group and solo shows presented worldwide in cities such as Santa Fe, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, New York City, Washington, D.C., Tokyo, Madrid and Ravenna, Italy. He was born in 1945 in Brawley, California, a small town located near Mexicali, Mexico, and studied at the Chouinard Art School (now California Institute of the Arts) in Los Angeles, California, where he obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1970. To learn more, visit www.raulguerrero.com.

ROBERTO GUTIÉRREZ Known as the chronicler of East Los Angeles— past and present, Roberto Gutiérrez uses striking imagery, mostly in black-and-white, but also in vivid colors. He was born in Los Angeles in 1943 as the youngest of nine children to a father who worked in the railroad yards and as a dishwasher. His family’s lack of resources stimulated his interest in simple and accessible things. He studied at Roosevelt High School and then went to the Philippines and Vietnam as a member of the United States Marines.

Because of the G.I. Bill, he was able to attend East Los Angeles College.

Gutiérrez’s work has been widely shown in galleries throughout the Southwest and extensively distributed through the medium of posters depicting el barrio and Los Angeles. His deepest source of satisfaction comes from the knowledge of who he is and what he has to offer the community—a vision of life with all its glorious hues. To request more information, contact eastlos.gutierrez@yahoo.com.

WAYNE ALANIZ HEALY A master draftsman known for his strong colors and depictions of urban Chicano life, Wayne Alaniz Healy first teamed up with fellow artist David Botello to paint a mural for their thirdgrade class. Years later, in 1975, the two formed East Los Streetscapers, the seminal Chicano muralist collective. In addition to cultivating their own solo artistic careers, they worked together to produce mostly murals until recently branching more into collaborative sculptural and multimedia work featuring artists, engineers, architects, and consultants. Healy states that his drawing skills keep him “grounded in the fundamentals” … [a place] “to return … after my adventures with paint, ceramics, sculpture, and even computer art.”

Over the years, Healy’s work has been shown in numerous solo and group exhibitions, locally, nationally, and internationally. In 2007, Healy had two solo shows in California: Plaza Gallery in Oxnard and Vincent Price Gallery at East Los Angeles College. He was also included in Pintores de Aztlán in Madrid, Spain, where he taught a workshop on Chicano murals at La Casa Encendida courtesy of Patricio Correia Gallery. He was a recipient of a prestigious C.O.L.A. grant from the City of Los Angeles in 2005. An aerospace engineer for over 23 years, he earned his Master of Fine Arts at California State University, Northridge in 1999. Healy was raised in East Los Angeles where he continues to live and work.

To learn more, visit www.eastlosstreetscapers.com.

ADÁN HERNÁNDEZ The son of migrant workers, Adán Hernández has lived in San Antonio, Texas since age 9. Actively painting more than three decades, his work has been exhibited in museums and galleries in the United States, Mexico, and Spain. Hernández’s art merges neo-expressionism with “Chicano noir”. His aesthetics evoke emotions of alienation, uncertainty, desperation, and loss, which dominate the Chicano experience. In describing his work, Hernández says, ‘‘the high drama and highly charged content in my work reflects the day-to-day epic struggle of life in the barrio. Here, the challenge to overcome

overwhelming adversity, which is celebrated in films, is a common occurrence.”

In 1991, his work caught the attention of film director Taylor Hackford (La Bamba, Devil’s Advocate), who signed him up to create more than 30 original paintings, drawings, and a mural, and to star in a cameo role for the 1993 epic barrio cultclassic, Blood In…Blood Out. In 2006, he published his first book, Los Vryosos: A Tale From the Varrio, which depicts the drama of life on the Westside. This graphic novel contains over 40 images of his original art. To learn more, visit www.adanhernandez.com.

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LEO LIMÓN Nicknamed the “L.A. River Catz” artist by former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan, Leo Limón is well known for his cat faces painted on the cement walls channeling the Los Angeles River. His work on paper primarily deals with the indigenous ideals of the corazón (heart) and incorporates many Aztec symbols.

Limón considers himself a cultural worker and an arts ambassador for East Los Angeles and the Chicano community. While still in high school, he was influenced by and involved with Los Four,

especially Carlos Almaraz. During his time with Self Help Graphics, a community-based visual arts center, Limón helped to develop the annual celebration of Día de los Muertos and the Atelier Printmaking Program. In addition, he helped to establish the Aztlan Cultural Arts Foundation, Inc., to pursue his commitment to youth in his community.

He has also worked with the MeChicano Art Center and the Centro de Arte Público. Limón was born and still resides in East Los Angeles. To request more information, contact mamacat428@aol.com.

JOSÉ LOZANO

Born in Los Angeles, José Lozano spent his early childhood in Juarez, Mexico. His work is fueled by what he calls his “cultural touchstones” acquired as a child in Mexico—things such as bad Mexican cinema, fotonovelas, wrestling, crime magazines, ghost stories, and musical genres such as rancheras, and boleros. His family moved to Los Angeles in 1967 where he attended Belvedere Elementary. With encouragement from various teachers, he began focusing on drawing and painting. As a graduate student at California State University, Fullerton, he began creating not-always-flattering depictions of his neighborhood residents in situations such as quinceañeras, weddings, demonstration parties,

and baby showers. He received his Master of Fine Arts in 1987.

Lozano’s images are humorous and sarcastic, yet removed from satire. His depictions of everyday Chicano men and woman are sharp and unvarnished. The viewer is left to ponder his or her own sympathy for the vulnerability for these people. There are no easy solutions found in his images, nor are there hostilities or indictments. His images conjure up what we think we know, yet on close inspection, the familiar becomes a foreign and contradictory terrain. To learn more, contact scorpio_squared@msn.com.

CÉSAR A. MARTÍNEZ

Based in San Antonio, César A. Martínez is usually recognized as a Chicano portraitist by others.

However, he states that he “paints characters, not actual persons.” While described often as portraits, his works are really more of composites of individuals he has known or seen in the barrio over the years.

Other sources are high school yearbooks, obituary photos, and other photographic visual material he has collected over the years.

Best known for his Batos and Pachucos series, Martínez’s work has been included in landmark exhibitions, including La Frontera/The Border: Art about the Mexican-U.S. Border Experience; CARA– Chicano Art: Resistance and Affirmation 19651985, Chicano Visions: American Painters on the 90

Verge, and Hispanic Art in the United States: Thirty Contemporary Painters and Sculptors. Among other major institutions, his art has been shown at the Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum, Chicago; Museo de Arte Moderno, Mexico City; San Antonio Museum of Art, San Antonio; and Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston.

Martínez also deals with other subject matter pertinent to Mexican-American issues of cultural identity in work such as his Mestizo series, South Texas series, and Sarape series, all of which are in varying mediums and modes that best express their respective themes. To learn more, contact guey44@yahoo.com.

JESUS “CHUY c/s” RANGEL Artist Jesus “Chuy c/s” Rangel’s body of work spans several styles, from elegant illustrations to large-scale murals to works that draw on his awardwinning background in graphic design. The youngest of five children, he began painting professionally at age 12 with a sign-painting company. While still in high school, he worked as a graphic designer for an advertising agency. Since then, he has worked as a freelance designer and photographer while continuing to paint, sculpt, and create.

Rangel has exhibited his work in museums and galleries throughout California and Europe,

including the Carnegie Art Museum in Oxnard, California, SPARC (Social and Public Art Resource Center) in Venice, California, and abroad in Scotland at the Glasgow Print Studio Gallery. As an artist of Self Help Graphics in East Los Angeles since 1995, he has produced numerous works, both in etchings and monoprints, which have enhanced his experience as a Chicano artist. Through his artistic and photographic works, he hopes that people of all cultures will gain a better understanding of his conceptual interpretations as he reflects on his Chicano heritage. To learn more,visit www.chuycs.com.

FRANK ROMERO Los Angeles native Frank Romero was one of the founders of Los Four, a 1970s Chicano art collective whose creative collaborations helped bring La Raza to the attention of the mainstream art community. Los Four’s historic 1974 exhibition at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) was the country’s first show of Chicano art at a major cultural institution.

Although he is well-known as one of the city’s foremost muralists, today Romero is primarily a studio artist who lives and works in Los Angeles

and France. He has shown extensively in the United States, Europe, and Japan, and his work has been featured in several notable exhibitions, including Chicano Visions: American Painters on the Verge, Hispanic Art in the United States: Thirty Contemporary Painters and Sculptors, and CARA— Chicano Art: Resistance and Affirmation 1965-1985.

The Smithsonian American Art Museum and LACMA are among the prestigious museums with his work in their permanent collections. To learn more, visit www.romerostudio.net.

ALEX RUBIO Alex Rubio’s inspiration and audience for his art is the community. At age 16, the energetic style of his imagery spray painted on walls in his housing project caught the eye of the director from the Community Cultural Arts Organization who recruited him as a youth instructor for their mural program. This launched his professional career and training in large-scale drawing and painting, mural composition, community outreach, and youth arts education.

As a community-based artist, Rubio spent over 18 years engaging others in muralismo, an art form known for its accessibility and its

contemporary relevance. In addition to murals, he instructed and coordinated community-based programs such as the Inmate Creative Arts Program at the Bexar County Detention Center, Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center, and San Anto Cultural Arts.

Now primarily a studio artist, Rubio documents the people, places, lifestyles, and neighborhoods of West Side San Antonio in his drawings and paintings. His use of iconic images seeks to preserve the cultural bond that connects and promotes intergenerational dialogue within and beyond Chicano communities. To learn more, contact rubio_alex@yahoo.com.

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ELOY TORREZ

Best known for his narrative style, Eloy Torrez is an artist, painter, muralist, and songwriter. Among his many murals in Southern California is the wellknown The Pope of Broadway, also referred to as the Anthony Quinn mural, in downtown Los Angeles.

Currently, he is completing a 50’ x 31’ mural at Hollywood High School in honor of alumni and actor John Ritter. His studio work has been exhibited in galleries and museums in the United States, Mexico, and Europe since 1978. Torrez was a recipient of a 2004 Fellowship for Visual Arts from the California Community Foundation, a 2004 Charlie Award for

his public art from the Hollywood Arts Council, and a 1995 Brody Arts Fund Award. As an art instructor, he has taught children, teens, and adults at Self Help Graphics, Covenant House, and several other nonprofits in Los Angeles. The HeArt Project in Los Angeles honored him in 2007 for his work in mentoring youth. Incorporating contemporary folk rhythms and melodies, he composes original music, sings, and plays guitar. His first CD is due this year. Born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Torrez lives and works in Los Angeles. To learn more, visit www.eloytorrez.com.

JOHN VALADEZ Los Angeles-born John Valadez was one of the founding members of the Public Arts Center in Highland Park, which was organized to provide studio space and access to cooperative mural projects. During the 1970s, Valadez often worked on murals with young people. He also created murals for the General Services Administration in El Paso, Texas and the Federal courthouse in Santa Ana, California.

In 1980, Valadez was included in a group exhibition, Espina, at LACE Gallery, Los Angeles, where his work was seen by an owner of the Victor Clothing Co. who commissioned him to paint a mural. A year and a half later, he completed The

Broadway Mural inside of the company’s 242 S. Broadway building, which remains one of the most extraordinary achievements to grow out of the mural movement. After that, he painted 28 portraits of Victor Clothing Co. employees, one of which is Pedro featured in Papel Chicano: Works on Paper from the Collection of Cheech Marin. Valadez has had several solo exhibitions in Los Angeles galleries, as well as in San Francisco and New York. Along with 25 other artists, he had works featured in the group exhibition, Chicano Visions: American Painters on the Verge, which broke national attendance records. To request more information, contact valadezjm@earthlink.net.

PATSSI VALDEZ Patssi Valdez began her artistic career in the 1970s as a Garfield High School student in East Los Angeles. She was the only female among the seminal, four-member Chicano art group ASCO (nausea in Spanish). ASCO expanded the definition of Chicano art beyond murals and posters by experimenting with a range of art forms, including street performance, photographic montage, pageantry, and conceptual art. She has also done set design for films and theater.

Key exhibitions include Pintores de Aztlán at

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La Casa Encendida in Madrid, Spain; Patssi Valdez: A Precarious Comfort at The Mexican Museum in San Francisco; Arte Latino: Treasures from the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C.; and A Not So Still Life at the San Jose Museum of Art. In 2005, Valdez received the prestigious Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute’s Latina of Excellence Award in the Cultural Arts. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Otis College of Art and Design and attended Parsons School of Design in New York. To learn more, visit www.patssivaldez.net.

VINCENT VALDEZ

Born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, Vincent Valdez first became exposed to fine art as a child through paintings by his late great-grandfather, José Maria Valdez, a realist painter from Spain. His first drawings were done on rolls of drafting vellum that his aircraft engineer father would bring home from work.

“I would unroll the paper throughout the house, room to room, and fill it up. In the end, I had drawings that were 20 feet long.” At age 10, he picked up his first brush and began painting murals.

Valdez attended Rhode Island School of Design where he completed his Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2000. Being far away from home significantly influenced the direction of his work. “Suddenly, there

were no tacos … no Tejano music … and it was cold.” Since then, Valdez’s work has been exhibited nationally and internationally in major solo and group exhibitions. In 2005, he was a recipient of a prestigious residency at Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Maine. His current projects include creating a dramatic wrap-around oil painting on a vintage truck for Ry Cooder’s Chavez Ravine project, chronicling the story of the vanished neighborhood, and playing trumpet with the musical group, Ollin. To learn more, visit www.vincentvaldezart.com.

GEORGE YEPES

Born in Tijuana, raised in East Los Angeles, and formed by poverty, gang violence, and womanizing, George Yepes moves beyond Chicano genre with work inspired by masterworks such as those of Diego Velázquez and Titian. Selftaught with a refined renaissance bent—ranging from religious iconography to erotica, Yepes brings a confidence and knowledge of his craft that calls to mind the great Mexican muralists. Imbued with a contemporary street sense, his paintings and murals combine the best of both worlds where bravado meets classical standards.

Starting in the late 1970s, Yepes earned his reputation as a prolific painter; at one time, he was an instrumental partner of East Los Streetscapers until he decided group painting wasn’t for him.

With grand scale and furious momentum, he has painted over 800,000 square feet of imagery onto the facades of everything from churches, hospitals, and freeway overpasses to album covers, including an award-winning one for Los Lobos, La Pistola y El Corazon. His 28 murals are landmarks in Los Angeles as are the 21 murals painted by youth from his Academia de Arte Yepes, which has taught nearly 1,500 low-income students over the last decade. His mural painting concepts and designs continue to be studied by graduate students and scholars across the United States. Yepes’ easel works are collected widely, ranging from celebrities such as Sean Penn, Robert Rodriguez, and Cheech Marin to Catholic churches in East Los Angeles and municipalities nationwide. To learn more, visit www.georgeyepes.com.

cheech marin Primarily known as an actor, director, and performer, Cheech Marin has developed the finest private collection of Chicano art in this country.

Much of it formed the traveling exhibition Chicano Visions: American Painters on the Verge, which broke attendance records at major art museums during its national tour in 2001-2007. He states, “Chicano art is American art. My goal is to bring the term ‘Chicano’ to the forefront of the art world.”

A third-generation Mexican American, Cheech has received numerous awards for his work on behalf of Latinos, including the Imagen Foundation’s 2000 Creative Achievement Award and National Council of La Raza/Kraft Foods’ 1999 ALMA Community Service Award. In 2007, he

received an honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts for his contributions to the creative arts from Otis College of Art & Design in Los Angeles, and received the inaugural Legacy Award for Arts Advocacy from the Smithsonian Latino Center. He serves on the boards of the Smithsonian Latino Center and the Hispanic Scholarship Fund.

As an actor, Cheech is familiar to many as one-half of the hilarious duo Cheech and Chong.

He has appeared in more than 20 films and on numerous television programs. In 2005, he directed Latinologues, a Broadway production of comedic and poignant monologues revealing the Latino experience in America. To learn more, visit www. cheechmarinonline.com.

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Listed in order of appearance in this book, all artwork below is from the collection of Cheech Marin: Pg. 15 Enríquez, Gaspar. Ojos de Miel, 1995, acrylic on paper, 48.25” x 36.25” Pg. 16 Martínez, César. Purple Bato, 1993, watercolor, 26” x 22” Pg. 17 Martínez, César. Bato Con Camisa Amarilla, 1993, watercolor, 26” x 22” Pg. 19 Martínez, César. La Copetona, 2001, charcoal/pastel on paper, 33.5” x 25.75” Pg. 21 Valdez, Patssi. Small House on a Table, date unknown, gouache on paper, 19” x 16” Pg. 22 Valdez, Patssi. Fenye’s House Entry, 2001, gouache on paper, 31” x 25.5” Pg. 25 Valdez, Patssi. Red Chair, 2001, gouache on paper, 22.75” x 18.75” Pg. 26 Torrez, Eloy. Saving Angel, 1992, charcoal on paper, 67.25” x 49.25” Pg. 29 Torrez, Eloy. Red Floor, 1990, oil on paper, 57.5” x 37” Pg. 31 Limón, Leo. Aztlán, 1995, pastel on paper, 36” x 30” Pg. 32 Limón, Leo. Temptation, 1977, pastel on paper, 28” x 33” Pg. 34 Limón, Leo. In the Light of Dark, 1993, pastel on paper, 27” x 32.5” Pg. 36 Gutiérrez, Roberto. East L.A.-First St. Bridge, 2003, mixed media on paper, 25” x 31” Pg. 38 Gutiérrez, Roberto. East L.A.-Cesar Chávez Ave. & Lorena St., 2001, acrylic on paper, 32.5” x 48” Pg. 40 Gutiérrez, Roberto. East L.A.-Hollenbeck Park, 2003, mixed media on paper, 25” x 31” Pg. 42 Romero, Frank. Johanna, 1991, pastel on paper, 29” x 47” Pg. 45 Romero, Frank. Toni, 1990, pastel on paper, 27” x 34.5” Pg. 46 Valadez, John. Pedro, 1982, pastel on paper, 21.5” x 25.5” Pg. 48 Valadez, John. Couple in Downtown L.A., 1984, oil on paper, 25” x 26” Pg. 50 Healy, Wayne Alaniz. Study for Pre-Game Warm-Up #2, 2001, charcoal on paper, 26.25” x 32.25” Pg. 52 Healy, Wayne Alaniz. Study for Pre-Game Warm-Up #1, 2000, charcoal on paper, 29” x 36.5” Pg. 55 Healy, Wayne Alaniz. Study for Pre-Game Warm-Up #3, 2001, charcoal on paper, 26.5” x 32.25” Pg. 57 Hernández, Adán. Aparición, 2002, pastel on board, 42.5” x 34.5” Pg. 58 Hernández, Adán. El Gato Negro, 1998, pastel on paper, 52.5” x 44.25” Pg. 60 Guerrero, Raúl. Club Manhattan, 1989, pastel on paper, 21” x 25” Pg. 62 Guerrero, Raúl. Coco Club-Tijuana, 1989, mixed media on paper, 18.5” x 22” Pg. 64 García, Margaret. Red Dress by Moonlight, 2004, pastel on paper, 38.5” x 38.5” Pg. 66 García, Margaret. La Jarocha, 2007, pastel on paper, 42” x 24” Pg. 68 Rangel, Jesús “Chuy c/s.” Día de los Muertos, 1999, pastel on paper, 25.25” x 32” Pg. 70 Lozano, José. The Last Laugh, 1998, mixed media on paper, 15” x 12” Pg. 73 Lozano, José. Soy El Más Chingón, 1998, mixed media on paper, 15.5” x 12” Pg. 75 Rubio, Alex. San Jacinto Senior Scoota, 2007, graphite on paper, 42” x 42” Pg. 76 Rubio, Alex. The Backstabbers, 1998, acrylic on paper, 34” x 44” Pg. 79 Rubio, Alex. Los Borrachos, 2001, graphite on paper, 33” x 43” Pg. 81 Yepes, George. Amor Matizado, 1988, acrylic on paper, 44.5” x 32” Pg. 83 Valdez, Vincent. The Death of Wino, 2002, pastel on roofing paper, 82” x 57.25” Pg. 84 Valdez, Vincent. Dog Fight, 2001, ink on paper, 27” x 40.5”

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First and foremost, I want to thank Melissa Richardson Banks for accepting the challenge of producing this catalog and the exhibition on behalf of myself and Mesa Contemporary Arts. As with previous projects on which we’ve collaborated, on short notice, she miraculously assembled the team of professionals necessary to make it happen, coordinated the participation of artists and vendors (as well as numerous other tasks involved), and managed to get us all to the finish line quickly and successfully.

Special appreciation is extended to Patty Haberman at Mesa Contemporary Arts for sharing my interest in organizing this exhibition. Exhibiting works on paper from my collection has long been my desire, so I am grateful for her work to help make it happen.

Many thanks to all of the artists participating in Papel Chicano, both for creating such incredible art and for agreeing to let us share it all with the public. Muchas gracías also to Silvia Capistrán and Artemio Rodríguez for designing and publishing this beautiful book.

Finally, my love and thanks to Carmen, Joey, Jasmine, Max, and of course, Natasha.

Con amor y besos, Cheech Marin SPECIAL THANKS City of Mesa Keno Hawker, Mayor Claudia Walters, Vice-Mayor Mike Whalen Tom Rawles Kyle Jones Rex Griswold Scott Somers Chris Brady, City Manager Johann Zietsman, Arts and Cultural Director Mesa Arts Center Johann Zietsman, Executive Director Robert Schultz, Assistant Director, Arts and Education Randall Vogel, Assistant Director, Theaters and Operations

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Mesa Contemporary Arts Patty Haberman, Curator Tiffany Fairall, Associate Curator Carolyn Zarr, Registrar Michael Goodwin, Preparator Betty Florez, Administrative Assistant