"In times of crisis, printmaking in particular has been an outlet for artists, serving as both a form of therapy and a powerful tool for critique and dissent. The IFPDA Print Fair brings 80 exhibitors and centuries of dissent, from Francisco Goya to Kara Walker, answering in the affirmative the question, 'Do bad times really inspire great art?'"
"Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes series The Disasters of War (circa 1810-20) depicts the atrocities of the Peninsular War with an unflinching eye. In the etching 'No hay que dar voces (It's No Use Crying Out),' we are trapped in a cycle of violence and despair. The prints remained unpublished for 35 years after Goya's death, to avoid retribution under the absolutist regime of King Ferdinand VII."
"Kara Walker has said, 'The silhouette says a lot with very little information, but that's also what the stereotype does.' Walker's etching, 'Resurrection Story with Patrons' (2017), uses silhouette to reveal the queasy power dynamics and violent legacies of slavery and racial injustice."
The IFPDA Print Fair features over 80 exhibitors presenting printmaking spanning centuries, from Francisco Goya to Kara Walker, at Park Avenue Armory. Printmaking has historically served as both therapeutic outlet and powerful tool for critique and dissent during crises. Goya's Disasters of War series depicted Peninsular War atrocities with unflinching honesty, remaining unpublished for 35 years due to political danger. German Expressionist Conrad Felixmüller's 1921 cabaret lithograph captured post-WWI Germany's unraveling amid authoritarianism's rise. Kara Walker employs silhouette technique to expose power dynamics and violent legacies of slavery and racial injustice, demonstrating how minimal visual information conveys complex historical trauma and critique.
#printmaking-as-political-critique #art-and-social-dissent #historical-trauma-and-representation #ifpda-print-fair
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