Honoring Elizabeth Catlett
Posted April 15, 2012 by bec_young in Firebrands
Happy Birthday to Elizabeth Catlett, who would have turned 97 today. Catlett is an inspiration to many in the Justseeds crew for her linocut print work, and her participation in the Taller de Gráfica Popular of Mexico City. Formed in 1937, the Taller was a printmaking group whose work covered subjects like anti-facism, literacy and schools, and organized labor. She is also an amazing sculptor, and although not well known by the general public, her work can be found in major art museums around the U.S. if you look (I communed with "stargazer" many times while working at the Detroit Institute of Arts).
Catlett's work and life will be a source of inspiration to political graphic producers for years to come: "Spare, reserved, angry, radical beautiful...Genius in her ideas and in their execution...there's a motion and fluidity...she doesn't fuck around." (Nosedive #9, 1999) I'm grateful for her incredible contributions to the world. Up until her death, Catlett lived and worked in Cuernavaca, Mexico. Illustration from Firebrands: Portraits From the Americas.
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