Reclaiming the Americas: Latinx Art and the Politics of Territory

How Latinx artists around the US adopted the medium of printmaking to reclaim the lands of the Americas.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 248 pages
Publication date: 18 April 2023
Publisher: University of Texas Press

The 2023 Outstanding Book Award, presented by the National Association for Ethnic Studies, recognized Reclaiming the Americas: Latinx Printmaking in the US as a finalist for the 2024 Charles Rufus Morey Book Award, awarded by the College Art Association. This book delves into the captivating journey of Latinx artists across the United States who have embraced printmaking as a powerful tool to reclaim the lands of the Americas.

Printmakers, throughout history, have played a covert role in illustrating the maps crafted by European colonizers, which were instrumental in charting and asserting their ever-expanding territories. Over the past three decades, Latinx artists and print studios have taken a bold step forward, reclaiming this printed art form for their own spatial discourse. This insightful book explores the limited editions created at four art studios situated across the United States, encompassing a diverse range of artistic expressions. From subtle critiques of Manifest Destiny to printed portraits of Dreamers in Texas, these editions showcase the rich tapestry of Latinx printmaking in the country.

Reclaiming the Americas emerges as a visual chronicle of Latinx printmaking in the United States. Tatiana Reinoza employs a pan-ethnic comparative model to undertake this interdisciplinary study of graphic art, drawing upon art history, Latinx studies, and geography to enrich her discussions. The book challenges the historical complicity of printmaking in perpetuating the logics of colonization and seeks to restore the art form and the lands it once vividly depicted to the Indigenous, migrant, mestiza/o, and Afro-descendant communities across the Americas.

Weight: 626g
Dimension: 177 x 254 x 29 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781477326909