In January 2010, I was contacted by an artist known as BooksIII who told me about a mural he had painted at the Mia Art Fair together with Typoe and She Kills He. BooksIII is from Miami, Typoe is Cuban and She Kills He is from Venezuela – all of them are inspired by Bodega writing. Having read about Chicha Posters through Creative Review they saw a connection and thought the style would be a perfect way to collaborate through. Knowing that I was similarly interested in all things Chicha they kindly got in touch.
Work in progress Mia Art Fair 2010
In 2011 BooksIII has expanded the project has been expanded to include 50 artists… Here is the statement of intent from the Primary Flight… “Primary Flight interprets the designs and concepts of more than 50 local and international artists in Para Mi Gente, an exhibition inspired by the Chicha poster art of Peru. Translated as “for the people,” Para Mi Gente merges traditional Peruvian propaganda, contemporary art and graphic-driven installations.
Participating artists such as Shepard Fairey, Tristan Eaton and gallerist Fred Snitzer have provided Primary Flight with vector images that will be cut into stencils and collaged together to generate one, fluid Chicha-style piece. This show is co-curated by Books IIII Bischof, Typoe and Chris Oh.
“The Chicha poster art movement has largely been attributed to the Urcuhuaranga family in Lima, Peru. Unable to afford the cost of printing their own posters to promote local Chicha-music bands, father and sons conceived a homegrown press as a do-it-yourself solution. Vibrant embroideries and Huanca textiles native to the Andean region inspired their fluorescent palette, while distorted fonts and logos emerged to fit increasingly more information onto the posters.
“The visual output of Chicha art resembles a burst of luminescent lettering, mismatched in size, style and proportion – a vibrant puzzle of information. Since its inception in the 1990’s, the genre has grown exponentially to reflect popular culture as a leading marketing tool publicizing the now prevalent Cumbia music scene.”
“Chicha is one of the most basic yet effective propaganda styles and has emerged as an art form in its own right,” said Books Bischof, principal of Primary Flight / Primary Projects. “So much of our culture involves integrating text and altering typography to fit into our overall brand aesthetic. Para Mi Genteallows us to take control of our mass marketed environment while we work with tools provided by contemporary artists.”
Para Mi Gente will be an installation of hundreds of artist-designed logos, texts and icons, collectively arranged and curated in the Chicha aesthetic. As the street mural movement rapidly evolves in Miami, Primary Flight art collective looks toward grassroots Peruvian propaganda to inspire its latest fine arts exhibit.
For more info check out the Modart blog.