Richard Duardo, Presente!
The CSRC mourns the passing of printmaker and artist Richard Duardo, a key figure in L.A.'s art scene starting in the 1970s. His work was featured recently in the CSRC's L.A. Xicano exhibitions of 2011-12. CSRC director Chon A. Noriega provides a tribute.
I’m in shock at the news of Richard Duardo’s passing. He was one of the most dynamic artists, always figuring out how to make something happen, and working with so many artists across the full artistic and social spectrum of Los Angeles. He was also one of the best storytellers about the L.A. art scene. Here he is speaking to Karen Mary Davalos on working with Sister Karen and other artists at Self Help Graphics in the 1970s:
"Our need to make—to practice our craft that we learn, whatever it may be. In John Valadez’s case, I remember he was photographing left and right, and he was doing things out there, I’m sure, that probably wouldn’t have made her [Sister Karen] happy. Documenting police violence and stuff like that. And for me, I was trying to sort this out, I was trying to find myself. In the meantime, 'Here, take my body. Take my skills. What do you need? Okay, you need—you’re going to start a gallery, Galería Otra Vez? I’ll do the posters to announce that you’ve got a gallery. Oh, you’re going to start—you just got a free UPS truck and you want to do what? A Barrio Mobile Arts Program? I’ll start the Barrio Mobile Arts Program poster series. Oh, we’re actually going to go on the road? Okay, I’ll do all the classes for the kids.' That’s what I remember. All of us being in a truck all the time going to elementary schools. Linda Vallejo doing painting, Michael [Amescua] doing sculpture, papier-mâché, Richard Duardo doing silkscreening, and John Valadez showing kids how to take pictures. She got funding for that, I don’t know what. We may have gotten a stipend, fifty, sixty dollars. But we were doing—we knew we were doing something good. We were brown faces going into brown elementary schools and doing these courses. They may not have amounted much other than the experience, but the important thing was that they were seeing older Chicanos sharing something with them, a talent, craft. I thought that was really important. We’re going to show them that information and stuff doesn’t just come from white people. Do you understand?"
Read his entire interview. Richard Duardo, presente!
http://www.chicano.ucla.edu/files/09Duardo.pdf
The Los Angeles Times obituary is here.
A public prayer vigil for Richard Duardo will be held Sunday, December 7, 7 p.m.-8:30 p.m., at the Chapel on the Hill at Forest Lawn in Hollywood Hills (6300 Forest Lawn Dr., Los Angeles, CA 90068).