Sometimes, when you’re working on something, do you start to think about how pointless it is, about where the work will go? What’s the point of it? Is it even any good?
I’m not spiralling here – but rather building to another artist with work I love. And every time I see his prints or paintings I think, wow, that guy really helped the world with his art.
Mexico city’s Angel Bracho began his professional life as a printer and painter in 1935, and this often ran in tandem with work as a primary teacher.
His prints are clean, but stylised, giving me the feel of wartime propaganda used for good. Bracho’s most famous work was political as a member of the Liga de Escritores y Artistas Revolucionairios (or LEAR), a group of writers and artists who refused to have any creative art censored.
He was occasionally accused of being less than ‘right on’ in his works, which is bonkers really – look at the shots on this page. Even without speaking the language you can tell they’re anti-fascist, anti-communist and broadly anti-war.
In 1966 he was named an honorary professor at the Academy of Design and Engraving in Florence, Italy. He remained active until his death in 2005.
There’s not a great deal of info about him on the web – but do a Google image search or something and you won’t go far wrong.
RIP Angel. Viva la revolucione!