ID Number: 24693
Maker: Adolfo Mexiac; Taller de Gráfica Popular (TGP)
Technique: linocut
Date Made: Circa 1984 reprint of 1954 original
Place Made: Mexico
Measurements: 54.61 cm x 40.64 cm; 21 1/2 in x 16 in
Main Subject: Censorship; Mexico (North America)
Materials: paper (fiber product)
Digitized: Y

Full Text:
Made in U.S.A. Mexiac Mexiac con mi mejor estimación para Shifra agosto/84 A.M.

Acquisition Number: 2005-116

Notes:
Student-led protests over the Government’s heavy investment into Olympic facilities rather than social programs were quelled ten days before the Mexico City Games opened. In sympathy with the students, Adolfo Mexiac adapted and distributed a linocut he had made in 1954. This poster was signed in august 1984 original poster design was made in 1954. Additional visual note - potential link to 19th century engraving by Manuel Manilla of 3 men with padlocked mouths (pg 188 of Manilla monograph by m.l. casillas)

Copyright Status:
Copyright status unknown; may be protected by copyright law.

Exhibition Annotation:
Mexiac describes two events that explain the meaning of the “Made in the USA” written on the padlock: It condemns the U.S. overthrow of the democratically elected government of Jacobo Arbenz in Guatemala in 1954. It also denounces the spread of censorship and repression in Mexico due to direct U.S. pressure on the Mexican government to be more actively anti-Communist. This now iconic image has been reproduced countless times to protest injustice. In 1968 it was reproduced during the student strikes in Mexico City and Paris, and the Chicano movement used it in the 1970s.