Guide to the Malaquias Montoya collection
CEMA 120
Finding aid prepared by Calle Bowdish and Adam Schnee
UC Santa Barbara Library, Department of Special Collections
University of California, Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, California, 93106-9010
Phone: (805) 893-3062
Email: special@library.ucsb.edu; URL: http://www.library.ucsb.edu/special-collections
Title: Malaquias Montoya Collection
Identifier/Call Number: CEMA 120
Contributing Institution:
UC Santa Barbara Library, Department of Special Collections
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
1.0 linear feet
Date (inclusive): 1998-2008
Abstract: The Malaquias Montoya Collection contains silkscreen posters donated from the artist and family members. The posters are divided
into three groups Premeditated: Meditations on Capital Punishment, La Raza Graphic Center, and Miscellaneous.
Physical Location: CEMA office flat files
Language of Materials: The collection is in English.
creator:
Montoya, Malaquías, 1938-
Access Restrictions
The collection is open for research.
Use Restrictions
Copyright has not been assigned to the Department of Special Collections, UCSB. All requests for permission to publish or
quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Collections. Permission for publication is given
on behalf of the Department of Special Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply
permission of the copyright holder, which also must be obtained.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of Item],Malaquias Montoya Collection, CEMA 120. Department of Special Collections, UC Santa Barbara Library,
University of California, Santa Barbara.
Acquisition Information
Donated by Malaquias Montoya and family members.
Scope and Contents note
The Print Portfolio includes all 12 silkscreen images from the traveling exhibition and publication, "Premeditated: Meditations
on Capital Punishment, Recent Works by Malaquias Montoya." There are an additional five miscellaneous posters and five 1982
calender posters from La Raza Galeria Center. The dates range from 1998 to 2008.
Biographical/Historical note
Malaquias Montoya was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico and raised in the San Joaquin Valley of California. He was brought up
in a family of seven children by parents who could not read or write either Spanish or English. The three oldest children
never went beyond a seventh grade education, as the entire family had to work as farm laborers for their survival. His father
and mother were divorced when he was ten, and his mother continued to work in the fields to support the four children still
remaining at home so they could pursue their education. Montoya graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in 1969.
Since then, he has lectured and taught at numerous colleges and universities in the San Francisco Bay Area including Stanford
and the University of California, Berkeley. He was a Professor at the California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland, CA
for twelve years; for five of those years he was Chair of the Ethnic Studies Department as well. During this period he also
served as Director of the Taller de Artes Graficas, in East Oakland, where he produced various prints and conducted many community
art workshops. Since 1989 Montoya has held a professorship at the University of California, Davis, teaching both in the department
of Art and the department of Chicana/o Studies. In 2000, he spent a semester as Visiting Professor in the Art Department at
the University of Notre Dame, in Indiana, and he currently holds the title of Visiting Fellow in the Institute for Latino
Studies at Notre Dame.
Montoya's classes at Davis include silkscreening, poster making, and mural painting, with a focus on Chicano culture and history.
His own works include acrylic paintings, murals, washes, and drawings, but he is primarily known for his silkscreen prints,
which have been exhibited internationally as well as nationally. He is credited by historians as one of the founders of the
social serigraphy movement in the San Francisco Bay Area in the mid-1960's. Montoya's unique visual expression is an art of
protest, depicting the resistance and strength of humanity in the face of injustice and the necessity to unite behind that
struggle.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Capital punishment -- United States
Premeditated: Meditations on Capital Punishment
General Physical Description note:
creator:
Montoya, Malaquías, 1938-
Abolish the Death Penalty
2000
General Physical Description note: Image Size: 30 x 22 in. Poster Size: 30 x 22 in.
creator:
Montoya, Malaquías, 1938-
Other Descriptive Information
A black, somewhat blurry image of a person lying on his back is trimmed with red, squiggly lines. Above the body is the word,
"Texas" and beneath it says, "Abolish Death Penalty", both in red. In the top right of the image in blue writing it reads
"We have perfected the art of institutional killing to the degree that it has deadened our natural, quintessentially human
response to death."
Executed
2003
General Physical Description note: Image Size: 22.25 x 30 in. Poster Size: 22.25 x 30 in.
creator:
Montoya, Malaquías, 1938-
Other Descriptive Information
A teal image of a woman and a man with glasses and a moustache. There is a red background with, "Ethel and Julius Rosenberg"
written in yellow across the bottom and a block of yellow text in the top right corner.
The Executioner
2003
General Physical Description note: Image Size: 22.5 x 30 in. Poster Size: 22.5 x 30 in.
creator:
Montoya, Malaquías, 1938-
Other Descriptive Information
A picture of a doctor in a lab coat with a black bag over his head a syringe in his hand. On the right side is a vertical
black stripe lined with syringes and in the top left in red font is the quote, "By using medical knowledge and personnel to
kill people, we do more than undermine the emerging standards and procedures for good, ethical decision-making about the sick
and dying. We also set off toward a terrifying land where the white gowns of physicians are covered by the black hoods of
executioners."
The Gentle Sleep 2
2002
General Physical Description note: Image Size: 26 x 18.5 in. Poster Size: 30 x 22.5 in.
creator:
Montoya, Malaquías, 1938-
Other Descriptive Information
A dark blue and red image of a person laying down with a yellow background a dark green border. Across the top in white lettering
reads, "His head pointed up, his body lay flat and till for seconds. Then a harsh rasping began. His fingers trembled up and
down, and the witnesses, standing near his midsection say that his stomach heaved. Quiet returned, and his head turned to
the right, toward the black dividing rail. A second spasm of wheezing began. It was brief. His body moved no more."
The Hanging Series 2
2002
General Physical Description note: Image Size: 22.5 in. x 30 in. Poster Size: 22.5 in. x 30 in.
creator:
Montoya, Malaquías, 1938-
Other Descriptive Information
A black and white drawing of a man being hanged.
The Hanging Series 3
2002
General Physical Description note: Image Size: 18 x 24 in. Poster Size: 22.5 in. x 30 in.
creator:
Montoya, Malaquías, 1938-
Other Descriptive Information
A man in a tan shirt being hanged over a red, blue, and green background.
The Human Experiment
2003
General Physical Description note: Image Size: 30 x 22.5 in. Poster Size: 30 x 22.5 in.
creator:
Montoya, Malaquías, 1938-
Other Descriptive Information
A black and white image of a man sitting in an electric chair with a yellow head and red trim. In the background are columns
of text, in red script along the left side is, "The human experiment", and on the bottom is a quote, "There is the culmination
of ten years' work and study," exclaimed Southwick. "We live in a higher civilization from this day!"'
It's a Matter of Social Control
2002
General Physical Description note: Image Size: 18.5 x 24 in. Poster Size: 22.5 x 30 in.
creator:
Montoya, Malaquías, 1938-
Other Descriptive Information
A grey image of man being hanged over a light blue background sprinkled with red and a black border. On the right side is
column of silhouettes of men being hanged and in the top right corner it says, "No matter what anyone may say about vengeance
or deterrence, it is a matter of social control."
Lynching Series 2
2002
General Physical Description note: Image Size: 22.5 x 30 in. Poster Size: 22.5 x 30 in.
creator:
Montoya, Malaquías, 1938-
Other Descriptive Information
A black and white print of a man being hanged.
Lynching Series 3
2002
General Physical Description note: Image Size: 22.5 x 30 in. Poster Size: 22.5 x 30 in.
creator:
Montoya, Malaquías, 1938-
Other Descriptive Information
A black and white image of a man being hanged.
A More Gentle Way of Killing...
2003
General Physical Description note: Image Size: 17 x 24.75 in. Poster Size: 22.5 x 30 in.
creator:
Montoya, Malaquías, 1938-
Other Descriptive Information
An image of a bearded man in gray shirt with arms stretched out over a green, red, black, and blue background. Along the bottom
are a bunch of syringes in a row and along the left side it says, "A more gentle way of killing - more civilized, less savage."
The Victim
2003
General Physical Description note: Image Size: 22.5 x 30 in. Poster Size: 22.5 x 30 in.
creator:
Montoya, Malaquías, 1938-
Other Descriptive Information
An abstract, scribbled image of a skull with a plethora of colors over a light green and pink background. Across the bottom
in white it reads, "We as a society are fed daily acts of violence. The legalized killing of another human being seems to
satisfy our violent and vengeful impulses. We are becoming more grotesque than the most hideous crime and we have allowed
it to happen."
The Economy of Class and Struggle
2007
General Physical Description note: Image Size: 19 x 23.5 in. Poster Size: 19 x 23.5 in.
creator:
Sanchez, Juan
Other Descriptive Information
A black and purple background with colored edges and in the middle a tablet shape with a multitude of colors and images of
a spiral, flower, human hand, and American currency.
El Hombre Sin Paiz
2005
General Physical Description note: Image Size: 24.25 x 30 in. Poster Size: 24.25 x 30 in., T/P edition
creator:
Montoya, Malaquías, 1938-
Other Descriptive Information
A black and white drawing of a moustachioed man with barbed wire in the background.
Presente
1998
General Physical Description note: Image Size: 22.5 x 30 in. Poster Size: 22.5 x 30 in., 78/100 ed.
creator:
Montoya, Malaquías, 1938-
Other Descriptive Information
A red and blue background featuring a women wearing a green shirt with a red bandana covering her face. On the bottom of the
print in colorful letters it reads, "¡Presente!"
Serie Rabo De Nube
undated
General Physical Description note: Image Size: 21.5 x 18 in. Poster Size: 24.25 x 20.5 in.
creator:
Roca, Eduardo (Choco)
Other Descriptive Information
A black and grey image of a moonlit night sky over a river with reeds blowing.
Spreading Democracy
2005
General Physical Description note: Image Size: 16.75 x 23 in. Poster Size: 22.5 x 30 in.
creator:
Montoya, Malaquías, 1938-
Other Descriptive Information
An image of a man from the neck up in red with a light blue blindfold and a light blue vertical strip along the left side
with images of men being executed. There is also a thin yellow border and in the bottom right it says, "spreading democracy...abou
gharib".
January and February calendar
1982
General Physical Description note: Image Size: 17.5 x 23 in. Poster Size: 17.5 x 23 in.
creator:
Fuentes, Juan, 1950-
Other Descriptive Information
A calendar spanning form January to February with an image of two Muslim women holding heavy weaponry over a red background.
In the top right corner, in green font, it says something in Arabic, followed by, "¡Viva Palestina!" and, "Long live Palestine".
March and April calendar
1982
General Physical Description note: Image Size: 17.5 x 23 in. Poster Size: 17.5 x 23 in.
creator:
Sances, Jos
Other Descriptive Information
A calendar spanning from March to April with an image of a whale painted like an American flag over and a green map of Central
America on the whale. Beneath the whale are a bunch of smaller black fish and across the top it reads, "A Caribbean Shark
Story; The Sharks fatal error was to swallow the Scorpion thinking that all small fish must be as digestable as the sardines."
which is an excerpt from Dan Georgakas's, "Poems of Love and Struggle".
July and August calendar
1982
General Physical Description note: Image Size: 17.5 x 23 in. Poster Size: 17.5 x 23 in.
creator:
Sigüenza, Herbert
Other Descriptive Information
A calendar spanning from July to August with a red and blue of image of Fidel Castro and the words, "Siempre el 26" written
in white in the top right corner.
September and October calendar
1982
General Physical Description note: Image Size: 17.5 x 23 in. Poster Size: 17.5 x 23 in.
creator:
Castro, René
Other Descriptive Information
A calendar spanning September to October with a checkered grey and blue background sprinkled with images of people such as
Che Guevera.
November and December calendar
1982
General Physical Description note: Image Size: 17.5 x 23 in. Poster Size: 17.5 x 23 in.
creator:
Montoya, Emmanuel
Other Descriptive Information
A calendar spanning November and December with an image of a young girl with the face of a laughing man inside her eyes. The
words, "Señor Reagon ¿Cual es mi futuro?" are written across the top.
