Contributing Institution: UC Santa Barbara Library, Department of Special Research Collections

Title: Rupert Garcia and Sammi Madison Garcia collection

Identifier/Call Number: CEMA 101

Physical Description: 17.5 Linear Feet (25 document boxes, 9 oversized flat boxes, 1 telescope box, and 556 posters)

Date (inclusive): 1959-2000

Date (bulk): 1967-1987

Abstract: This collection contains materials assembled by Rupert Garcia and document his passion for civil rights and activist art. Garcia was a student at San Francisco State where some of the earliest protests against racism in higher education institutions took place. This collection has material on that event in 1968 and 1969. The bulk of the nearly 600 posters span from the late 1960s through the 1980s. These posters include protest art, civil rights demonstrations and marches, Vietnam War-era protests and rallies, as well as United Farm Workers (UFW)-related events. Additionally, there are writings, publications, teaching papers and other informative materials that Garcia gathered as part of his research and teaching in Chicano Arts and the Chicano Movement, ranging from 1967 to 2000s. Researchers Chicano Studies and Art will find of special value the materials reflecting his intimate knowledge of San Francisco poster and mural art.

Language of Material: English .

This collection is open for research.

Rupert Garcia was born in French Camp, California in 1941. He was raised in Stockton and attended Stockton College, but left in 1962 to enroll in the U.S. Air Force. After serving in Thailand during the Vietnam War, Garcia enrolled in San Francisco State University's art program and earned a B.A. and M.A. in painting. As a student, he became actively involved in the civil rights and anti-war movements. During the San Francisco student strikes of 1968 and 1969, Garcia produced prints in support of the United Farm Workers, civil rights, land rights, and political awareness. In 1981, Garcia received an M.A. in art history from the University of California at Berkeley and went on to teach at San Jose State University, School of Art and Design in San Jose, California.

Spanning across decades, locations, and communities, the Rupert Garcia and Sammi Madison Garcia Collection celebrates the spirit of diversity, protest, and awareness of the late 20th century (and the beginning of the 21st). Posters, silkscreens, offsets, woodcuts, lithographs and other graphic art in the collection come from a wide array of artists and themes. Prominent artists like Richard Brown, Jack Loo, Consuelo Mendez, and Xavier Viramontes - artists dedicated to change, justice, and equality - are featured in this collection. Topics covered include the Gallo wine protests, the Vietnam War, and the right for bilingual and bicultural education in the San Francisco Bay Area.

The diversity of the collection reflects the diversity of California, particularly during the 1970s. As such, it is not uncommon to see Chicano/a, Asian American, and/or African American communities' interests on the same posters. This highlights the significance of the development of inter- and multi-ethnic communities and relationships. Similarly, the writings, newspapers, magazines, miscellaneous publications, and other materials from this collection cover topics such as Chicano Art, the Chicano Movement, Latin-American political and community issues, and revolutionary politics and ideals. Additionally, the Kearny Street Workshop and La Raza Silkscreen Center, active in the San Francisco Bay Area, are also featured. They led workshops for developing artists and facilitated protest art and gatherings.

Rupert Garcia and Sammi Madison Garcia Collection, CEMA 101, Department of Special Collections, University Library, University of California, Santa Barbara.

Callie Bowdish and Alexander Hauschild, Cristina Serna, Chip Badley updated in 2009. From 2010 to 2011, updated by Callie Bowdish, Danely Segoviano, and Alejandro Rodriguez.

Bay Area Black Panther Party Collection (CEMA 56), Kearny Street Workshop Archives (CEMA 33), Chicano Movement Newspaper Collection (CEMA 80), Galería de la Raza Archives (CEMA 4), Shifra Goldman Papers (CEMA 119), José Montoya Papers (CEMA 20), Luís Valdez Papers (CEMA 71), Malaquías Montoya (CEMA 120 and 122), Time to Greez!: Incantations From the Third World, San Francisco: Glide Publications, 1975.

This collection consists of 36 boxes, and nearly 556 posters. The materials are from a diverse group of artists, writers and activists that cover social justice issues that took center stage during the politically active time starting in the late 1960s through the 1980s. These items cover the activities of individuals and members of print workshops, community art centers, theater troops and social reform groups. Newspapers, magazines, clippings, exhibit material, broadsides, writings and posters having to do with groups such as the Black Panthers, El Teatro Campesino and centers such as Galería de la Raza were collected and span from the late 1960s to 2000s. Series I Writings is divided into two subseries and then alphabetized. Series II Chicano Art is organized alphabetically and by subject. Materials within Series III Flyers, Exhibits and Announcements are alphabetized. Series IV Publications is organized based on subseries or publication type, and title. Newspapers that belong to this series are stored in 7 out of the 9 oversized boxes. One oversized box holds the Time to Geez subseries. All files within Series V Subject Files are organized alphabetically and by subject. The Chicano Studies files in Series VI Teaching Materials are organized numerically from lowest to highest course number. Finally, Series VII Posters is organized according to artist, title, and date of the posters. The posters in this series are stored in 16 portfolio boxes.

Series I Writings is primarily housed in one box, with oversized material located in a legal-sized box. This series consists of two subseries: Rupert Garcia writings and miscellaneous writings. The Rupert Garcia writings subseries contains writings and research materials from a variety of subjects such as Frida Kahlo, Nazism and German expressionism, Chicano and San Francisco murals and muralists, and the Chicano Movement. The miscellaneous writings subseries contains a variety of student writings. Prominent among these is a piece titled Rupert Garcia by Peter Selz.

Series II Chicano Art is contained in three boxes, with additional materials located in one legal-sized box and an oversized box. There are no subseries; however, all material is organized alphabetically and by subject. Subjects in this series include art, murals, muralists, writings, and articles related to Chicanos/as. Additionally, there are related topics such as Mexican muralism, Latino art movements and culture, appreciation of art, folk art, La Virgen de Guadalupe and Día de los Muertos art, barrio art, and street gangs' art. Notable figures featured in this series are Malaquías Montoya and Nicolas Kanellos. Also, another prominent entry is the Symposium on the Hispanic American Aesthetic in San Antonio, Texas.

Series III Flyers, Exhibits, and Announcements is mainly located in one box, with several oversized materials located in a legal-sized box. There are no subseries and all materials are organized alphabetically. Items included in this series are announcement posters, art exhibition pamphlets and articles, a Festival Cine Arte poster, flyers and invitations.

Series IV Publications consists of twelve document boxes and nine oversized boxes. Within this series, there are four subseries: magazines, miscellaneous publications, newspapers, and Time to Geez. All materials in this series are organized alphabetically and by date. Most of the magazines in the magazines subseries are located in seven document boxes; any oversized magazines are located in an oversized box. Many of the magazines cover topics such as art, history or archeology, world politics and news, community, and culture that range between the years of 1965-1990. Some noteworthy magazines are Time, Tricontinental, Zoot Suit, Community Newsletter , La Raza, L.A Style, El Grito, Artes Visuales, The Campaigner, and La Voz. The miscellaneous publications subseries consists of three document boxes, with two oversized boxes holding larger publications. Within this subseries, there are government issued publications, and Chicano art and culture publications. Cultural Studies, Mexican history, third world politics, are other related topics can be found within this subseries. Notable figures featured in it as well are the Chicano artist Gronk and Fidel Castro. Noteworthy titles include: Fidel at the U.N., The Nation, Somos Aztlan, and A History and Appreciation of Chicano Art. The newspaper subseries is housed in seven oversized boxes. Much like the rest of the collection, this series highlights the growing social and political awareness that was prominent during the years between 1967-1989. Some newspapers, like Artweek, cover artistic topics. Others, like Chicanismo and The Irish People, are more ethnic orientated. Newspapers like The Black Panther, M.E.Ch.A., and various San Francisco newspapers focus on leftist politics, social movements, and especially the San Francisco State Strikes of 1968 and 1969. Moreover, there are a large number of newspapers in Spanish, such as La Gente, El Grito, and El Tecolote, most of which cover Latin-American third world politics. Other significant newspapers are Los Angeles Free Press, L.A. Weekly, The New York Times, and Rolling Stone magazine. The subseries Time to Geez is held in one oversized box. This subseries contains the Chinatown Livestock Series, photographs and graphic design material, and an assortment of pictures from the Time to Geez book.

Series V Subject Files is contained within seven document boxes, with oversized material in legal-sized boxes. All subjects within this series are organized alphabetically. The subjects include ethnic art, culture, history, murals, politics and news. Many of the materials in this series are research materials collected by Rupert Garcia for his Chicano Art studies. Amongst the more notable materials included are Mesoamerican research, Pachuco and Zoot Suit materials, photography, tattoo and gang art research, and miscellaneous articles regarding art. This series features several significant figures such as Frida Kahlo, Gronk, Jose Montoya, Ramon Favela, Shifra M. Goldman, and Yolanda M. Lopez. Also, there are materials regarding Galería de la Raza and La Raza included.

Series VI Teaching Materials consists of two document boxes. All materials within this series concern Rupert Garcia's classes in Chicano Studies. The series is organized based on class number, increasing from lowest to highest. Among the documents within this series are syllabi, student assignments, and Rupert Garcia's teaching notes.

Series VII Posters consists of 556 posters. The posters in this series are silkscreens, offsets, woodcuts, lithographs, and another form of media. For records that do not have dating, "n.d." (no date) is marked. For records that do not have an identified title, "(title unknown)" is noted. Also, the dimensions list first the image size then the page size. Posters in this series come from a wide array of artists and themes. Prominent artists like Malaquías Montoya, Jack Loo, Consuelo Mendez, and Xavier Viramontes are featured in the collection. Additionally, The Kearny Street Workshop and La Raza Silkscreen Center are two featured groups in this series that were active in the Bay Area in various ways, from leading workshops for developing artists to facilitating protest art and community gatherings. Topics of interest include protest art, civil rights demonstrations and marches, Vietnam War era protests and rallies, as well as United Farm Workers (UFW)-related events. Also significant is the development of inter- and multiethnic communities and relationships; it is not uncommon to see Chicano/a, Asian American, and/or African American communities' interests united on the same poster. On the whole, the diversity of this series reflects the diversity of America, particularly during the 1970s.

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.