The Popular Will in Hispanic Antifascist Graphic Art in the United States, 1936-1977
Abstract
Graphic art in the New York antifascist Spanish-language periodicals Frente Popular (1936-1939) and España Libre (1939-1977) denounced Spanish fascism with news from workers’ resistance networks associated with the Sociedades Hispanas Confederadas (Confederated Hispanic Societies, or SHC). Advocating for unity between means and ends, Frente Popular and España Libre sustained an open submission policy that invited workers to contribute to the antifascist discourse. This uncompromising direct action created a culture of participatory politics that allowed editorial caricatures to picture attractive and accessible antifascist rhetoric. It mocked fascists and deciphered the meaning of fascism with the medium conventions of simplification and deformation. Also, illustrations recreated a visual language of solidarity and memorialization by foregrounding bodies acting
in concert in barricades, demonstrations, and popular commemorations. This visual protest celebrated the collective exercise of the popular will, in interdependency and vulnerability, successfully counteracting the fascist narrative of power. The images examined here are curated in the open-source digital project Fighting Fascist Spain –The
Exhibits (FFSTE), which thematically recovers and contextualizes the story of the antifascist organization Sociedades Hispanas Confederadas (SHC), its activism, and print culture.
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