Label Type
Cultural/Historical ContextLabel
Born in New Mexico to a farm labor family often living in migrant labor camps, and with family separated by national borders, Fuentes grew up with a strong understanding of struggles over land. Among the first artists in the Bay Area to create work around Palestine, he led the way for many people unaware of the Palestinian struggle.
While Fuentes has made multiple posters for Palestinian groups, this image was not connected to any one organization. The image does not refer directly to any particular struggle, but points to the humanity of the Palestinian people; this is expressed by the women’s embrace in front of a fence incorporating liberating birds. The Arabic text reads “Support the Intifada.”
Fuentes began creating linocut prints in 1997 after being hired to teach inmates in the county jail. While director of Gráfica, he increasingly turned to linocut prints. By 2007, the end of his tenure there, linocut played an equal role to screenprint in his artwork.