City College showcases Rodriguez’s work

By Marcus Rodriguez
Staff Writer

Feel like getting angry? In the mood for a little bit of protesting? Then you’ll enjoy heading down to the Rosenberg Library or the second floor of the John Adams campus to see the current exhibit “Reproduce and Revolt: The Art/Activism of Favianna Rodriguez.”

There you’ll find a virtual kaleidoscope of pamphlets, posters and graphics advocating for change and social justice from a variety of topics including women’s rights, war, gentrification, immigration rights, safe-sex education and globalization.

Rodriguez, who describes herself as a “print-maker, author and agitator” on her Web site, is a graphic and digital artist based in Oakland. She enjoys “the use of art in civic engagement” and is interested in “bridging the gap between the community and the museum.”

“Our role as revolutionary artists is to define and create a revolutionary culture to make a revolution irresistible. Our role is to undermine the deeply embedded sickness of this country, to subvert this repressive culture and to build something transformative,” she said.

The art display is part of a new book of the same name co-edited by Rodriguez. The 224-page book is a collection of political graphics and prints from around the world, including her own, which showcase the voices and viewpoints of different street artists, poster makers and graphic designers.

A quote from her book reads, “All of these images are to be granted to the public domain to be freely used for political purposes.” The book even includes instructions on how to use the images “to improve the effectiveness of visual campaigns.” So if the do-it-yourself section at Barnes & Noble had a revolution section, this is where you might find her book.

One of the works on display in the main lobby of the Rosenberg Library is a bilingual poster advocating the rights of immigrant tenants fighting against unfair evictions. It reads, “Stop the evictions! Defend our homes and raise your voice!” Accompanying the slogans are two women amid the backdrop of a city skyline full of buildings. One of the women is calmly holding a child, while the other is yelling into a bullhorn with a look of determination.

Towering over the women is the figure of an evil landlord. How do you know he’s evil? He has an eviction notice in his pocket, a dollar sign fixed to his jacket and rats and cockroaches crawling around his feet. He also has red glowing eyes and devil horns protruding from his skull.

The exhibit features a safe-sex slogan which includes a play on words reading in Spanish, “No se a pene. Exija su condon,” which translates, “Don’t worry. Demand a condom.” The slogan has a condom drawn around the word pene, which literally means penis.

Rodriguez’s art will be on display on the fourth-floor lobby of the Rosenberg Library and in room 204 of the John Adams campus through January.