Graphic Design Icons Emory Douglas, John Van Hamersveld, Corita Kent, Ernesto Yerena Montejano, Dignidad Rebelde and More Spotlighted in KCET’s New ARTBOUND Summer 2021 Digital Series
Plus Two New Shorts Spotlight Pulitzer Prize Winning Composer Ellen Reid’s SOUNDWALK in Griffith Park and the Cumbiatón Community Music Movement
CONTACT
JP Shields
jpshields@kcet.org
747-201-5886
Select programming will also be available to stream on PBS.org and the free PBS App.
Members of PBS SoCal | KCET get extended access through PBS Passport.
Los Angeles, Calif. – June 21, 2021 – KCET, Southern California's flagship PBS station and home for award-winning public media programming, announced today a new digital series from the KCET Original Emmy® award-winning arts and culture series ARTBOUND featuring five short films highlighting the regional efforts of trailblazing local graphic designers. The lineup will only be available online and includes profiles on legendary names in the graphic design space that include Emory Douglas, John Van Hamersveld, Sister Corita, Ernesto Yerena Montejano, Dignidad Rebelde and more. Additionally, ARTBOUND will roll out two new short films inspired by articles that first appeared online at kcet.org that spotlight Griffith Park’s Ellen Reid SOUNDWALK and Cumbiatón, an intergenerational cultural movement that utilizes music and art to uplift oppressed communities. The shorts will be made available for streaming only starting today “Corita Kent: The Pop Art Nun” on kcet.org/artbound and on the free PBS video App.
The all-new digital intiative is in collaboration with online publication Hyperallergic who will offer their newsletter subscribers a first look at one of the new documentaries as well as create editorial content leveraging their hundreds of global contributors as a leading voice in contemporary perspectives on arts and culture around the world. The Hyperallergic editorial partnership with kcet.org includes a special edition of their Sunday newsletter and three commissioned articles published on Hyperallergic.com.
Hyperallergic is a forum for playful, serious, and radical perspectives on art in society, and a trusted source for the latest in film, visual art, books, and performances.
Editorial content published on kcet.org will explore how graphic designers in California continue to make art (and the meaning and messaging behind the art) more accessible to the public. Additionally, content will analyze the long history of social justice through graphic design which must respond to the needs of the times to stay relevant in California including the current post-pandemic world, where racial equality and the importance of visual messages are pivotal to the world’s conversations. And finally, editorial content will examine how the region itself has influenced visual language from the 1960s until today.
Episode Descriptions are as follows (subject to change):
“Corita Kent: The Pop Art Nun”: At a time when pop art was finding its footing and the nation was in a state of upheaval, Sister Corita helped make art more accessible to the public. This episode charts her art practice and her effect on the generations after her. At the heart of Kent’s ethos was teaching. Using the classroom as a tool for a more approachable way to think about art, Sister Corita has inspired and motivated an entire new generation of graphic designers.
“Emory Douglas: The Black Panther Artist”: At its peak, the Black Panther newspaper publication had the highest circulation of any paper in the country. Behind the paper’s powerful illustrations was Emory Douglas. This episode follows how Douglas created a visual language that uplifted the Black community’s image of itself amid the racist portrayals of mainstream media. The Black Panther Party and Douglas generated an indelible imagery that was both powerful and effective in spreading their message all around the world. In doing so, they created the visual imagery of protest in the United States.
“John Van Hamersveld: Endless Summer”: John Van Hamersveld was the man behind the iconic Endless Summer poster that forever solidified the image of California with its high contrast image of a lone surfer against a day-glo background. This episode features interviews with Van Hamersveld on his design and recounts the making of the iconic poster.
Hecho Con Ganas: Ernesto Yerena Montejano: Born in El Centro, California, Ernesto Yerena Montejano uses his cross-national upbringing and graphic design practice to bring attention to the issues faced by Indigenous and Brown people. Though he identifies as Chicano, he also identifies strongly with the political concerns of Native Americans. Montejano established ‘Hecho Con Ganas’ where he produces political and social justice images using the bright colors that draw inspiration from California's psychedelic art, but goes further back thousands of years into the bright colors and geometric aesthetic of Native American and Mexican cultures.
“Dignidad Rebelde: Art is Protest”: Melanie Cervantes and Jesus Barraza are the duo behind ‘Dignidad Rebelde’, a graphic arts collaboration that uses design to amplify the stories of people of color. They aspire to put art back into the hands of people. Taking inspiration from the work of Emory Douglas, they seek to use their art as a platform for social justice by exploring cost-effective means such as screenprinting to spread their message, while also using powerful imagery that borrows from the language of Indigenous Mexican civilizations and iconography of people of color.
“Ellen Reid’s: Griffith Park Soundscape”: In her latest work SOUNDWALK, Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Ellen Reid has created a GPS-enabled work of public art that uses music to illuminate the natural environment, shaping a walk in Griffith park into something more extraordinary. Tailor-made for its setting, SOUNDWALK was created to encourage calm reflection and introspection, and can be experienced while following social distancing guidelines. Giving viewers a peek behind the curtain as to how and why Reid made this piece, this episode will be capturing the energy of walking through Griffith Park using the App.
Cumbiatón: Healing Through Music: Music is a release and a place to find community. Founded by two women of color working in social justice organizing, Cumbiatón uses the beats of cumbia, reggaeton, hip hop, salsa, merengue and Banda to bring together an intergenerational community of undocumented, queer and marginalized people in a safe space where they can find healing together. This episode tells the story of Cumbiatón’s unlikely beginnings and its journey to transition their safe physical space online during COVID-19.
For updates, follow @KCET and #Artbound on social media.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
ARTBOUND is supported in part by City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture and the California Arts Council as well as other generous institutional funders.
ABOUT ARTBOUND
The critically acclaimed weekly television series and online destination ARTBOUND captures the spirit of the burgeoning arts and culture community in California and explores how it's shaping California as the creative capital of the world. The KCET Original series explores and illuminates the cultural issues of our times, providing critical in-depth analysis of how arts and culture affect society. The series and the online stories that are found at kcet.org/artbound are the result of cultural tastemakers throughout the region and collaborations with LA’s top cultural institutions. Since its inception in 2012, the series has earned high industry praise including several Emmy® Awards, LA Press Club awards, Golden Mike awards and a National Entertainment Journalism award, among others. ARTBOUND has been recognized with the prestigious ASCAP Foundation Deems Taylor / Virgil Thomson Multimedia Award for outstanding music.
About KCET
KCET is s part of the donor-supported community institution, the Public Media Group of Southern California, which was formed by the merger of PBS SoCal and KCETLink Media Group. As one of Southern California’s two flagship PBS stations, KCET is on-air, online as well as in the community, and plays a vital role in the cultural enrichment of Southern California. KCET offers a wide range of award-winning local programming as well as the finest public television programs from around the world. Throughout its 55-year history, KCET has won hundreds of major awards for its local and regional news and public affairs programming, its national drama and documentary productions and its website, kcet.org. For additional information about KCET’s original productions, web-exclusive content, programming schedules and community events, please visit kcet.org. KCET Originals and PBS programming are available to stream on the FREE PBS App on iOS and Android devices, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Android TV, Samsung Smart TV, and Chromecast. KCET is also available to watch live on YouTube TV.
