Ralph Maradiaga (1934–1985) was an American artist, curator, photographer,

printmaker Printmaking is the process of creating artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand processed techniqu ...

, teacher, and filmmaker. He was

Chicano Chicano or Chicana is a chosen identity for many Mexican Americans in the United States. The label ''Chicano'' is sometimes used interchangeably with ''Mexican American'', although the terms have different meanings. While Mexican-American ident ...

, one of the co-founders of

Galería de la Raza Galería de la Raza (GDLR) is a non-profit art gallery and artist collective founded in 1970, that serves the largely Chicano and Latino population of San Francisco's Mission District. GDLR mounts exhibitions, hosts poetry readings, worksh ...

and part of the San Francisco Bay Area Chicano Art Movement.

Biography

Ralph Maradiaga was born on October 27, 1934, in San Francisco, California. He had a BA degree (1971) and

MA degree A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

(1975) in printmaking from

San Francisco State University San Francisco State University (commonly referred to as San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a public research university in San Francisco. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers 118 different b ...

and a MA degree (1975) in filmmaking from Stanford University. He learned hand-cut silkscreen techniques from Rupert García, and he created his first poster in 1969. In 1970, he curated his first exhibition at Casa Hispana de Bellas Artes, a gallery space that was a precursor of Galería de la Raza. In 1970, Galería de la Raza was founded by artists Maradiaga, Rupert García, Peter Rodríguez, René Yañez, Francisco X. Camplis, Gustavo Ramos Rivera, Carlos Loarca, Manuel Villamor, Robert Gonzales, Luis Cervantes, Chuy Campusano, and Rolando Castellón.

Death and legacy

Maradiaga died on July 19, 1985, while jogging at McLauren Park in San Francisco. He is buried at Holy Cross Cemetery. In the

Mission District The Mission District ( Spanish: ''Distrito de la Misión''), commonly known as The Mission ( Spanish: ''La Misión''), is a neighborhood in San Francisco, California. One of the oldest neighborhoods in San Francisco, the Mission District's name i ...

in San Francisco there is an urban park located on 24th Street dedicated in his honor, the ''Ralph Maradiaga Mini-Park.'' Maradiaga's work can be found in public museum collections including at the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, ...

; the

Smithsonian American Art Museum The Smithsonian American Art Museum (commonly known as SAAM, and formerly the National Museum of American Art) is a museum in Washington, D.C., part of the Smithsonian Institution. Together with its branch museum, the Renwick Gallery, SAAM holds ...

; the

Museum of Fine Arts, Houston The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH), is an art museum located in the Houston Museum District of Houston, Texas. With the recent completion of an eight-year campus redevelopment project, including the opening of the Nancy and Rich Kinder Bui ...

; the

Los Angeles County Museum of Art The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is an art museum located on Wilshire Boulevard in the Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles. LACMA is on Museum Row, adjacent to the La Brea Tar Pits (George C. Page Museum). LACMA was founded in 196 ...

; the National Museum of Mexican Art; and the

McNay Art Museum The McNay Art Museum, founded in 1954 in San Antonio, is the first modern art museum in the U.S. state of Texas. The museum was created by Marion Koogler McNay's original bequest of most of her fortune, her important art collection and her 24-room ...

References

External links

Guide to the Ralph Maradiaga collection CEMA 35
from

Online Archive of California The California Digital Library (CDL) was founded by the University of California in 1997. Under the leadership of then UC President Richard C. Atkinson, the CDL's original mission was to forge a better system for scholarly information management ...

(OAC) 1934 births 1985 deaths Artists from San Francisco San Francisco State University alumni Stanford University alumni American artists of Mexican descent Hispanic and Latino American artists {{US-artist-stub