Chicha (art)

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Chicha art
Chicha art.jpg
Chicha art posters
Years active1980s–present
Location Peru
Major figures
Influences

Chicha art refers to a Peruvian kitsch aesthetic that was born in the 1980s. [1] It has been described as a contemporary baroque art. [2]

Contents

The movement emerged alongside Chicha music and the mass migration from Peru's Andean highlands and central forest to coastal cities. [3] [4] [5] Created as promotional posters for cumbia concerts using hand-drawn screen printing techniques, the style is characterized by phosphorescent and fluorescent colors, contrasting tones against black backgrounds.

Chicha art gained recognition in the late 2010s as a new generation of artists embraced their cultural heritage, including the children of immigrants.

History

The origins of chicha art begin in the 1960s and 1970s, with migration across Peru's regions: from the Andean highlands and central forest to the coastal capitals, particularly Lima. [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]

Initially dismissed as a minor artistic form, chicha art was viewed through a racist lens as huachafa and inferior. [2] [3] [5] In the late 2010s, a new generation, many of them children of immigrants who now form part of the middle class, revalued Cholo and Chicha culture. This shift appeared in both music, with groups like Dengue Dengue Dengue! and Bareto, and in graphic art, with artists such as Monky, Elliot Túpac  [ es ], and Yefferson Huamán gaining recognition, some internationally. [9] Collectives including Familia Gutiérrez, Amapolay, Unidos por un Sueño, Nación Chicha, and Carga Máxima emerged, and the number of workshops in Lima and other Peruvian cities grew. [3]

Chicha art also serves as social protest, appearing in murals and demonstration posters addressing issues such as defense of the Peruvian jungle, femicide, and LGBT rights. [7] The style has spread to areas with Peruvian immigration, including Chile. [3]

Characteristics

Chicha posters are created by hand using screen printing with mesh. [3] The style uses phosphorescent colors and contrasting tones against black backgrounds, which help posters stand out in the urban environment of neighborhoods, shanty towns, and poorly lit areas. [4]

The color palette draws from Andean culture, particularly the Huanca Nation, as seen in garments for traditional dances. [5] The sinuous typography has been associated with psychedelic rock from the 1960s. [6]

Other characteristics include horror vacui [10] and advertising phrases that blend poetic, idiomatic, and Peruvian Spanish elements.

References

  1. ↑ Andrei, Tatyane (19 September 2016). "Una pizca de arte y color" [A Pinch of Art and Color]. Punto Seguido - UPC (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 October 2020.
  2. 1 2 Yang, Ina (7 July 2015). "Peruvians Love Their Chicha Street Art. City Officials ... Not So Much". NPR.org. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Sánchez, Nicolás (11 January 2018). "El Cartel Chicha: una forma de expresión popular del Perú que ya es parte del paisaje santiaguino" [The Chicha Poster: A Form of Popular Expression From Peru That Is Now Part of the Santiago Landscape]. La Casa de Juana (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 October 2020.
  4. 1 2 3 Contreras, Carlos; Cueto, Marcos (2016). Tomo 9: La Revolución Peruana. La reforma agraria y el populismo (1968–1990). Historia del Perú republicano (in Spanish). Lima: Editorial Septiembre. p. 23.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Subirana Abanto, Katherine (26 April 2020). "Cultura Chicha | Los caminos de la chicha a 25 años de la muerte del mítico Chacalón" [Chicha Culture | The Paths of Chicha 25 Years After the Death of the Mythical Chacalón]. El Comercio (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 October 2020.
  6. 1 2 Dodobara Sadamori, Rosa (2015). "Lenguaje del arte "Chicha" en los carteles publicitarios de la carretera central" [Language of "Chicha" Art in Advertising Posters on the Central Highway](PDF). Comunifé: Revista de Comunicación Social. 15: 83–84. ISSN   1810-6994 . Retrieved 28 October 2020.
  7. 1 2 Cook, Greg (15 October 2019). "The Incandescent Chicha Posters That Revolutionarized Peruvian Design – WONDERLAND". gregcookland.com. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
  8. ↑ Mroczek, Andrew. "Revolución Chicha: Street Art & Graphics of Perú". Lesley University. Archived from the original on 11 August 2020. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
  9. ↑ Perú 21 (29 June 2018). "El colectivo peruano de arte Amapolay participa en exposición en EE.UU" [The Peruvian Art Collective Amapolay Participates in an Exhibition in the U.S.]. peru21.pe (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 October 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  10. ↑ Yalán Dongo, Eduardo (1 March 2019). Semiótica del consumo. Una aproximación a la publicidad desde sus signos (in Spanish). Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas. p. 114. ISBN   978-958-762-991-0 . Retrieved 29 October 2020.

Further reading

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