Migrant Health, by Luis Guerra, 1976 • silkscreen on paper (edition of ca. 200) • 20.5 x 12.5 • Created for the National Migrant Referral Project, Inc.
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Luis GuerraOn Creating the Migrant Health Poster, 1976
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"I felt honored when my friend Dan Cárdenas asked me to create a poster for his fledgling organization, the National Migrant Referral Project. The idea, as I remember it, was that the poster would be put up in health clinics throughout the country that served migrant farmworkers, so that the farmworkers would see it and know that they were welcome there.
My principal inspiration for the poster was the farmworkers themselves, who share their energy to feed the world. The overall form is reminiscent of the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe, who is so important to the Mexican migrant farmworkers, as she is to all Mexicans and many people the world over.
There are seven sets of branches in the central plant form, representing the Hindu chakras, or vital energy centers of the human body. The geometric patterns are the light generating from the organic life form, just as, I believe, farmworkers give light and energy to the world.
Visually, I saw the words “Migrant Health” as the ceramic pot or planter from which the plant form that is symbolic of the farmworkers grew, to shine its light. I was delighted and gratified when I discovered that the organization had adopted this image as its logo.
I also owe my thanks to my friend the late Richard Mercado, an Austin native, for helping me with the printing of this poster. He was willing to experiment with the split-fountain technique, which allowed us to get five colors out of only two passes!"
~ Luis Guerra
Austin, Tex. • Sept. 1, 2020
My principal inspiration for the poster was the farmworkers themselves, who share their energy to feed the world. The overall form is reminiscent of the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe, who is so important to the Mexican migrant farmworkers, as she is to all Mexicans and many people the world over.
There are seven sets of branches in the central plant form, representing the Hindu chakras, or vital energy centers of the human body. The geometric patterns are the light generating from the organic life form, just as, I believe, farmworkers give light and energy to the world.
Visually, I saw the words “Migrant Health” as the ceramic pot or planter from which the plant form that is symbolic of the farmworkers grew, to shine its light. I was delighted and gratified when I discovered that the organization had adopted this image as its logo.
I also owe my thanks to my friend the late Richard Mercado, an Austin native, for helping me with the printing of this poster. He was willing to experiment with the split-fountain technique, which allowed us to get five colors out of only two passes!"
~ Luis Guerra
Austin, Tex. • Sept. 1, 2020