Art Hazelwood

Reflection: Gallup Diner, by Art Hazelwood

2017

STATEMENT Artist books are an extension of my work in printmaking. I started thirty-five years ago with the simple idea of putting woodcut prints together in a sequential order. Since then I’ve worked with different forms of books, large scale accordion books, complex stage books, flip books etc. However, printmaking is still the center of any project. I’m involved in many projects that have nothing to do with books, but suddenly an idea will seem to require a book form. Some of the ideas that have inspired books are unexpected; a chance hearing of an opera aria about the underworld, the curious thought of how a theater work about the Thirty Years War could be reconstructed from engravings – and then how that might translate to the Afghan War. Suddenly an idea calls out for a book form to make it complete. BIOGRAPHY For over 25 years Art Hazelwood has created politically charged prints, working with dozens of organizations from arts organizations to unions to grassroots movements. Over that period he has been consistently involved with homeless rights, including working with the Western Regional Advocacy Project, where he is the Minister of Culture. In 2017, he received the Artwork as Revolution Award from the Coalition on Homelessness. He taught at the San Francisco Art Institute where he was involved in union bargaining for adjunct faculty and was elected Shop Steward. Also at the Art Institute he was part of the founding of the San Francisco Poster Syndicate, which has brought together political poster makers from various levels of experience and backgrounds to create art for activist organizations. His artwork is in the collections of the Library of Congress, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and many other institutions. In 2021 UC Santa Cruz Special Collections established an archive of approximately 300 of his political prints. He is the author of the forthcoming book Mission Gráfica: Reflecting a Community in Print, as well as Hobos to Street People: Artists’ Responses to Homelessness from the New Deal to the Present.