Interventions: An Interview with Eric J. García

Eric J. García was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He grew up in Burque’s South Valley neighborhood. He comes from a long line of ancestors that have lived in New Mexico when it was New Spain, then Mexico, and finally conquered by the United States. The border crossed his family. His family didn’t cross the border. He earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of New Mexico and went on to get his Master of Fine Arts degree from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Eric is a versatile artist working in an assortment of media. From hand-printed posters, to nationally published political cartoons, to large-scale public murals, they all have a common goal of educating and challenging the public. Eric’s satiric cartoons mix history and culture with contemporary themes. He seeks to create art that is much more than just aesthetics. Eric has exhibited his work in numerous national and international exhibitions and has received many awards, including the Jacob Javits Fellowship and the Midwestern Voices and Visions Residency.

In 2018, Eric published Drawing on Anger: Portraits of U.S. Hypocrisy with Latinographix, my trade-press series that publishes graphic fiction and graphic nonfiction by Latinxs. In his book Eric opens eyes to the underbelly of the US, especially focusing on the epoch between 2004 and the present. Through his visual-verbal dexterous strokes, he reconstructs pivotal moments in history and reflects on the larger themes of anti-immigration laws, global imperialism, veteran’s affairs, and the conquest of the Americas.

Frederick Luis Aldama:

How might you see you and your work intervening intellectually, creatively, and politically?

Eric García:

My art can be found in a variety of venues such as newspapers, classrooms, and art galleries. My art may live in different arenas but it basically intervenes in the same way in those different spaces.

A person strolling through the newspaper could be pleasantly surprised or horribly shocked depending on their political point of view. Students might be attracted to one of my funny drawings and then suddenly understand a complex issue. Audiences might come to the gallery looking for the freshest creative expression but will also find intellectual and political challenges. No matter what arena my art is placed, there is always an artistic, intellectual, and political intervention.

FLA:

How does one create during a time when there’s so much division and economic uncertainty for the majority of people?

EG:

There has always been divisions in this country. The only difference now is that the thin veil that cloaked the blatant racism has now been torn off to uncover the harsh reality of it all. Add on to that the huge class discrepancies and you have society united to nothing. Especially looking at the US through the Chicano lens, there has not been a time when the US has embraced our people culturally or economically. Our community has always struggled for better pay, better jobs. They have always struggled economically in the US. So this is not a new time that we are living in, and I am not creating in a new kind of moment. The sad fact of it all is that I can post a cartoon I created over a decade ago and it would make perfect sense in this moment in time. Things haven’t really change if you look at the bigger picture.

FLA:

Today more than ever we need nonfiction cartoonists like yourself calling it for what it is. However, how does one survive day to day as a critical cartoonist who is alert to social and political turmoil that marks the US and world today?

EG:

It’s overwhelming—that’s for sure—and I am sad to say that I can’t keep up with all the caca that is going on. It is very frustrating that I can’t draw fast enough or have enough time to tackle all the issues that are going on. But one way I cope is by not letting...