Mexican Street Graphics

Most of Mexico's advertising in the small towns and villages is street graphcs, typography and images painted onto the walls of shops and buildings. I found these more interesting than advertising found in the cities because they illustate the culture and artisitic qualities of individuals rather than multinational advertising companies. The artisits who made these were not instructed in the conventions of visual arts or the latest design trends, but their work belongs to a tradition that has been passed down through the years and across the country.



I think that the reason that enjoy and find so alluring mexican street graphics is that they are not perfect. the high-tech world of graphic design at the moment allows artisit to create 'perfect' design. These hand painted designs emitt the soul and personality of the person who created it. A crooked line, a mistake often has more fervor and sincerity.



To a foreign visitor from a western country where functional advertsising uses primarily photographs, some of the images seem a little absurd, immature perhaps. Even the content of some images are confusing and contradictory e.g. a roman ceaser eating a mexican torta. However it is this fantastic juxtaposition that goves mexican graphics their own distinctive identity and dynamic.

Many of the images shown here have been created on one fell swoop, without preliminary drawings or plans. This is difficult for me as a student in britain to comprehend because planning to me is of utmost importance. For me to create a piece of graphics or art, i find it necessary to create different preliminay versions before creating my final image, and even then changing it, often dramatically. It could be seen however that the mexican's casual creative procedure as either being original or impassive.



Finally i was most attracted initally by the usage of colours. Mexico is a bright, colourful country in the face of poverty and depression. People go about their everyday lives with more vigor and get-up-and-go than the citizens of our inifinitly more comfortable, weathly country. And this si think is refelected in the colours of their clothing, their houses and their street graphics.