Santos Chávez:
Earth's
printer
When revisiting his career and his origins, it's inevitable to think about his destiny and his force of will. This was a child that worked as a shepherd and did not know how to draw, but who would become one of Chile's main print masters, internationally known. His views were registered on wood, and then transfered to paper through a spoon: such was his favorite technique
By Paula Fiamma
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This
short, dark-skinned, thick-haired man was born
on February the 7th, 1934, in the town of Canihual,
between Tirúa and Quidico, at the Arauco
province, just by the Nahuelbuta mountains. His
father was a "huinca" (mapuche chieftain)
and his mother had been born from a mapuche woman
and a Scottish castaway. Santos was the youngest
of seven sibblings, and was registered at birth
as Santos Chávez Mac Alister Curinao. His
father died when he was seven years old, and his
mother, before Santos had turned 12. His childhood
was spent as a shepherd; he could only go to school
on rainy days, just like the boss told him to.
He never drew as a child and had no artistic motivations
whatsoever.
When he turned 14 years of
age, he decided to move to the city of Concepción,
willing to work day and night. There he could
see the bloom of the printing art, through the
works of Julio Escámez and Gregorio de
la Fuente. In Chillán, Mexican artists
Siqueiros and Xavier Guerrero had gone to paint
murals.
Santos
was so impressed by all these, that he
decided to study Art. He entered Concepción's
Fine Arts School when he was 24 years old, but
stayed there just for a couple of years. In 1960
he moved to Santiago to take part in the Taller
99, a group created by the painter Nemesio Antúnez.
In 1967 he was alredy working in Mexico, then
in New York and then Chicago. After 1973's military
coup, Santos travelled abroad, and did not accept
an invitation from the Pinochet government to
take part on a foreign exhibit. In 1978 he worked
at Stockholm's Graphic Work Shop, and then
moved to Berlin. In 1994 he came back to Chile
and directed the prints workshop at the Museo
de la Solidaridad. All his students would refer
to him as "the master". In the year
2000 he received the Altazor award and was declared
"illustrious son" of Tirúa.
Santos Chávez died
on January the 2nd, 2001. He is still rememberd
for his good humour, humbleness and critical spirit.
His works are part of very important collections,
such as the ones at New York's MOMA, the
Smithsonian Institute and State museums in Berlin
and Nicaragua.
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