168:. Self-Help Graphics was both a print studio and a community center, with Sister Karen as its longtime director. She worked to highlight Mexican cultural elements in much of the studio's output, and in the educational programs that they undertook. She was instrumental in organizing the first Dia de los Muertos celebration in Los Angeles. "Sister Karen was very adamant about including Mesoamerican and Mexican iconography and history in teaching young people in East L. A.," noted instructor
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Karen
Boccalero died in 1997, at age 64 of a heart attack. A traditional altar was erected in her memory, covered in artworks, photos, cigarette boxes, and marigolds. There was a tribute exhibit to Sister Karen on the tenth anniversary of her death, at Self Help Graphics & Art. Posters by
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Boccalero was a persuasive fundraiser for the program. Her training as an artist informed her work supporting emerging artists. She considered the studio her mission, as a
Franciscan nun, and her order recognized it as such, even while she was supporting
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Boccalero wore modest informal secular clothing, not a religious habit. "She dedicated herself as a bride of Christ, but she was also a progressive, chain-smoking, cussing nun," remembered colleague Tomas
Benitez.
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Jeremy
Rosenberg, "Culture Power: The Importance of Sister Karen Boccalero & Self Help Graphics & Art in Los Angeles History," Los Angeles History Archive.
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in 2010. Work by Sister Karen was also featured in "Now Dig This! Art and Black Los
Angeles, 1960–1980," a 2011–2013 traveling show organized by the
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with extended family during her freshman year of high school before returning to Los
Angeles to live with her mother and Jewish stepfather. She attended
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began with inspiration from the work of Karen
Boccalero. Self-Help Graphics & Art continues as a community institution in East Los Angeles.
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in 1971, with a group of
Chicano artists. She had acquired a printing press and started a workshop in a garage rented by her order, the
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359:"A bridge between worlds; Ofelia Esparza, L.A.'s most admired altar maker, reminds us of the meaning of Dia de los Muertos"
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546:"Now Dig This! Art and Black Los Angeles 1960-1980 at MoMA PS1," Museum of Modern Art press release (December 5, 2012).
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108:(May 19, 1933 – June 24, 1997) was an American nun, fine artist, and founder and former director of
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Cathy Weiss and Julia Wasson, "Tomas
Benitez on his Friend Sister Karen of Self-Help Graphics,"
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Boccalero and other artists from her community were part of the "American Sabor" exhibit at
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583:"Miriam Di Nunzio, "Trio of Exhibits to Open at Chicago's National Museum of Mexican Art,"
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bands to perform regularly in the studio. In 1988, Boccalero won a Vesta Award from the
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Self Help
Graphics at Fifty: A Cornerstone of Latinx Art and Collaborative Artmaking
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Marita Hernandez, "East L. A. Center Serves as 'Family' Home to Chicano Artists,"
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Boccalero lived to see Self-Help Graphics featured in a major exhibit at
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William Wilson, "O. C. Art Review: L. A.'s Energetic 'Chicano Art,'"
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Come As You Aren't! Feeling At Home with Multicultural Celebrations
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Hector Tobar, "Sister Karen Boccalero, Latino Art Advocate, Dies,"
558:"Galería Sin Fronteras, National Museum of Mexican Art website"
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Sisters of St. Francis of Penance and Christian Charity
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Creating the Future: Art and Los Angeles in the 1970s
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Laura Pulido, Laura Barraclough, Wendy Cheng, eds.,
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Agustin Gurza, "Honoring Self-Help's Self Starter,"
472:"Sister Karen Boccalero, Latino Art Advocate, Dies"
395:Roberto Bedoya, "In Praise of Art and Dedication,"
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324:(University of Arizona Press 2009): 159–162.
242:Alissa Walker, "The Muse on Cesar Chavez Avenue,"
160:Boccalero founded and named Self-Help Graphics in
140:. Boccalero pursued further art education at the
500:(Rowman & Littlefield 2006): 236–237.
260:Reinoza, Tatiana; Davalos, Karen Mary (2023).
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667:Temple University Tyler School of Art alumni
616:(University of California Press 2012): 110.
425:"Nine Vesta Award Winners to be Honored,"
412:Vexing: Female Voices from East L. A. Punk
188:, for her work in arts community support.
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677:20th-century American Roman Catholic nuns
702:People from East Los Angeles, California
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148:, and earned an MFA as a printmaker at
357:Hernandez, Daniel (October 31, 2021).
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322:Chicana and Chicano Art: ProtestArte
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692:20th-century American women artists
532:"Estilo Musical: East L. A. Punk,"
16:American nun and artist (1933–1997)
687:American people of Italian descent
120:Carmen Rose Boccalero was born in
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697:20th-century American printmakers
614:A People's Guide to Los Angeles
414:(Claremont Museum of Art 2008).
470:Tobar, Hector (26 June 1997).
266:University of California Press
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180:in bringing East Los Angeles
637:Self-Help Graphics & Art
110:Self-Help Graphics & Art
75:East Los Angeles, California
346:(December 21, 1985): OC_A4.
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722:American women printmakers
662:People from Globe, Arizona
320:Carlos Francisco Jackson,
707:Catholics from California
219:Galería Sin Fronteras in
136:, where she studied with
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682:Artists from Los Angeles
429:(October 7, 1988): AF32.
199:Personal life and legacy
130:Immaculate Heart College
116:Early life and education
90:Immaculate Heart College
712:Catholics from Arizona
134:Los Feliz, California
42:Carmen Rose Boccalero
672:Artists from Arizona
587:(January 15, 2014)"
459:(October 24, 2013).
293:(Counterpoint 2014)
246:(July-August 2009).
142:Tyler School of Art
210:Bob Bullock Museum
138:Sister Corita Kent
593:on March 10, 2015
585:Chicago Sun-Times
520:Los Angeles Times
507:978-1-59077-093-1
476:Los Angeles Times
444:(March 25, 1995).
442:Los Angeles Times
427:Los Angeles Times
397:Los Angeles Times
363:Los Angeles Times
344:Los Angeles Times
307:Los Angeles Times
193:Laguna Art Museum
150:Temple University
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69:(1997-06-24)
52:May 19, 1933
657:1997 deaths
652:1933 births
244:Utne Reader
146:Rome, Italy
646:Categories
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568:2015-03-08
371:2588973861
331:0816526478
227:References
144:abroad in
48:1933-05-19
195:in 1995.
83:Education
597:March 8,
536:website.
367:ProQuest
481:8 March
182:punkero
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156:Career
619:ISBN
599:2015
503:ISBN
483:2015
327:ISBN
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64:Died
58:, US
38:Born
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
