Y Con Tu Espíritu : Palabras y Muertitos by Bob Rob (Medina)

OUT NOVEMBER 1, 2020

Y Con Tu Espíritu : Palabras y Muertitos
Paintings • Linocuts • Writings
Author: Bob Rob Medina
Layout: Sonny Kay
Editor: Sonny Kay
ISBN: 978-1-7923-4935-5
Pages: 182
Full-color
Wake Up! Music
First edition: 500 copies

OUT NOVEMBER 1, 2020

Long before publishing his massive volumes documenting Colorado’s rich underground music culture (Denvoid and the Cowtown Punks [Robot Enemy Books, 2016] and Colorado Crew: A Collection of Tales and Images from the Colorado Punk Scene [Robot Enemy Books, 2019]), Bob Rob Medina was navigating life’s unexpected changes and battling inner demons.

Medina began establishing himself as a printmaker in 1996, selling his designs out of a plastic box on the streets of Atlanta during the Summer Olympics. He relocated to San Diego in 2002, having fond memories of visiting family there as a child, attracted as well by the flourishing underground music scene. A censored art show later, he set his sights on getting back in touch with his Mexican-American heritage.

Right away, Medina started developing his Day of the Dead style, strongly influenced by his frequent trips across the border to Tijuana and Ensenada, Mexico. Inspiration for his work was gleaned from camping out in the back of his pickup truck at surf spots, sampling the local cuisine, seeking out folk art, jamming on rock en Español, and drinking bottles of Tecate at bullfights. Medina has said that Ensenada was his “second home.”

During the 2000’s, Medina hand-printed over 5000 prints of his linocuts, and participated in nearly two dozen solo and group art exhibitions. He also wrote profusely and played in bands, all the while holding down his day job teaching art to middle schoolers. He describes much of his output and energy at the time as a coping mechanism for dealing with his first wife’s suicide.

All of the above are included in this 182-page collection of art and writing, and many more. Medina’s rendition of the Stations of the Cross, threats from right-wing militants, surfing skeletons, and the story of how he hired a trio to propose to his fiancé are but a few.

The first 70 preorders will receive a one-of-a-kind signed linocut print. COVID19