Mexican Modernism 4 October 2024 “The local in the global context” DU2401 What is Mexican modernism? Truly local – truly global? José Chávez Morado, Carnival at Huejotzingo, 1939 The Mexican Revolution as a catalyst (1910–1920) Popular and print culture: José Guadalupe Posada (1852–1913) Precursors José Guadalupe Posada, Calavera oaxaqueña, broadsheet, 1903 Augistin Casasola, Emiliano Zapata Suspicions towards European imperialist foundations & democratic models: in search for alternatives -General Alvaro Obregón and the consolidation period after the Revolution (1920 – 24): José Vasconcelos as Minister of Public Education (1920) -nationalist authoritarianism under President Plutarco Elías Calles and the Maximato (1924 – 34) -socialism under President Lázaro Cárdenas (1934 – 40) Peasants, c. 1913, by David Alfaro Siqueiros, 1896 – 1974, showing a man and woman, drawn in colol-toned pastels Peasants, c. 1913, by David Alfaro Siqueiros, 1896 – 1974, Pastel on paper, Museo Nacional de Arte, INBA. Barricade, 1931, by José Clemente Orozco Barricade, 1931, by José Clemente Orozco Estridentismo Muralism & politics Photography Gendered perspectives Popular culture and the forging of a modern Mexican nation Is there one Mexican Modernism? Ramón Alva de La Canal, El Café de Nadie, 1924. Estridentismo (stridentism) Manuel Maples Arce. Actual No. 1, broadsheet (recto), 59.5 . 40 cm (1921). Cubist – dadaist – futurist ideas, combined with political activism: “the first Mexican avant-garde”, 1921–1927 Tina Modotti, Telegraph lines, 1924 -Fashion for progress and technology -Cosmopolitanism Manifesto of the Syndicate of Technical Workers, Painters and Sculptors To the Indian race humiliated for centuries; to soldiers made executioners by the praetorians; to workers and peasants beaten by the greed of the rich; to intellectuals uncorrupted by the bourgeoisie. … We appeal to common soldiers who, unaware of what is happening or deceived by their traitorous officers, are about to shed the blood of their brothers of race and class. Remember that the bourgeoisie will use the self-same weapons with which the Revolution guaranteed your brother’s land and livelihood to now seize them. Los Tres Grandes: “the voice of the voiceless”? -The monumental and the epic -Leftist realism for the masses -mestzaje and indigenismo: revisiting notions of what is modern and what is archaic -The “myth of revolutionary nationalism” -Aesthetic production became as a site of public debate about the character of mexicanidad - Siqueiros, Orozco, and Rivera (left to right) at the time of the creation of the National Mural Commission (1947). Diego Rivera (1886–1957) Emiliano Zapata, 1931 Mural at the National Palace, Mexico City, 1929 Diego Rivera El Anahuac Mural – Man at the Crossroads, Rockefeller Centre, N.Y., 1930s (destroyed) The recreated version of the painting, known as "Man, Controller of the Universe" Diego Rivera Detroit Industries Murals (detail), 1930s David Alfaro Siqueros (1896–1974) “We must become universal! Our own racial and regional physiognomy will always show through in our work.” Self-Portrait, 1945 A group of men in clothing Description automatically generated From Porfirianism to the Revolution (detail), 1964 José Clemente Orozco (1883–1949) Destruction of the Old Order (detail), 1926 (National Preparatory School, Mexico City Catharsis (partial view), 1934 (Museum of the Palace of Fine Arts, Mexico City Maternity (1923-24) Motherhood, 1924/25, National Preparatory School, Mexico The Trench (1926) The Trench, 1926 Revisiting Mexican Modernism: through women’s eyes A painting of people in a church Description automatically generated Nahui Olin, Bautizo, ca. 1935 “Above all women must unite and fight together strongly to improve their condition. Women have to cease being luxury objects and transform themselves into a factor within the class struggle; they ought to evolve socially and participate directly in the revolutionary struggle.” María Izquierdo, 1936 A Few Small Nips - Frida Kahlo - 1935 Frida Kahlo, A few small nips, 1935 You cannot bypass Frida Kahlo (today) My Dress Hangs There, 1933 by Frida Kahlo My dress hangs there, 1933 Self Portrait along the Boarder Line between Mexico and the United States Self Portrait along the Boarder Line between Mexico and the United States Frida Kahlo self-portrait painting Untitled [Self-portrait with thorn necklace and hummingbird], 1940. Gendered perspectives of Mexican modernism: Maria Izqierdo (1902–1955) Bride from Papantla, 1944 Portrait, 1928 Still Life, 1948 A group of people sitting at stools in a row Description automatically generated Manuel Alvarez Bravo, The Crouched Ones (1934) A group of people climbing on a wooden beam Description automatically generated Lola Alvarez Bravo, The Freeloaders (1955) Mexican Suite : A History of Photography in Mexico by Olivier Debroise (2001-03-03) Tina Modotti, Behind the Camera and Out of Weston’s Shadow Tina Modotti (1896–1942) Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo with members of the Artists’ Union at a May Day march. Mexico City. 1929. Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo with members of the Artists’ Union at a May Day march. Mexico City. 1929.Credit Tina Modotti - Wikipedia Tina Modotti | MoMA Jeu de Paume: Tina Modotti : The Eye of the Revolution - The Eye of Photography Magazine Tina Modotti, an Anti-Conformist at Heart — Blind Magazine Tina Modotti, an Anti-Conformist at Heart — Blind Magazine Photography as a socially committed art In a striking photograph taken in 1928, Tina Modotti captures what feels like an iconic image of revolution—a proud woman steps forward, looking toward the horizon, partially wrapped in a flag. But what revolution is symbolized? The flag itself is... El Machete, the A-I-Z and Mexican Folkways Palatable for the masses? Portrait of Tourist（Portrait of Mr. Henri de Chatillon) María Izquierdo, The Tourist, 1940 Verfilmung über die Künstlerin Frida Kahlo Women in indigenous-inspired costumes – a Tehuana everyday costume and a Tehuana holiday costume – in the Mexican Pavilion during the Ibero-American Exposition, Seville 1929