Mexican muralism

Mexican muralism is an artistic movement that flourished in Mexico City from 1920 through the late 1950s, and whose influence continues to be reflected in the work of contemporary artists in Mexico and in Mexican-American communities. It philosophically centers on ideas of what an ideal Mexican society should look like. It strives to respect pre-Hispanic traditions of Mesoamerican cultures while emphasizing equality for all and stressing social justice in an increasingly industrial age. It frequently uses motifs of revolution (mostly the Mexican Revolution, but also concepts and imagery from the Mexican War of Independence and the Russian Revolution of 1917). Mexican murals were very bold and direct, had violent imagery, and were meant to stir emotions of patriotism.

Understand

History

Before the 20th century, Mexico invariably looked to European art for its inspiration. European-trained artists (particularly from Spain and Italy) were brought to Mexico to produce European-style works following European concepts of style and beauty. Occasionally, native artists would be invited to contribute to major projects (such as creating paintings and sculptures for cathedrals), but generally, the most promising Mexican artists would be sent to Europe to complete their training.

That began to change in the late 19th century as Mexicans sought a unique Mexican identity (mexicanidad) based on their unique blend of ethnic backgrounds and racial identities (mestizaje). The melting pot of the human gene pool wasn't all there was to it though. The new society needed to stop casting aside indigenous traditions and instead promote them and incorporate them into the national identity and all forms of cultural expression. Mesoamerican gods would have a place in modern art along with modern ideas about social equality.

By the end of the Mexican Revolution, the government had stopped emphasizing European culture and instead looked for ways to foster artists who could capture the new spirit of 20th century Mexico. Along with new programs for education, welfare, and land distribution, was a program that specifically supported artists: the Mexican Muralism program would not only give grants to the country's artists, it would provide them with prominent public spaces to create grand frescoes with epic themes. Colleges, hospitals, and government buildings were among the most publicly visible places where murals would be created.

The Mexican Muralist movement affected the arts community far beyond painters who would create murals. Support was also provided to sculptors and even poets.

Mexican muralists caught the attention of an international community. Several prominent European artists emigrated to Mexico (many more as the storm clouds of World War II loomed and artists who feared the Nazis fled to safer shores). Many of Mexico's top artists moved abroad to accept commissions for big Mexico-style mural projects to be painted in other cities and countries. Despite the constant themes of communist or socialist sympathies, many significant Mexican murals were painted in socialist-phobic locations in the United States (not always with pleasant outcomes).

One of Diego Rivera's most impressive projects was an epic series of murals he created for the Ford Motor Company in the courtyard of the Detroit Institute of Arts. To his credit, Edsel Ford stood by Rivera in defending the work (Detroit Industry Murals) against philistine critics. Rivera later accepted a commission from Nelson Rockefeller to paint an epic mural in New York City's Rockefeller Center. When Nelson Rockefeller saw that Diego's mural contained a depiction of notorious Russian communist Vladimir Lenin, Rockefeller flipped his lid. He demanded that Rivera remove Lenin from the work. Rivera refused (after taking photos, just in case). Rockefeller had the work destroyed. Rivera went back to Mexico City where he was given a wall in the Palacio de Bellas Artes to re-create the work, now titled, Man at the Crossroads.

Jose Clemente Orozco was the least strident of the "Big 3" muralists when it came to socialism, and his mural projects in the United States never stirred up the same kind of controversy as Rivera. Orozco's best-known mural in the United States was a wall in the Frary dining hall at Pomona College in Claremont (California).

David Alfaro Siquieros was the most stridently communist of the Mexican muralists, and maybe that's why he didn't earn commissions to paint murals in the U.S., but he did have exhibitions in New York City where he also conducted workshops to help train young budding artists, such as Jackson Pollock. Pollock says he owes much of his style to what he learned from Siquieros.

Artists

Dr. Atl (whose parents named him Gerardo Murillo) was a colorful character who is the real "Most Interesting Man in the World" (despite what Dos Equis commercials tell you). Atl is best known as an artist who was a former director of the San Carlos Academy (Mexico's most famous, and the Americas' first, art school). Atl pushed the idea of mexicanidad and thought Mexico should stop sending its most promising artists to learn in Europe and instead "home grow" its artists with Mexican traditions so they could paint Mexican people and places using colors and techniques that best represented Mexico. Everyone in the Mexican Muralism movement espoused similar ideas, but Atl did so 15-20 years before it became popular. Atl was a prolific painter, but one of his best-known works was the design of the main stage curtain in the Palacio de Bellas Artes, which was constructed by Tiffany in New York. Atl's politics were kind of extreme, he fought in the Mexican Revolution and later was a communist who also stuck up for fascism. Fortunately for his dinner companions, he discovered volcanoes and spent his later years painting them (particularly the birth and death of Paricutin).
Diego Rivera was Mexico's most prominent artist of the early 20th century. Trained at the San Carlos Academy, then in Madrid and Paris where he learned cubism from Pablo Picasso before returning to Mexico City. He is usually regarded as the top artist of the Mexican Muralism movement with many of the most significant works in the most prominent locations, particularly his series History of Mexico that graces the interior of the Palacio Nacional in Mexico City/Centro. He and his wife, Frida Kahlo, were avowed communists.

*Mask*, by Guillermo Ceniceros Reyes in the Tacubaya Metro station

Jose Clemente Orozco is known for fire and brimstone and works that boil over with rage. His most famous work is the interior of the Hospicio Cabañas in Guadalajara (a UNESCO World Heritage Site). In Mexico City, he has a large mural inside the Palacio de Bellas Artes and a major unfinished series of murals inside the Hospital de Jesús Nazareno. His works reflect a deeper use of symbolism than other muralists of his time. He was classically trained at the Academy of San Carlos and spent his entire career painting with one hand (he lost his other hand in a fireworks explosion).
Rufino Tamayo is one of Mexico's most famous artists, but was active a bit later than the "Big 3". He also differs from them in that he didn't subscribe to socialist thoughts and believed that revolution did not deserve to be such a prominent theme in Mexican Muralism. Tamayo was born to a Zapotec mestizo family in Oaxaca, studied at the Academy of San Carlos, specializing in drawing, and worked for several years in New York City.
Jorge González Camarena began his career working with Dr. Atl, but he ended up outliving many of his Mexican Muralist colleagues. He painted and constructed large-scale murals up until 1980. Gonzalez studied at the Academy of San Carlos. In the 1950s he pushed for greater collaboration between artists and architects, which he demonstrated through a large mural project in the IMSS building on Paseo de la Reforma in Mexico City.

Enduring legacy

The Mexican government's formal muralism project ended in the 1950s, but its impact continues to be felt as muralism continues to be practiced by a new generation of contemporary artists with different ideas than their predecessors. In the latter half of the 20th century (and through today), state and local governments have often stepped in to support mural projects. Many municipal town halls (ayuntamientos or palacios municipales) follow the model set by the federal government's muralist project, but preferring artists with local roots or concepts of local interest. One of the most extensive modern-era muralist projects is the inclusion of new murals by young contemporary artists inside and outside Metro stations throughout the Mexico City area. Many are hiding in plain sight at well-trafficked stations, but many of the stations are outside the typical tourist areas, so remain largely unknown to foreigners.

Contemporary artists focus on different themes than artists of the early 20th century. Gone are most of the violently radical images of revolution, and no contemporary artist invokes images of communist heroes. Instead, the issue of revolution is regarded as settled business and instead, murals today are more likely to focus on the environment, though themes of indigenous traditions continue to earn prominent placement.

See

Mexico City

Palace of Fine Arts (Palacio de Bellas Artes), Mexico City/Centro - home to a large number of murals on several levels in the central atrium (and a larger number of traditional paintings in the side galleries). This is one of the best places to see a number of murals by different artists in one place. Artists include: Diego Rivera, Rufino Tamayo, David Alfaro Siqueiros, José Clemente Orozco, Jorge González Camarena, Manuel Rodríguez Lozano, and Roberto Montenegro.
National Capitol (Palacio Nacional), Mexico City/Centro - home to Diego Rivera's most impressive (and arguably most famous) work, a Mexico Through the Centuries that spans many surfaces including stairwells.
Escuela Nacional Preparatoria, Mexico City/Centro - this place was the first official project under the "Mexican Muralism" program, murals span 3 floors of the former College of San Ildefonso, it is one of the best muralist sites in Mexico City and is a showcase for a series of murals by Jose Clemente Orozco (though it also has murals by other well-known artists).
Department of Education (Secretariat de Educacion Publica), Mexico City/Centro - large number of Diego Rivera murals on the first and third levels. The building also houses murals by several of the lesser known muralists, though building employees are not forthcoming about where or how to see them.
UNAM Campus (Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico), Mexico City/Coyoacan - several of Mexico's top artists created huge outdoor murals on the sides of campus buildings. These artists include Juan O'Gorman, David Alfaro Siguieros, and Diego Rivera.

Morelia

Michoacan State House (Palacio de Gobierno), Morelia - site of an extensive series of murals by Alfredo Zalce, a well-known contemporary of the "big three" in Mexico City. Zalce's murals date from the 1920s. Smaller works by the artist are in the collections of major museums around the world including both the MoMA and Metropolitan Museum in New York as well as most major art museums in Mexico City.

Tlaxcala

Tlaxcala State House (Palacio de Gobierno), Tlaxcala - site of Desidereo Hernández Xochitiotzin's most important work, La historia de Tlaxcala y su contribución a lo mexicano (History of Tlaxcala and its contribution to that of Mexico).

Guadalajara

Hospicio Cabañas, Guadalajara - many of Orozco's best work is in his home state of Jalisco, but the most powerful are inside the Hospicio (especially the chapel ceiling, with a mural called Man on Fire)

United States

Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit - site of a series of murals by Diego Rivera titled Detroit Industry about American industrial might, commissioned by Ford Motor Company in the 1930s
Pomona College, Los Angeles - site of a famous mural titled Prometheus by Jose Clemente Orozco