The Muralist Movement in Mexico
The Muralist Movement in Mexico
Mural painting is one of the oldest and most important forms of artistic, political and social expression. Mexican muralists, Diego Rivera, Jose Clemente Orozco, and David Alfaro Siqueiros revived this form of painting in Mexico and led the way for the Muralist Movement in Mexico. Their murals were based on the political and social conditions of the times. During the beginning of the 20th century, Mexico went through a political and social revolution and the government began to commission a number of huge frescos to celebrate its achievements. The muralist movement would not only have a great effect on their own country but the rest of the world as well.
The first modern artists from a Hispanic country in the Western Hemisphere whose art attracted worldwide attention were these painters known as Mexican muralists. The best known of the Mexican muralists, Diego Rivera filled the walls of public buildings in Mexico and the United States with enormous murals praising social revolution. Murals were seen as an effective way to communicate national goals, especially to an illiterate population. David Alfaro Siqueiros, born in Chihuahua, was very much involved with politics. He fought in the Mexican Revolution and the Spanish Civil War. He articulated ideas of the artist’s social and political responsibility. He also spent time in exile and was arrested a total of seven times because of political beliefs. Siqueiros often painted the glory of the revolution, the honor of the revolution and the promise of technology. He used the fresco process to paint his murals where paint is applied to freshly applied plaster on a wall. He also painted frescoes on concrete and began to use the innovative technique of airbrushing much like graffiti artists do today. He taught and trained many artists such as Jackson Pollock in workshops he held in New York and Los Angeles. He was also very active with the political revolutions of his country
Mural painting is one of the oldest and most important forms of artistic, political and social expression. Mexican muralists, Diego Rivera, Jose Clemente Orozco, and David Alfaro Siqueiros revived this form of painting in Mexico and led the way for the Muralist Movement in Mexico. Their murals were based on the political and social conditions of the times. During the beginning of the 20th century, Mexico went through a political and social revolution and the government began to commission a number of huge frescos to celebrate its achievements. The muralist movement would not only have a great effect on their own country but the rest of the world as well.
The first modern artists from a Hispanic country in the Western Hemisphere whose art attracted worldwide attention were these painters known as Mexican muralists. The best known of the Mexican muralists, Diego Rivera filled the walls of public buildings in Mexico and the United States with enormous murals praising social revolution. Murals were seen as an effective way to communicate national goals, especially to an illiterate population. David Alfaro Siqueiros, born in Chihuahua, was very much involved with politics. He fought in the Mexican Revolution and the Spanish Civil War. He articulated ideas of the artist’s social and political responsibility. He also spent time in exile and was arrested a total of seven times because of political beliefs. Siqueiros often painted the glory of the revolution, the honor of the revolution and the promise of technology. He used the fresco process to paint his murals where paint is applied to freshly applied plaster on a wall. He also painted frescoes on concrete and began to use the innovative technique of airbrushing much like graffiti artists do today. He taught and trained many artists such as Jackson Pollock in workshops he held in New York and Los Angeles. He was also very active with the political revolutions of his country
Bibliography: Carrier, David. “Art criticism and the death of Marxism.” Leonardo 30.3 (1997): 241. Cruz, Bárbara C. Jose Clemente Orozco: Mexican Artist. Berkley Heights: Enslow Publishers, 1998. Doy, Gen. “MARXISM AND THE HISTORY OF ART: FROM WILLIAM MORRIS TO THE NEW LEFT BY ANDREW HEMINGWAY.” Art Book 14.2 (May 2007): 43-44 Harris, Jonathan. “The Demands of Art’s History.” Art Monthly (Feb. 2007): 35-35. Hemingway, Andrew. “Marxism and art history after the fall of communism.” Art Journal 55.2 (Summer 1996): 20 Stein, Philip. SIQUEIROS: His life and Works. New York: International Publishers, 1994.