Originally curated by CesaÌreo Moreno of the National Museum of Mexican Art, Chicago in collaboration with Bank of America’s curatorial staff, the exhibition presents a survey of artwork created over the past 80 years by artists of Mexican descent, on both sides of the border, who documented the culture they observed. In keeping with the philosophy of Cultura Sin Fronteras (culture without borders), an examination of the artists in the exhibition reveals some common artistic tendencies that have developed since the end of the Mexican Revolution (1910-1920), according to MoLAA.
After the Mexican Revolution ended, an era of peace was ushered in with a different political order and a strong sense of nationalism, known as Mexicanidad (Mexican-ness), which celebrated what it meant to be Mexican. Among the many displays of nationalism that developed as a result of the revolution was a cultural movement that came to be known as Indigenismo, an awareness and admiration of the cultures that had existed before the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors.
Artists who belonged to this movement explored their national heritage and proudly included aspects of ancient Mesoamerican culture in their work. In Miradas, this can be seen in Jean Charlot’s painting of a Tarascan idol, in Carlos MeÌrida’s print series reimagining the myth of the Popol Vuh and in Manuel AÌlvarez Bravo’s photograph of the painter Frida Kahlo wearing a typical Oaxacan dress and elaborate indigenous jewelry.
Jose Vasconcelos, appointed Mexico’s minister of education in 1921, initiated public-works projects throughout Mexico that reflected the ideals of Indigenismo. Those projects helped launch The Mexican Muralist Movement. While numerous artists participated in that movement, Los Tres Grandes (The Three Giants)— Diego Rivera, JoseÌ Clemente Orozco and David Alfaro Siqueiros gained international recognition for their epic murals that celebrated indigenous cultures. Well versed in international avantgarde theories of art that looked to African and native cultures for inspiration, the muralists combined modern-art approaches and Mexican consciousness to create an enduring and broadly influential art historical movement.
During the early 1930s, Los Tres Grandes had all lived and worked in the United States, spreading the awareness and appeal of Mexican visual culture to both artists and the public. Orozco painted mural commissions in: Pomona, California; Hanover, New Hampshire; and New York City. Siqueiros worked in Los Angeles,and Rivera covered expansive walls in San Francisco, Detroit and New York City. At this time, the Mexican Muralist Movement found resonance in the regionalism and realism of artists working during administration of U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and influenced the administration to adopt a mural division under the auspices of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) Federal Art Project in late 1933.
[aesop_parallax img=”http://www.signaltribunenewspaper.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Screen-Shot-2015-07-10-at-12.55.15-PM.png” parallaxbg=”on” caption=”“Moonlight Myth,” oil on canvas by Carlos Almaraz” captionposition=”bottom-left” lightbox=”on” floater=”on” floaterposition=”left” floaterdirection=”up”] Meanwhile, murals by Mexican artists painted in Mexico and across the United States served as inspiration for many Mexican-American artists working in the United States who came of age during the 1960s Civil Rights Era. Beginning in the 1960s, the Chicano movement added printmaking to its artistic arsenal, as a powerful agent of change. The widely disseminated, high-impact posters and graphics that came out of influential West Coast workshops like The Royal Chicano Air Force in Sacramento (founded in 1970), La Raza Graphic Center in San Francisco (founded in 1971) and Self Help Graphics in Los Angeles (founded in 1972), continued to set a standard for politically committed printmaking.
In East Los Angeles and beyond, many murals and related cultural projects were organized and imple- mented. Artists learned to create both popular and powerful works that expressed the ideals of social justice, directly addressing issues in their communities. Judithe HernaÌndez is just one of the original Chica no-movement artists who continue to work with a strong social commitment.
MoLAA is the final stop on the Miradas national tour schedule, and the exhibition represents a homecoming for LA Chicano artists Carlos Almaraz and Judithe HernaÌndez. It also celebrates MoLAA’s recently expanded definition of Latin American art to include Chicano art or art created by people of Latin-American descent who have lived exclusively in the United States.
The museum will host an opening reception on Friday, July 17 from 6pm to 11pm. It will be free to members and $15 for non-members. On Sunday, Aug. 16, from 3pm to 4:30pm, Judithe HernaÌndez will discuss her work in the Miradas exhibition.
For more information, call (562) 437-1689 or visit molaa.org .
Source: MoLAA
