Discussion 1
Katep50
Reply.docxYesterdayJul 29 at 9:28pm
The Mexican Revolution and the patronage of president Alvaro Obregon’s government, allowed the mural movement to take place. A manifesto was written as a response to the de la Huerta attempted coup against the Obregon government. The manifesto was signed by Siqueiros, Diego Rivera, and Jose Clemente Orozco (Los Tres Grandes). This espoused a revolutionary aesthetic for public art, through the mural. The Los Tres Grandes cultivated a style that defined Mexican identity following the Revolution. It also defined the role of the politically responsible art. The movement led by the Los Tres Grandes celebrated the Mexican’s people’s potential to craft the nation’s history which was a main theme in the Mexican murals.
The indigenous cultures were also an influence on the revolutionary artists of Mexico. The artists saw the way the White Europeans and the Elites were oppressing the Indigenous people, influencing the artists to include the indigienous culture into their murals.The Mexican artists felt inspired by the indigenous cultures and put their own traditions and old habits of the Mestizo culture into their murals. The artists wanted to show to the Mexican population the culture and traditions of the indigineous people.
YesterdayJul 29 at 3:45pm
The Mexican Revolution influenced the revolutionary artists of Mexico, especially Diego Rivera, Jose Clemente Orozco, and David Alfaro Siqueiros. It was a way for them to demonstrate to the people how the White Mexican’s and Europeans were the cause of suffering. Many artists wanted to motivate the Campesinos to rise above the elites, an ideology influenced by Emiliano Zapata. In their art, they showed the dark truth about corrupt politics in Mexico. Many artists would create murals and paintings, illustrating an ideal Mexican nation and culture. Unlike Rivera, Orozco and Siqueiros had firsthand experience with the Mexican Revolution. For Orozco, this meant implementing the violence from the revolution in his artwork. Siqueiros experienced mental trauma from the revolution, which he used to also include in his work. The revolutionary artists used the revolution to give working-class knowledge about the truths of the revolution and how to overthrow the oppressors.
The Russian Revolution inspired the revolutionary artists to begin a trend of artwork depicting revolution. For example, Diego Rivera visited the USSR, inspiring him to join the communist party in Mexico. After he visited Russia, he returned to Mexico and abandoned his use of Cubism, which he had learned about during his training. Rivera would learn about Karl Marx and his ideologies, which inspired him to include Marx’s influence in his murals. The Russian Revolution inspired Mexican artists to depict their artwork to teach the poor people of Mexico to rise in the same manner that occurred in Russia. For the artists, the Russian Revolution seemed to inspire them to create revolutionary propaganda. A Manifesto published in the Machete was another inspiration from the Russian Revolution that influenced the Mexican artists to resist the upper-class and their imperialistic culture.
The Art movements in Europe, mainly the Italian Renaissance, influenced many significant artists such as Dr. Atl. Dr. Atl continuously praised Italian art because he saw it as the first method of depicting spirituality. Atl had the vision to make all Mexican art on par with European art. He would then teach many of his students, such as Orozco and Siqueiros, the style. Dr.Atl heavily influenced both artists to have a passion for Italian art, which would later influence Mexico’s Modernismo movement. The Europeans influenced Dr. Atl to see art as a representation of life and as a social force. Rivera made multiple trips to Europe, where he was influenced by the French and the Italians too. He would bring home the style of Cubism that was being practiced in Europe and a better intellectual thinker. Rivera was primarily influenced by the European artist Picasso from whom he learned Cubism. Siqueiros also took many trips to Europe, where he was influenced by French artists and the Italian Renaissance and their idea of Futurism.
The Indigenous cultures influenced the revolutionary artists and depicted them in their art as the symbol of Mexico. The artists saw firsthand the way the Elites and white Europeans were oppressing the Indigenous people. The oppression influenced the artists to include the Indigenous population and their rich culture, which they saw as pure. From the Indigenous population emerged two artists known as Jose Obregon and Rodrigo Gutierrez. As the artists were emerging, many others began to create art that embraced the countryside. Artists and their supporters taught the Mexican population the beauties of countryside living and the way of life of the Indigenous.
