I came across a few links to some mural artists. With a little bit of research, its become apparent to me that mural art is a hugely important medium in Mexican culture, which is clear when we look at the art along the Mexico/U.S. border.
Check these out:
The Art of the Mural
Hector Duarte
Right now, I am taking an art history course on Modern Art. One of the subjects in Modern art is the Mexican mural movement in 1933. Mexican muralist Diego Rivera is known for his murals in Detroit. In 1932, he painted the mural Detroit Industry.
ReplyDeleteOn the Detroit Art Institute website, there is a write-up on Rivera's mural Detroit Industry. The Mexican muralists were interested in the contemporary American scene and politics during this movement.
"The Detroit Industry fresco cycle in Rivera Court is the finest example of Mexican muralist work in the United States; Rivera considered it the most successful work of his career. In 1932 when Rivera was well known in the United States as one of the leaders of the Mexican muralist movement, he was commissioned by Edsel Ford, president of the Arts Commission as well as of Ford Motor Company, and Dr. William Valentiner, director of the DIA, to create two murals for the museum in its Garden Court.
The north and south walls are devoted to three sets of images: the representation of the races that shape North American culture and make up its work force, the automobile industry, and the other industries of Detroit (medical, pharmaceutical, and chemical). At the bottom of the walls are small panels which depict the sequence of a day in the life of the workers at the Ford River Rouge plant. The central panel of the north wall represents important operations in the production and manufacture of the engine and transmission of the 1932 Ford V8. The major panel of the south wall is devoted to the production of the automobile’s exterior."
source: Detroit Art Institute website
In my textbook, Art Since 1900, critic Brenton claims, "The Mexican concern with publicly significant meanings and with the pageant of Mexican national life corresponded perfectly with what I had in mind for art in the United States" (Art Since 1900, p.258). In terms of the connection to Detroit, Rivera came to paint murals based on Social Realism. Social Realism was a shift in Modern Art, when the focus came to personal and political expression of art.