Picturing the proletariat : artists and labor in revolutionary Mexico, 1908-1940
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
Picturing the proletariat : artists and labor in revolutionary Mexico, 1908-1940
（Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long series in Latin American and Latino art and culture）
University of Texas Press, 2017
- : pbk
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Note
Includes bibliographical references (p. 341-352) and index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
Thomas McGann Memorial Prize, Rocky Mountain Council on Latin American Studies, 2017
Runner-up, Humanities Book Prize, Mexico Section of the Latin American Studies Association, 2018
In the wake of Mexico's revolution, artists played a fundamental role in constructing a national identity centered on working people and were hailed for their contributions to modern art. Picturing the Proletariat examines three aspects of this artistic legacy: the parallel paths of organized labor and artists' collectives, the relations among these groups and the state, and visual narratives of the worker. Showcasing forgotten works and neglected media, John Lear explores how artists and labor unions participated in a cycle of revolutionary transformation from 1908 through the presidency of Lazaro Cardenas (1934-1940). Lear shows how middle-class artists, radicalized by the revolution and the Communist Party, fortified the legacy of the prerevolutionary print artisan Jose Guadalupe Posada by incorporating modernist, avant-garde, and nationalist elements in ways that supported and challenged unions and the state. By 1940, the state undermined the autonomy of radical artists and unions, while preserving the image of both as partners of the "institutionalized revolution."
This interdisciplinary book explores the gendered representations of workers; the interplay of prints, photographs, and murals in journals, in posters, and on walls; the role of labor leaders; and the discursive impact of the Spanish Civil War. It considers "los tres grandes"-Rivera, Siquieros, and Orozco-while featuring lesser-known artists and their collectives, including Saturnino Herran, Leopoldo Mendez, Santos Balmori, and the League of Revolutionary Writers and Artists (LEAR). The result is a new perspective on the art and politics of the revolution.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction. Allegories of Work
One. Saturnino Herran, Jose Guadalupe Posada, and the Working Class on the Eve of Revolution
Two. Workers and Artists in the 1910 Revolution
Three. El Machete and Cultural and Political Vanguards
Four. Consuming Labor: Revista CROM, Art Education, and La Lectura Preferida
Five. Cardenismo, the Popular Front, and the League of Revolutionary Artists and Writers
Six. The Mexican Electricians Union, the Art of the Strike and the Spanish Civil War
Seven. "Unity at all costs!" and the End of Revolution
Conclusion
Notes
Selected Bibliography
Index
by "Nielsen BookData"
