Picturing the Proletariat : : Artists and Labor in Revolutionary Mexico, 1908–1940 / / John Lear.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter University of Texas Press Complete eBook-Package 2017
• VerfasserIn: Lear, John,
• Place / Publishing House: Austin : : University of Texas Press, , [2021]; ©2017
• Year of Publication: 2021
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (366 p.)

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 Lázaro Cárdenas (1934–1940). Lear shows how middle-class artists, radicalized by the revolution and the Communist Party, fortified the legacy of the prerevolutionary print artisan José 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 Herrán, Leopoldo Méndez, 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

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Abbreviations -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction. Allegories of Work -- One. Saturnino Herrán, José 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