Female muralists during the Mexican Muralism movement was not as common as male muralists, but they still had an influence as much as the male muralists did. A female muralist, in particular, was Diego Rivera’s assistant, Rina Lazo, originally from Guatemala (Ángel). Lazo had helped Rivera in numerous of famous paintings as being his assistant. Fortunately, Lazo was able to paint along with Rivera, a very rare privilege, in the piece Gloriosa Victoria (Glorious Victory). The piece was about the terrible Guatemalan coup of 1954 that had U.S involvement (Ángel). It shows the Guatemalan colonel Castillo Armas, shaking hands with U.S. Secretary of State John Foster Dulles, holding a bomb with Eisenhower’s face on it over dead bodies, while being …show more content…
surrounded by the United Fruit Company owners, a Catholic archbishop, and peasants being outraged holding machetes (Mirkin 59-60). Regardless, Diego Rivera’s Gloriosa Victoria collaboration with his assistant, Rina Lazo, influenced Mexican Muralism through the instances that she was a female muralist in a male-dominated movement, provided a new different perspective, and finally continued to expand the movement after the piece was made. Rivera’s collaboration with Lazo influenced Mexican Muralism for one of the reasons that she was a female muralist in a male-dominated movement. This is because not a lot of female muralist were common, as mentioned before, nor were seen as having classical training in art, “…the pernicious effect of the male-dominated educational structures has been widely recognized. In the case of the Mexican mural movement, the exclusion of female artists from artistic training has been particularly harmful and pervasive, leading, as stated many times, to an almost complete male monopoly in the field” (Mirkin 53). Lazo was one of the few women to change this and gained even more recognition not only for her art, but also because of being chosen by Rivera himself to be his assistant. This was an opportunity for Lazo, and other female artists to join in the Mexican Muralism movement with confidence and support. Because of the collaboration, they both opened new opportunities for more women to establish themselves as artists, “…it becomes evident that, paradoxically, he decisively recognized and supported women’s active roles within society. Effectively, by accepting female artists as his assistants, Rivera crossed the traditional boundaries of art practice, education, and gender, and as a result opened up important, unprecedented professional opportunities for women artists” (Mirkin 53). If Rivera had not supported women being active in society, Lazo would not have been given the opportunity to work beside him. Gloriosa Victoria thus unleashed many opportunities for women to come out and portray the influence they had on Mexican Muralism. Lazo, being a female muralist and working alongside with Rivera encouraged those like herself to go beyond the boundaries that society had on women. Another reason that Rivera’s collaboration with his assistant, Lazo, influenced Mexican Muralism is that she provided a new different perspective.
If it was not for Lazo, Gloriosa Victoria would not have been made at least to the extent that it is today, such as the concept for instance. Lazo was one of the people that impacted Rivera because of her views on the Guatemalan coup of 1954, “…the work was also born, at least in part, because, through Lazo and García Bustos, Rivera was able to get a first-hand report that had a deep impact on him. As is commonly the case, the students began to influence the teacher” (Mirkin 59-60). Since Lazo is from Guatemala, her perspective of this tragic incident gave Rivera more than enough reason to create a mural based on it. Lazo, not only painted a portion of this piece, but also helped Rivera of producing it and even signing it. Furthermore, Lazo’s artistic views on this, and others, did in fact influenced Mexican Muralism for believing that murals cannot just be an aesthetic fact in history, but committed to the historical importance and the society one lives in (Ángel). Mexican Muralism is about portraying events and moments that happen in history that affects oneself, and Lazo believes in this very strongly. This passion shows in Gloriosa Victoria, and without that passion in this piece, it would not have made a huge influence on those affected by the Guatemala coup of 1954. Nor be portrayed in such a way that would influence other …show more content…
artists into being active in the Mexican Muralism movement, especially women. In an interview, Lazo states, “The social problems that defended this pictorial avant-garde, is current in many countries of Latin America; poverty and unemployment are greater and we cannot close our eyes to them; the artists must reflect these problems in their plastic work” (Marcin). Gloriosa Victoria was more than just an opportunity to show the world the issue of the Guatemala coup of 1954. The piece included the poor, which were the peasants, and thus did display what she stated in the interview. The collaboration of Gloriosa Victoria gave Lazo more than a voice to exhibit her thoughts and opinions, which went along with the movement behind Mexican Muralism, “…the ‘mythical’ component of Mexican Muralism… in this sense it is important to talk of not one but in fact three revolutions involving a complex interplay of class forces” (Carter 286). Not only in that piece did it represented the poor, but also the wealthy such as the United Fruit Company landowners and different officials. Gloriosa Victoria contains this component and even displayed more than the expected. Lazo’s views on issues like this, especially behind Gloriosa Victoria, influenced Mexican Muralism in general. Finally, the last reason why Rivera’s piece, Gloriosa Victoria collaboration with Lazo, influenced Mexican Muralism is for the reason that she continued to expand the movement after the piece was made.
Lazo was given the opportunity to work aside Rivera not only because she was a great artist, but also a political activist (Mirkin 55). Lazo was able to produce work that was significant in society and displayed social dilemmas. This collaboration with Rivera would spark inspiration for herself to create something like this piece because of being an activist and a muralist. Lazo then took that inspiration from working alongside Rivera, and for two years after his death she created a mural called Venceremos (We Shall Overcome) (Mirkin 60). In the new piece she had made, it represented the sufferings of those in Guatemala, just how Gloriosa Victoria represented those at the time. This would continue to expand Mexican Muralism by how she ultimately took on the theme of Guatemalan history and current social problems within it, “Muralists followed their own impulses and goals of becoming public, socially engaged, active in the protest for the rights of the masses and pedagogical. Mural art raised the awareness of the people and called on them to fight against authoritarianism, abuse of power, war, fascism, imperialism and the exploitation of the lower classes and the dispossessed” (López Orozco 263). Lazo dedicated any of her artwork to take on these issues to promote awareness,
and thus is expanding the importance and meaning behind the Mexican Muralism movement. Not only was she expanding Mexican Muralism through the inspiration she received from helping the creation of Gloriosa Victoria, but also establishing the social value of art and connecting it to politics (López Orozco 262). Lazo enriched this art form and was taking on issues seriously as a political activist. If it was not for that collaboration piece with Rivera, Lazo would not have decided to take on Guatemalan history for her paintings sooner. Her overall actions and artworks were expanding this movement, all for getting inspired by working on Gloriosa Victoria. In short, the collaboration on Rivera’s Gloriosa Victoria with Lazo, influenced Mexican Muralism because she was a female muralist in a male-dominated movement, provided her own perspectives, and finally continued to expand the movement after the piece was created. Lazo, as a female muralist, which was not as common as male muralists, was able to open opportunities alongside Rivera for women like her to join in the movement. She was able to provide ideas that went along with the concept behind Mexican Muralism, and even adding her own thoughts to expand it. And finally, Lazo’s motivation to take on social issues through her murals after the making of Gloriosa Victoria was ultimately an addition to the expansion. Hence, Rivera and Lazo together did influenced Mexican Muralism.
Ester Hernandez is a Chicana artist, best known for her works of Chicana women. Ester’s goal is to recreate women’s lives to produce positive images of women’s lifestyle and to create icons. Her piece, Frida y Yo, contains the iconic painter Frida Kahlo. Frida, after being in multiple accidents causing long-term pain and suffering, began painting, mostly self-portraits, to portray her reality and glorify the pain. Similar to how Hernandez's goals are a juxtaposition to Frida’s artwork, the art piece Frida y Yo creates a juxtaposition between life and suffering and death and fortune.
Catlett and her husband were deeply involved in activism and politics. In her article titled----, Herzog writes that “ The Taller de Grafica Popular, was known to progressive artists here as well. Like the paintings of the Mexican muralist, the work of the Taller had its ideological roots in the expressions of indiginism and national cultural identity known as Mexicanidad , or ‘Mexicanness’. ” Because one of their goals was to produce a national identity, their art was made for everyone, including poor people. At the taller, they did linoleum print because the linoleum print was an inexpensive medium and thus was perfect for public art. In addition, most of Catlett`s work focused on portraying women of
In conclusion, through his mural paintings full with complexity and depth, Diego Rivera recreates a new reality for the audience. `Zapata con el caballo de Cortés` is one of his most influential art pieces , significant in the process of understanding The Mexican Revolution
It took eight months to complete this mural and was created for the LA. Bicentennial at the time was then not shown. It was given a temporary display at the 1990 LA festival. This mural contains 51 scenes depicting a chronological history of Los Angeles emphasizes the experience of marginalized groups. It captures the city of the original native inhabitants through the 50th century, including her younger sister image. Artist Barbara Carrasco based the mural’s main figure, of her sister Frances. ("LA History" 2017) The figure represents a mythical queen of Los Angeles, this queen was inspired by one of the city’s first names. El Pueblo de la Reina de Los Angeles de la Porciuncula. The mural L.A. History: A Mexican Perspective depicts images from the Incarceration of Japanese American during the WII to the zoot suit riots, all unfolding of the Reina’s strands of hair. LA Reina carries our history of Mexican-American on her strands of hair, our failures and our triumphs. La Reina is not ashamed of the truth of our history, she is well aware of
Such controversy that followed him is one of the aspects of his art that made him stand out as a muralist during his lifetime (1). As with most artist his paintings became famous after his death (2) in 1957 due to heart failure in Mexico City, Mexico (1). His radical approach to art and his unique style have created a lasting impression on art and continue to do so (2). Widely regarded as the most influential Mexican artist of the twentieth century (3), Diego Rivera created a legacy in paint that continue to inspire the imagination and mind (2).
Frida Kahlo is known for the most influential Latin American female artist. She is also known as a rebellious feminist. Kahlo was inspired to paint after her near-death bus incident when she was 17. After this horrendous incident that scarred her for life, she went under 35 different operations. These operations caused her extreme pain and she was no longer able to have kids. Kahlo’s art includes self portraits of her emotions, pain, and representations of her life. Frida Kahlo was an original individual, not only in her artwork but also in her
Much of the Art and its artists creating the Chicano Art were mostly influenced by the Chicano Art Movement. The Chicano Art was influenced mostly by the Pre-Columbian Art, Post Mexican Revolution ideologies, European Painting techniques, and the social, political, and cultural issues affecting the Mexican American society. The Chicano Art movement was solely created to resist and question the dominant social norms, self-determination, and stereotypes for cultural independence (Simpson, 1980). The Chicano Art Movement, also known as the Chicano Renaissance, widely used art a weapon of their struggle to achieve credible human values. They proclaimed their invention through inventive projects that connected artists, musicians, poets, and dancers into major political fronts of El movimiento. In the mid-1970's, artists who participated in the Chicano Art movement had become producers of visual arts with posters and mural becoming the ubiquitous purveyors of the visual culture of
Theirry Guetta was a beautiful example of how seeing a simple piece of graffiti can influence a person and how they live their lives. While his life was building up to the moment he became rich off of his creativity, it helped him become the man who he is today. No matter how unique his life has been, one thing has been a constant in his life, along with many others; He was influence by the color and personality shown through a piece of art, which was the intent in the first place.
Diego Rivera was deemed the finest Mexican painter of the twentieth century; he had a huge influence in art worldwide. Rivera wanted to form his own painting fashion. Although he encountered the works of great masters like Gauguin, Renoir, and Matisse, he was still in search of a new form of painting to call his own (Tibol, 1983). His desire was to be capable of reaching a wide audience and express the difficulties of his generation at the same time, and that is exactly what h...
As can be seen throughout history, art is a powerful expressive model that has the capacity to instruct and construct social change within a community. The art born out of the Chicano Movement of the 1960’s is a perfect example of this phenomenon. In response to the struggle for civil rights for Mexican-Americans immigrants, Chicanos and Chicanas created an art aesthetic that embodied the activist spirit of the movement. As Alicia Gaspar de Alba once stated, “the Chicano art movement functioned as the aesthetic representation of the political, historical, cultural and linguistic issues that constituted the agenda of the Chicano civil rights movement.” By taking an activist approach to challenge the stereotypes, economic inequality and xenophobic shortcomings of the dominant mainstream and by promoting awareness of history, culture and community the visual art of the Chicano Movement served as a political tool to enact social change for Mexican-American Immigrants of all generations.
“ When art is true, it is one with nature. This is the secret of primitive art and also of the art of the masters—Michelangelo, Cézanne, Seurat, and Renoir. The secret of my best work is that it is Mexican." A leader and one of the founding members of the Mexican Muralist movement, Diego Rivera, was said to be the greatest Mexican painter during the 1920s. Rivera used his talents as a painter to tell the history and daily life of the Mexican people from its Mayan beginnings up to the Mexican Revolution.
Art movement’s characteristics vary from nation to nation, but painting can be used as a critique of the socio-political reality in a given nation. It is a creative way to communicate with a population about economic, education and social issues. Therefore, The History of Cuernavaca and Morelos: Crossing the Barranca (ravine) Detail (1929-30) Fresco by Diego Rivera is a good example of how an artist uses his creativity to connect with people in relation to Mexican history. Art is an inspired way to share the complexity and challenge of a community. It can be used a way to respond to them likewise. Therefore, the concept of accessibility takes ingenuity. With his deepen knowledge of European and ancient Mexican art, it was not a documentation
When we hear the word “Art” certain images come to mind. We think of great masterpieces of epic battles, and cathedral walls depicting angels and demons. This however, is a very small part of the art of the world. One form of artwork has been seen in every civilization, on every continent; Folk art. Folk art at its root is art including paintings, textiles, furniture, and carvings done by a country's indigenous people. These pieces are often functional, and serve a purpose on top of being aesthetically pleasing.The techniques used by these people are often passed down generation to generation, and originate in the community itself. This means most of the artisans do not have any formal training in their craft. Many took apprenticeships, or learned from watching village elders.
...5 meter (11 ft) tall and 7.8 metre (25.6 ft) wide, a mural-size canvas painted in oil. This painting can be seen in the Museo Reina Sofía in Madrid”. Guernica is an enormous status is a reminder reminder of the disasters that a war causes.