VIDA AMERICANA
Mexican Muralists Shaped + Shook America
For the past year, New York City’s Whitney Museum of American Art has been home to the exhibition ‘Vida Americana: Mexican Muralists Remake American Art, 1925-1945’, which opened on February 17 and will close on January 31, 2021. The show, which has several years of work behind it, has received rave reviews, which is not surprising. It features nearly 200 pieces that contributed to shaping the history of American art. The exhibition’s purpose is to reveal a part of art history that may be lesser known to some: Mexico’s impact its artists had on the American art world.
It was commonly assumed European art mainly influenced American art at the start of the 20th century. Still, this exhibition, in a way, rewrites that history stating that it was, in fact, Mexican art that had the most significant impact and enriched artistic practices in the US.
Most of us are familiar with and adore the work of Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco, or David Alfaro Siqueiros (Rivera, Orozco, and Siqueiros would come to be known as “Los tres grandes (the three greats).” Still, how they shaped the art world in the United States is something we don’t talk about enough. In the early 1920s, after the Mexican Revolution, art, especially murals with social and political meanings, became a means to create social change and represent Mexico as a unified nation proud of its heritage. Murals were initially government-funded, and were made in a unique Mexican style to spread a visual message of unity to a Mexican population that felt conflicted about its national identity. This art and its message were accessible to all the Mexican people, even the illiterate. It was proof that art could play a significant role in politics (something we are well aware of today due to the popularity and effectiveness of contemporary public art.) Later on, many of these artists, including “the three greats,” would move to the United States, where they continued to produce some of the essential works in art history. The monumental, social, and political styles came to North America. It helped a great deal during the Great Depression, inspiring artists like Jackson Pollock and promoting the importance of society’s representation. Also featured are American artists’ works visibly inspired by this style, such as paintings by Everett Gee Jackson, Jackson Pollock, Jacob Lawrence, and other big names (as well as lesser-known ones.)
For those not able to visit in person, the Whitney has countless resources on its website, including images, videos, essays, and audio guides. Now more than ever, this project is a necessary reminder that great things happen when we come together, not when we are apart. You have one month left to view ‘Vida Americana: Mexican Muralists Remake American Art, 1925-1945’, a substantial exhibition rewriting art history and curated by Barbara Haskell, with Marcela Guerrero, assistant curator; Sarah Humphreville, senior curatorial assistant; and Alana Hernandez, former curatorial project assistant.
