Art and Revolution Symposium and Exhibition Dunedin School of Art

Abstract or Summary

Art and La Revolución Mexicana (1910-1920) The development of Mexican art and culture from the beginning of the last century was intertwined with the violent struggle of the Mexican Revolution ending the long dictatorship of Porfirio Díaz, that lasted from 1884 until 1911. Francisco Madero was elected President in 1911. In 1913 he was assassinated /overthrown by Victoriano Huerta who became president from 1913 until 1914. Venustiano Carranza took power in 1915 and in 1917 the Mexican Constitution was created (the country’s ruling document to this day). This was the first such document in the world to set out social rights, serving as a model for the Russian Constitution of 1918 and the Weimar Constitution of 1919. A new vision for art and culture was born, away from the European trends and fads that had been prevalent since the Spanish Conquest. This renaissance arose out of the interaction between art and politics. Publications like La Vanguardia (1915), with the painter Doctor Atl as director together with illustrators such as José Clemente Orozco and David Alfaro Siqueiros informed with humor and satire about the events of the time: caricature became the tool to inform the illiterate population. An Exhibition was part of the Symposium and I collaborate with 6 prints of my collection.