Exhibition of the Mexican Revolution by Alexandria Lara

Exhibition of the Mexican revolution

alexandrialara04 — 2024-12-12 04:45:00 UTC

After going into depth with three separate primary source analysis I have developed a main idea between all of the documents. For my first paper I focused on the mural created by Mexican painter and muralist Diego Rivera titled “The History of Mexico” (1930) located in the grand stairwell of the National Palace in Mexico City. In order to interpret the selected section of the mural I picked (the south wall) I had found a primary source document. This document is David Alfaro, Siqueiros “Manifiesto del Sindicato de Obreros Técnicos Pintores y Escultores”. I connected the document to Rivera’s mural because the document reveals the politics of the time of the Mexican revolution. In my second primary source analysis I focused on the painting Saturninos Herran’s painting “The Offering” (1913). Also in order to interpret this work of art I found a primary source by Emiliano Zapata and Otillio Montaño “The plan of Ayala” published in 1911. I picked this political document because it revealed the oppression indigenous peoples of Mexico and workers experienced during the Mexican revolution. Thirdly, for my last primary source analysis paper I picked a mural titled “The Banquet of The Rich” by José Clemente Orozco. Mural. (1923-24). To go along with this mural I picked a document published In 1914 by the The Journal of Race Development “The Mexican Situation from a Mexican Point of View” by Lic Luis Cabrera. I chose this primary source because it details the events causing the Mexican revolution and it helped me relate this information with Orozco's painting. Finally after completing all three papers with unique ideas I articulated I will now explain the major theme with all these papers and set the framework for my exhibition. This exhibition will illustrate the oppression, and conflict within the country of Mexico during the Mexican revolution with images.

alexandrialara04 — 2024-12-12 04:52:32 UTC

In this mural Mexican painter, Diego Rivera creates a walkable physical timeline located in the stairwell of the National Palace in Mexico City. Over the span of six years of off and on work, Rivera finished this mural with the intention of conveying the whole history of Mexico. The timeline spans from aztec empire, the spanish conquest, french rule, the rule of president Porfirio Díaz, Independence, the Mexican revolution, and reform. With my focus on the Mexican Revolution, Rivera creates a narrative on the history and significant figures during that time. I believe this artwork relates to my main argument because it shows how after the Mexican revolution Rivera was trying to connect a divided nation with a narrative of Mexico's shared history.

alexandrialara04 — 2024-12-12 04:54:44 UTC

As I have featured Emiliano Zapata in this exhibition I also included this primary source document created by him and Otillio Montano in 1911 called the "Plan of Ayala". "The Plan of Ayala" is a political document created during the revolution that offers historical context as to how oppressed indigenous peoples were, especially indigenous farmers during this time. The political document reveals the key struggles for prosperity and social change for the Mexican people during the revolution. Zapata demanded in this document that the land unjustly stolen from the indigenous peoples and sold to the rich elites and investors should be returned. Also, Zapata called out the suffering of people under poverty and exploitation of agricultural laborers. I think this document is a unique take on the theme of my exhibition because it is a direct demand to the people in power. Zapata explains how he wants the country of Mexico to be run and reformed for the better. Zapata thought it was crucial for Mexican people to communally own the land so that they can benefit and prosper off the land. The Mexican government allowed the wealthy owners to monopolize important resources like land, timber, and water, which prevented the indigenous communities from cultivating these resources.

alexandrialara04 — 2024-12-12 04:55:05 UTC

This primary source document is written by David Alfaro, Siqueiros “Manifiesto del Sindicato de Obreros Técnicos Pintores y Escultores” (1923). The manifesto was created by the technical workers, painters, and sculptors union (SOPTE) in an effort to explain their goals of socializing artistic expression and making art public and accessible. It served also as a warning of a planned military coup that was pro-bourgeois. This manifesto’s audience was the working class of Mexico and indigenous peoples who did not have the luxury of art in their lives. This was a new idea at the time and since this document was published post-Mexican revolution a new government has brought about ideas of social change. It’s clear that the union wanted to protect the tradition of Mexican art from being solely bourgeois property. I included this document as a part of this exhibition because of its ideas on accessibility for the working class only the wealthy may have access to. For example murals were one of the ways art could be public for everyone to see. This document was signed by well known artists apart from the union like Diego Rivera. This is a unique angle to my exhibition's theme as it’s written from the perspective of artists and their involvement in politics.

alexandrialara04 — 2024-12-12 04:58:36 UTC

In this painting by Saturnino Herran we see indigenous farmers transporting marigolds. The farmers include men women and children. The types of flowers and the name "the offering" refers to the holiday of Dia de Los Muertos. This painting was created by Herran during the Mexican revolution. I included this piece because although appearing less political than the other paintings in this exhibit it was significant at the time for Herran to depict indigenous peoples and culture with pride and dignity because of the oppression they faced especially during the Mexican revolution.

alexandrialara04 — 2024-12-12 05:00:01 UTC

This mural by José Clemente Orozco illustrates the class system of Mexico during the Mexican revolution. Intended to be an educational mural for Mexican citizens it narrates the struggle workers faced when it came to the push for change. The inner conflict with themselves is laughed at and mocked by the rich elites above.

alexandrialara04 — 2024-12-12 05:02:42 UTC

In this primary source the author Luis Cabrera explains the context of the Mexican revolution through the “perspective of Mexicans”. This paper covers the social, economic, and political aspects of Mexico. This gives readers a deeper understanding of how President Diaz controlled and belittled the Mexican people. Diaz favored outsiders and elites looking to buy land and to invest in their gain rather than the nation as a whole. It is made clear in this document why the country felt so oppressed and divided under his rule that he neglected the people such as peasants, indigenous peoples, and the working class, and put his priorities not in the nation but on gains and advancements for the upper class. I connected this document with the mural "banquet of the rich" by José Clemente Orozco because of its illustration of the class division in Mexico. It was made up of workers and elites with no middle class. This document further emphasizes and contextualizes the hardship the Mexican people faced during the Mexican revolution particularly the agricultural workers. This struggle often looked like needs not being met and living in poverty. Society was at an unrest under president Diaz and his disregard for the constitution.

alexandrialara04 — 2024-12-12 05:04:11 UTC

This is a picture of Emiliano Zapata. Zapata was a significant figure in the Mexican revolution. Zapata was a strong voice during the revolution especially for the mistreatment of agricultural workers. He wanted reform for the workers and indigenous peoples. I included his portrait because it is important to recognize Zapata since he was an iconic voice of the people.

alexandrialara04 — 2024-12-12 05:22:08 UTC

This is a portrait of José Clemente Orozco who was a Mexican painter and caricaturist. He created political cartoons for newspapers and went on to create significant murals. He created the mural "Banquet of the Rich" that is featured in this exhibition. Because of his outspoken criticisms in politics I include his portrait in the exhibition to recognize his talent and ideas for change during the Mexican revolution.

Bibliography

alexandrialara04 — 2024-12-12 19:14:50 UTC

David Alfaro, Siqueiros “Manifiesto del Sindicato de Obreros Técnicos Pintores y Escultores” published in El Machete, 1923 (record ID: 751080)(here).

Montaño, Otilio, Author, and Emiliano Zapata. Plan of Ayala. [Place of Publication Not Identified: Publisher Not Identified, -11-25, 1911] Pdf. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2021667593/>.

Cabrera, Lic. Luis. “The Mexican Situation from a Mexican Point of View.” The Journal of Race Development, vol. 4, no. 3, 1914, pp. 245–61. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/29737994.