John Lear
Office: Wyatt 136
Telephone: 879-2792
Email: lear@pugetsound.edu
Office Hours: Mon 2-3:30/Th 2:30-4
Linda K. Williams
Office: Kittredge 217
Telephone: 879-3492
Email: lwilliams@pugetsound.edu
Office Hours: Tu 3-4/Wed 1:30-3:30
LAS 387: Art and Revolution in Latin America
Spring 2010
Tuesday/Thursday 12:30-2:00
109 Wyatt Hall
Course Description:
This course combines the disciplines of history and art to consider the ways in which artists
participated in and created a visual analogue to the political and social transformations wrought by
successful revolutions in Latin America.
Revolution often transforms artistic expression as well as political institutions and social
relations. The interaction of art and revolution in Mexico (from the late nineteenth-century to the
1940s) form the foundation of the first two-thirds of the course. Its revolution (1910-1920) produced
the most successful, vibrant, and internationally recognized artistic formation of national identity of the
last century. In few times and places has art played such an instrumental role in the creation of national
identity. Even so, revolutions consolidate or give form to previous tendencies that fall into sharp relief in
the context the social and political disruptions. Formally trained painters and artisanal printmakers
challenged 19th nineteenth-century European models and visually critiqued the dictatorship of Porfirio
Diaz even before the revolution began. And during and for decades after the explosive events of the
Mexican Revolution, printmakers, muralists, sculptors, and architects created a visual counterpart to the
goals of revolutionary change, and in some cases expressed disillusionment with or challenged the new
social order.
The final third of the course analyzes and compares the similar changes that occur in
revolutionary Cuba from 1959 and in Nicaragua from 1979-1990. These three revolutions demonstrate a
connection between art and politics to a rare degree, as artistic expression became fundamental to both
creating, reflecting and challenging the new order.
Readings from primary and secondary sources address the function of mural and easel
paintings, prints, photographs, sculpture, and architecture, which we will analyze as part of a process
that shapes, confirms and challenges official goals and serve as catalysts for change in the social realities
of Latin American revolutions in the twentieth century.
Through this interdisciplinary lens of history and art, we will address the following questions:
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What was the nature of the revolutionary process and its aftermath in these countries?
In what ways did artists shape and further the goals of the revolution?
In what ways did they subvert it?
How did artistic training and practice parallel political change and promote a political
agenda?
How did artists treat visual manifestations of national identity, such as indigenism,
Mexicanidad, Fidelismo, and Sandino?
To what extent did revolutionary artistic practice break with or embrace European or US
modes of production?
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How can we traverse the gap between visual ideal in the works of the revolutionary
artists and the social reality? In other words, how revolutionary were the artists and
how successful were the works?
Goals and Objectives:
Students will finish the semester course:
1. With an understanding to the key political and social transformations these revolutions entailed.
2. With a firm knowledge of the key political and artistic figures in Mexico from the late nineteenth
century through the middle of the twentieth century.
3. With a good sense of corresponding movements and artistic innovations in Cuba and Nicaragua.
4. Knowing how to write about the communicative properties of art, using appropriate
terminology.
5. Familiar with different processes of artistic production.
6. With a nuanced and multi-disciplinary understanding of the relationship between artists and
revolutionary politics.
Texts:
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Patrick Marnham, Dreaming with his Eyes Open: A Life of Diego Rivera
David Craven, Art and Revolution in Latin America
Michael Gonzales, The Mexican Revolution, 1910-1940.
Reading Packet available at the UPS Bookstore
Course Structure and Organization:
Class sessions will be a mixture of lecture, discussion, and group presentations with both
professors leading part of the class. Each class session requires that students complete readings from
the required books and a course reader, which will serve as discussion points for issues and images
presented in class. Therefore, readings must be completed in advance of the class session, as
participation is essential in grappling with the theoretical and interpretive approaches to history, politics
and art. Preparation and participation are expected and required.
In addition to regular individual and group class participation, students will undertake one group
session on the work and life of a particular artist or political figure. Group members are responsible for
organizing the class session, collecting digital images, and developing questions to engage the class with
the material and the readings, and will need to meet with the group outside of class sessions to organize
your presentation. In addition, students will play an extra-ordinary role in the class session for which
they will write a critical analysis essay of an assigned article.
Images provide the essential visualizations of revolution for this course. You have a good
number of color and black and white reproductions in your texts and reader: in addition to these
sources, images that are particularly important for class discussions will be accessible via the following
link which you can paste into any web browser (and find on Moodle):
http://library.artstor.org/library/secure/ViewImages?q=gjVOejMn&userId=hDNCdjU%3D&igNa
me=%2FTxSFD4pThMyPS8xYQ9TR3EoSA%3D%3D
This ArtStor vehicle provides a useful study tool which allows you to access information about
the image (by clicking on the "i" box at the bottom of the screen), to scroll through images, and to zoom
in on details by clicking on the + key. We will update this image folder throughout the semester so you
can become familiar with the works we expect you to know.
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Course Requirements and Assessment
Attendance and Participation. Regular attendance is essential in this course. The organization,
approach to, and emphasis of the material are available only in class sessions (not in the texts). Second,
students are responsible for participating in discussions. Many classes will begin with short, in-class
writing assignments that ask you to come to terms with ideas or image from assigned readings. Students
will also be required to make a modest number of postings to the online course site Moodle. Most of
these postings will be tied to the readings that will be tied to the critical analysis paper.
Neither discussions nor in-class writings can be made up. Your in-class discussion/writings grade
will drop after two unexcused absences. Four unexcused absences will result in an “F” for this
component of the grade. More than six absences will result in withdrawal from the course. If you have
to miss class, please get notes and announcements from one of your classmates. After reviewing the
notes, talk to us if you have questions.
Writing assignments include a critical analysis of an article, a short essay on an assigned topic,
and a research paper. The critical analysis will be written on one of the readings assigned during the
course of the semester and noted below with the letters CAE. The short essay on an assigned topic is
due March 1. Your final paper can be broadly synthetic, combining topics previously discussed or even
written about earlier in the course in a more ambitious, multidisciplinary way, or else can involve an
exploration of a related topic of interest that we have not been able to explore in depth in class. You
will be given further guidelines for all writing assignments.
Papers:
Short critical analysis of article (3-4 pages)
Short paper on assigned question (3-4 pages)
One final research paper (6-7 pages)
Midterm examination: Essay format, based on readings and class discussions. Thursday, March 11.
Schedule your travels accordingly—no make-up exams are possible, short of medical emergencies.
Semester grades are weighted as follows:
In-class writings
Group presentations
General participation
Midterm
Two shorter papers
Final paper
10%
10%
10%
20%
30%
20%
Assessment of classroom participation and written work in general will be based on the criteria
below:
“A” – Sustained, thoughtful, engaged participation; near perfect attendance, and valuable
contributions to class discussions. Students will come to class having read and thought about the
readings, able to offer their opinions of the argument. Papers, similarly, will be clearly expressed and
organized, demonstrate a firm grasp of the sources, and will use the sources thoughtfully, including an
original thesis that organizes the argument of the paper.
“B” – Regular attendance and strong effort in the discussions and in-class writings. Papers
earning this grade indicate understanding of the issues raised in the course, the readings, or the
research sources, but rely on those sources without pushing toward original thought. The organization
or clarity could use refinement.
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“C” – Generally good attendance but noticeable lack of participation. Students have not really
grappled with the issues presented in the readings, and whose written efforts convey a basic
understanding of sources, class materials, and/or issues raised in the readings. Papers lack organization
and/or clarity. We will ask students who are in the range below a “C” to come and meet with us to
strategize on successful completion of the course. We are available to discuss participation, exam, and
paper grades at any time throughout the semester. Please come and see us if you have questions,
concerns, or just want to talk about history and/or art. Individual paper assignments will more fully
explain grading criteria.
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Week 1 Intro: Art and Revolution
Tuesday 1/19. Introduction
Thursday 1/21
READ AND DISCUSS
 David Craven, Art and Revolution, Introduction
 TURN IN A WRITTEN INTRODUCTION OF YOURSELF
Week 2 Porfiriato: Historic and Artistic Traditions (1876 to 1910)
Tuesday 1/26
READ AND DISCUSS:
 Michael Gonzales, The Mexican Revolution, Introduction and chapter 1
(1-59)
 Patrick Marnham, Dreaming with his Eyes Open: a Life of Diego Rivera,
Introduction and chapters 1-3, (3-74).
 Peter Wollen, “Introduction.” In Posada: Messenger of Death. Julian
Rohenstein, ed. , New York, 1989, (14-23).
 Jean Charlot, “José Guadalupe Posada: Printmaker to the Mexican People” and
“Posada’s Dance of Death.” In Posada: Messenger of Death, (173-182).
 Diego Rivera, “José Guadalupe Posada,” from Posada: Monografía de 406
grabados de José Guadalupe Posada. 1991 Reprint of 1937 Mexican Folkways.
Thursday 1/28.
READ AND DISCUSS:
 John Mraz, "War, Portraits, Mexican Types, and Porfirian Progress" in Looking
for Mexico: Modern Visual Culture and National Identity. Duke U. Press, 2009,
(38-58).
 Mauricio Tenorio Trillo, "1910 Mexico City: Space and Nation in the City of the
Centenario." Journal of Latin American Studies 28:1, Feb. 1996, (75-104)
Week 3 Revolution, 1910-1920: Social Mobilization and a War of Images
Tuesday 2/2.
READ AND DISCUSS
 Gonzales, Mexican Revolution, Chapters 2-5, (60-159).
Thursday 2/4.
READ AND DISCUSS:
 Marnham, Dreaming, ch. 4-6.
 Samuel Brunk, “A War of Images,” in The Posthumous Career of Emiliano
Zapata, (21-40). *CAE option.
 Mraz, ch. 2, “Revolution and Culture," (59-76).
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Week 4 Reconstruction, 1920s: New Goals and Actors
Tuesday 2/9Indigenism, Popular Arts, and National identity.
READ AND DISCUSS
 Gonzales, Mexican Revolution, Chapters 6-7, (160-202)
 José Vasconcelos, The Cosmic Race, 9-16. Baltimore, 1997.
 Karen Codero Reiman"Constructing a Modern Mexican Art," (11-40).
 Rick López, “Noche Mexicana and the Exhibition of Popular Arts”in Eagle and the
Virgin: Nation and Cultural Revolution in Mexico. Mary Kay Vaughan and
Stephen Lewis, editors. Durham: Duke University Press, 2006. *CAE option
 Laura González Matute, “A New Spirit in Post-Revolutionary Art:The Open-Air
Painting Schools and the Best Maugard Painting Method, 1920-30,” in Mexican
Modern Art, 1900-1950, (28-43).
Thursday 2/11.
READ AND DISCUSS
 GonzalezMexican Revolutionch 8.
 Craven, Art and Revolution, (25-51).
 Marnham, Dreaming, chapters 7-8.
Week 5 Reconstruction, 1920s: Painting and Printing the Revolution;
Photography and Architecture
Tuesday 2/16.Printing the Political.
READ AND DISCUSS:
 Alicia Azuela, “El Machete and Frente a Frente: Art Committed to Social Justice
in Mexico.” Art Journal 52:1, 1993, 82-87.
 John Ittmann, “Open Air Schools and Early Print Workshops.” In Mexico and
Modern Printmaking: A Revolution in the Graphic Arts, 1920-1950, edited by
John Ittmann., 90-103. New Haven: 2007.
 James M. Wechsler, “Propaganda Gráfica: Printmaking and the Radical Left in
Mexico, 1920-50.” In Mexico and Modern Printmaking, only 55-58.
 Craven, Art and Revolution, pp. 51-54 on Chapingo
 Manifesto of the Union of Mexican Workers, Technicians, Painters, and
Sculptors, 1923. In Readings in Latin American Modern Art, edited by Patrick
Frank, 33-35. New Haven, 2004.
 Manifestos. “Appeal to the Proletariat” and “Protest of Independent Artists 3030.” In Art in Latin America: the Modern Era 1820-1980. Dawn Ades. 325-326.
New Haven, 1989.
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Thursday 2/18. Revolution in the Streets.
READ AND DISCUSS
 Marnham, Dreaming, chapters 9-10.
 Patrice E. Olsen, “Revolution in the City Streets: Changing Nomenclature,
Changing Form, and the Revision of Public Memory.” In The Eagle and the
Virgin, (119-134).
 Thomas L. Benjamin, “From the Ruins of the Ancien Régime: Mexico’s
Monument to the Revolution.” In Latin American Popular Culture, W. Beezley
and L. Curcio-Nagy, eds. . Wilmington, DL, 2000, (169-182). *CAE option
 Antonio E. Méndez-Vigatá, “Politics and Architectural Language: PostRevolutionary Regimes in Mexico and Their Influence on Mexican Public
Architecture.” In Modernity and the Architecture of Mexico, edited by Edward R.
Burian, 61-90. Austin: 1997.
 Mraz, Looking for Mexico, (76-91)--on photographers Tina Modotti and Manuel
Alvarez Bravo.
Week 6 1930s: Painting the Nation
Tuesday 2/23Socialist Educations.
READ AND DISCUSS
 Gonzalesch. 9.
 Mary Kay Vaughan, “Nationalizing the Countryside: Schools and Rural
Communities in the 1930s,” in The Eagle and the Virgin, (157-175).
 Craven, Art and Revolution, (54-63).
Thursday 2/25. Revolution as Control.
READ AND DISCUSS:
 Marnham, Dreaming, ch. 12.
 Leonard Folgarait, “Revolution as Ritual: Diego Rivera’s National Palace Mural.”
The Oxford Art Journal 14:1 (1991): 18-33. *CAE option
 Barbara Braun, “Diego Rivera: Heritage and Politics.” In Pre-Columbian Art and
the Post-Columbian World: Ancient American Sources of Modern Art, pp. 186214, New York, 1993.
 David Craven, “Recent Literature on Diego Rivera and Mexican Muralism,” Latin
American Research Review 36:3, 2001, 221-229.
Week 7 1930s: Revolution and its Limits
March 1, Paper due by 3:00 p.m. in John’s office, Wyatt 136.
Tuesday 3/2The Taller de Gráfica Popular
READ AND DISCUSS:
 Craven, Art and Revolution, “The Taller de Gráfica Popular and Estampas de la
Revolución,” (63-71).
 Marnham, Dreaming, chs. 12-13 (continued)
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James M. Wechsler, “Propaganda Gráfica: Printmaking and the Radical Left in
Mexico,1920-50.” In Mexico and Modern Printmaking, (only 58-77).
Thursday 3/4. *Guest Speaker: Deborah Caplow.*
READ AND DISCUSS
 Deborah Caplow, selections from Deborah Caplow, “The Taller de Grafíca
Popular: the Early Years.” In Leopoldo Méndez: Revolutionary Art and the
Mexican Print, Austin, 2007, (123-158).
 Additional reading TBA
Week 8 The Workers Revolution in the 1930s
Tuesday 3/9
READ AND DISCUSS
 Gonzalez, The Mexican Revolution-
 Jen Jolly, “Art for the Mexican Electrician's Syndicate: Beyond Siqueiros," Kunst
und Politik, 7, 2005. *CAE option
 Michael Snodgrass, "We're All Mexicans Here": Workers, Patriotism and Union
Struggles in Monterry,” in The Eagle and the Virgin
Thursday 3/11. MIDTERM EXAMINATION
*SPRING RECESS*
Week 9: Crossing Borders
Tuesday 3/23Mexican Artists in the United States. *Guest Speaker, Anthony Lee*
READ AND DISCUSS:
 Marnham, Dreaming, Ch. 11
 Anthony W. Lee, “Workers and Painters: Social Realism and Race in Diego
Rivera’s Detroit Murals.” In The Social and the Real: Political Art of the 1930s in
the Western Hemisphere, Alejandro Anreus, Diana L. Linden, and Jonathan
Weinberg eds. Penn. State Press, 2006, (201-220). *CAE option
Thursday 3/25.
READ AND DISCUSS:
 “Painting in the Shadow of the Big Three” Sarah M. Lowe on Frida Kahlo (58-67)
and James Oles on the Greenwood Sisters in The Eagle and the Virgin, (79-89).
 Marnham, Dreaming, ch 14.
Week 10 1940s and 50s: The Institutionalization of the Revolution or its
Death?/Biographies
Tuesday 3/30.
READ AND DISCUSS:
 Gonzales, The Mexican Revolutionconclusion. (continued)
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Eva Cockroft, “Abstract Expressionism, Weapon of the Cold War,” Artforum, v.
12, June 1974.
Craven, Art and Revolution, “Critique: the “Socialization of Art”—A Future
Challenge,” (71-73).
José Luis Cuevas, “The Cactus Curtain.” First published in the Evergreen
Review, 1959. Reprinted in Readings in Latin American Modern Art, Patrick
Frank, ed. 2004, (187-193)
Marta Traba, “Two Theories of Contemporary Mexican Painting.” In Readings
in Latin American Modern Art, edited by Patrick Frank, 2004, (86-90).
Thursday 4/1. Bios
Group presentations I
Week 11 Bios.
Tuesday 4/6. Bios
Group Presentations II
Thursday 4/8. Bios
Group Presentations III
Week 12 The Cuban Revolution
Tuesday 4/13
READ AND DISCUSS
 Thomas Skidmore and Peter Smith, “Cuba: Late Colony, First Socialist State” in
Modern Latin America, Oxford University Press, 2005, (259-289).
 Craven, Art and Revolution, 75-94
Thursday 4/15. Cuba: Art and the “New Man”
READ AND DISCUSS
 Craven, Art and Revolution, 94-116
 Gerardo Mosquera, “The Social Function of Art in Cuba since the
Revolution of 1959” in Craven, Appendix B
 TBA
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Week 13 From Cuba to Nicaragua
Tuesday 4/20. Art and Politics in Cuba’s “Special Period”
READ AND DISCUSS:
 Readings and class organization TBA
Thursday 4/22. Sandino’s Revolution
READ AND DISCUSS:
 Historical overview TBA (continued)
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Craven, Art and Revolution, 117-143
Ernesto Cardenal, “The Nicaraguan Revolution of 1970: A Culture that is
Revolutionary, Popular, National, and Anti-Imperialist” in Craven, Appendix c
Susan Meiselas, “Pictures from a Revolution”
Week 14 Nicaragua: Peasant Painters and Muralism Revisited
Tuesday 4/27. *Guest Speaker: David Craven.*
READ AND DISCUSS:
 Craven, Art and Revolution, 143-175
 Additional Reading TBA
Thursday 4/29.
READ AND DISCUSS:
 Readings and class organization TBA
Week 15 Wrap up
Tuesday 5/4. Wrap Up
Final Paper due May 11 (TU) 12:00 noon
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