Non-Western: Mexico

     The Mexican Revolution was a ten-year-long political crisis and civil war that left over a million people dead. In the wake of the Mexican Revolution, the Mexican government funded a nationwide art project in an attempt to reunify the country as well as promote national pride by making public art accessible through murals. This has come to be known as the Mexican Muralist movement. The Mexican government commissioned artists to create public murals that were inspired by ancient Mayan and Aztec influence with their bold colors and simplified forms. The subject matter ranged from political, to grassroots concerning independence, cultural identity, progress, oppression, and social commentary. 

    One of the foremost artists of the Mexican Muralist Movement is Diego Rivera. Rivera began working in Mexico in the early 1920s and was primarily based in Mexico City, although he painted murals all over the world. Themes of human suffering and depictions of revolutionary heroes were at the forefront of Rivera's works which often sparked controversy both at home and abroad. 

    

Creation by Diego Rivera (1922-23.) Pigment suspended in molten wax.

    Creation is Rivera's first work that was commissioned by the Mexican Government and resides in Mexico City. It is a complex depiction of the creation of science and the arts by combining Juedeo-Christion, Mexican, and Hellenic concepts. We can see the Hellenic influences in the elongation of the human forms which resembles naturalism, as well as the depiction of these people in what appears to be a natural setting. Additionally, we can see the influence of Judeo-Christian motifs when acknowledging the angels at the top of the piece and the halos surrounding the heads of the seven figures that reside above the rest. The placement of these figures above the rest in conjunction with their halos implies that they are holier or of greater virtue than those below them. These figures represent faith. The mural also portrays the concept of charity when analyzing the two unclothed figures on either end of the lower portion of the mural. Something noteworthy about this piece is that the features of the figures being portrayed (skin tone, facial features, hair color) are distinctly Mexican. This was intentional on Riveras part considering that this was a mural created for the Mexican people. Not to mention, the figures were modeled after a native Mexican woman, Guadelupe Marin, who would later become Rivera's second wife. 

    Another muralist of this time is David Alfero Siqueiros who painted thousands of square feet in murals during his day depicting subject matter similar to that of Diego Rivera, except Sigueiros' work heavily reflected his own Marxist ideology. His beliefs led to much controversy in Mexico because of the political tension as well as the stigma around communism at the time. This led him to be arrested as well as exiled several times. Rivera was also a very passionate left-winged artist, so it's no surprise that Rivera and Siqueiros considered themselves partners and worked closely together for their cause. 

The Elements by David Alfero Siqueiros (1922.) Multimedia on cement.

    The Elements is located on the ceiling of a predatory school and depicts a large winged woman surrounded by representations of the four elements: water, earth, fire, and air. The imagery that Siqueiros chose to represent the elements is abstract ones that one wouldn't typically think of. Shells represent water when one might think of waves or droplets. Abstract flames represent fire. Wind, or air, is represented by the equally abstract horizontal forms underneath the red flames. Lastly, the element of earth is depicted as "two giant bones of a tropical fruit" mirrored at the base of the winged woman (X.) These non-traditional depictions of the elements can be seen as symbolic of a new, non-traditional idealism in the wake of a country that was just beginning to redefine itself politically, socially, culturally, and artistically. 

    A notably important icon and influential artist that lived during the time of the Mexican Muralist Movement is none other than Frida Khalo. Khalo has become a legend of post-revolution Mexico and one of the most celebrated and influential artists of the 19th century. Khalo's art isn't all that makes her so intriguing to the world. Her life story includes her notoriously tumultuous marriage to Diego Rivera, a man who was 21 years older than herself, her unique style, and her wit have inspired award-winning movies and books. However, her art itself is moving, puzzling, deeply personal, and visually beautiful. Kahlo's works depict themes of self-reflection, internal pain, and the projection that pain casts on the outside world.

The Two Fridas By Frida Kahlo (1939.) Oil on canvas.

        Something that Frida Kahlo is most known for is her self-portraits. In The Two Fridas, there are two versions of herself portrayed sitting beside each other holding hands. She painted it soon after her divorce from Diego Ravera and seems to represent two different versions of herself. One, to the left, is dressed in a traditional Tehuana dress and has only half of a heart in her chest. In her hand is a pair of forceps that appear to be pinching an artery in an attempt to stop it from bleeding. This could be a metaphor for emotional damage control or attempts to heal oneself's own heartbreak. The Frida on the right is dressed in more modern clothing for the time, and her heart is whole. In her hand is a photograph where a similar artery that is coiled up her arm and connected to her complete heart ends. The sky above both of her is cloudy and grey, perhaps reflecting her inner uncertainty and turmoil.

    Personally, Frida Kahlo is my favorite artist from this era. She also has a few political works and similar ideology to Rivera and Siqueiros, however, I think that she really distinguishes herself with her deeply intimate and visually striking artwork.

Works Cited

    “Mexican Muralism Movement Overview.” The Art Story, https://www.theartstory.org/movement/mexican-muralism/.

    Siqueiros, David Alfaro. “The Elements, 1922 - David Alfaro Siqueiros.” Www.wikiart.org, 1 Jan. 1970, https://www.wikiart.org/en/david-alfaro-siqueiros/the-elements-1922.

    “The Two Fridas.” The Two Fridas, 1939 by Frida Kahlo, https://www.fridakahlo.org/the-two-fridas.jsp.

Post-Modernism

The Post-Modern era takes place from 1980 to the present day. The common denominator of all forms of post-modern art is the idea that nothing holds just one intrinsic truth that everyone can see and understand because each human experience is inherently different.

Deconstruction is not only the principal guideline for postmodernism but a medium as well. With deconstruction as a guiding principle, everyone is free to come to their own conclusions. Frank Gehry is a pioneering deconstruction artist who works with raw materials and architecture. 

Fish Lamps by Frank Gehry (1983.) Plastic laminate.

Deconstruction most often takes the form of sculpture, Fish Lamps is no different, but with the added element of electricity. It stands out to me because it is an art that serves a practical function, but is still classified as art. Or maybe it isn’t, it depends on who you ask. The fact that it greys the line between an appliance, and a sculpture embodies the very principle of deconstruction. It isn’t following a set of rules that determines what is art and what isn’t, it isn’t claiming to be anything specific and leaves that interpretation up to the individual beholder. Gehry has done several installations of plastic laminate glued onto wires in the shape of fish and then illuminated from the inside out. Personally, I love this piece and I would definitely have it in my home. I think that the fact that it functions as a light makes it all the more captivating and interesting to look at. They can be hung from the ceiling or mounted flush to a wall; thus making the experience completely different depending on how they're displayed. 

Frank Gehry is also an award-winning architect and has designed dozens of visually striking buildings. The use of architecture as an art form is nothing new, but its execution has evolved with technology throughout the centuries, making architectural art more commonplace than it has ever been previously in history.

Dancing House by Frank Gehry (1992-96.)

Dancing House is located in the Czech Republic and is used as an office building. The site on which it was built is actually a historic site, the location of a home that was destroyed in the U.S. bombing of Prague in 1945. The non-traditional design was controversial at the time of its completion because its “new baroque” style stands out amongst the Gothic buildings that surround it. The building appears to be distorted, almost like it’s been pinched on its left side. At the very top of the building is a large pile of twisted medals that has been nicknamed “The Medusa.” The building appears to be almost animated or something out of Harry Potter because of the cartoony appearance of the windows but is contrasted by the sleek, modern look of the glass that sheaths the left-most collum of the building. I can’t tell if I love this building or hate it. I think that it's a little dizzying to look at because of all the different artistic directions that it’s going in, but that’s also what makes it interesting. I think that I’d have to agree with the controversy that surrounded it; it does stand out from the Gothic and neo-classical style buildings that surround it and I think that the placement itself just itches my brain in the wrong way. However, I do love its name: Dancing House. It has a nice ring to it. 

    Another art form that postmodernism took is installation art. Installation art is a display that is generally designed for a specific space and is often there for a limited period of time and is meant for public consumption. 

Fallen Blossom: Explosion Project by Cai Guo-Qiang (2009.) Gunpowder fuse, metal net for gunpowder fuse, scaffolding.

    Cai Guo-Qiang is an installation artist who uses gunpowder and controlled explosions to paint on canvas. His methods are unconventional, to say the least, and his art installations are fun and exciting to behold. His medium bleeds into performance art because of its theatrical nature, as well as deconstruction because of his unconventional use of materials. His work can be classified as fitting closely into either of these subcategories, depending on the piece.

The explosion forms the pattern of a blossom, thus the name. This piece could also be considered deconstruction art because it utilized several elements in ways that were not intended. In doing so, Guo-Qian has redefined their purpose and defined conventionality which is the defining act of post-modern art. 

Another installation artist is Tadashi Kawamata. His art is site-specific in the sense that his installations are meant to stand apart from the space that its in and encourage onlookers to re-think their surroundings. If you saw one of Kawamata’s works while walking down the street, it’d probably stop you in your tracks.

Grandmaison by Tadashi Kawamata (2008.)

    

    Grandmaison is a massive collection of wooden pallets piled up into a wave that's pouring off of the top of the building and onto the street. Kawamatas works often grow over time, and leave room for growth still after their completion. Visually, there is no shortage of material in a finite amount of space. This is his commentary on environmentalism and human’s relationship with expansion and the environment. As chaotic as it looks, it is still methodical and delicately balanced. It forces the onlooker to focus on the overwhelming presence of otherwise overlooked objects. 

The post-modern era has ushered in a boom in street art, public sculptures, public murals, and graffiti. Street art is considered any form of public art, usually in urban/metropolitan areas. It takes the form of many different mediums and varies in permanence.  One street artist, Julian Beever, uses chalk to create optical illusions of great depth on city streets. Because chalk fades so quickly, the only record of his work is via photographs. The technological sophistication of the modern day makes it possible to keep a record of these works as well as generate profit for an otherwise unprofitable medium of art such as chalk. 

That Hemmed In Feeling by Julian Beever.

What’s so striking about Beever’s work is the intricate amount of detail. I like that they have the potential to be interactive, as well as just visually interesting. Also, when viewed from afar or from any angle other than dead on, the picture is indistinguishable. He uses the element of perspective very intentionally. Additionally, the three-dimensional aspect of his pieces is only visible when viewed from a photo; whether it be an iPhone, professional camera, or polaroid picture, the three-dimensional element of these pieces is not visible to the naked eye. 

Unlike street art, graffiti art is less often welcomed and in some cases, is punishable by legal action. I find graffiti art fascinating because graffiti has always existed! There have been ancient graffiti discovered by archeologists in many ancient ruins and on many ancient artifacts. They’ve even discovered graffiti in the ruins of Pompeii. 

Untitled by Banksy. November 2022.

    Because of the taboo nature of graffiti, most graffiti artists are anonymous, but there are some distinguished few. One of them is a person that goes by ‘Banksy.’ They’re a kind of celebrity in the art world, although their identity is unknown to the public. He’s famous for stenciling graffiti in public spaces, most often walls, and usually containing some allusion toward moral or political commentary. I think that in creating art in solitude with the citizens of Ukraine, Banksy embodies the nonconforming nature of graffiti (and in turn, post-modernism) very well.

Works Cited

“Cai Guo-Qiang 蔡国强: Fallen Blossoms: Explosion Project (2009).” Artsy, https://www.artsy.net/artwork/cai-guo-qiang-cai-guo-qiang-fallen-blossoms-explosion-project.

“The Dancing House.” Architectural, https://architectuul.com/architecture/the-dancing-house#:~:text=The%20%22Dancing%20House%22%20is%20set,when%20the%20area%20was%20cleared.

Early Modern Art and WWI's Influence

  Early Modern Art and WWI's Influence

 Avant-Garde's art style was born from impressionism and post-impressionism predating World War I. Its primary distinction is that it does not seek to be realistic or to appeal to the viewer’s perspective, but rather focuses on how the artist experiences the world. It was the first real wave of self-expression becoming the forefront of artistic style and formatting. Fauvism, a sub-set of Avant Garde, focuses on expressive colors, awkward perspectives, and simplicity of shapes and depth. It is a stark contradiction and rejection of the values of romanticism during the previous era. All four Avant Garde styles (Fauvism, Cubism, Futurism, and Expressionist) hold many similarities but are distinguishable by minute differences in approach.

The River of Seine at Chatou by Maurice de Vlaminck (1906.) Oil on canvas.

The River of Seine at Chatou by Maurice de Vlaminck is an example of a through-and-through Fauvist artwork. In the 1910s, Chatou was a small village along the Seine River outside of Paris, France. In Fauvism, colors are used to show emotion rather than to depict visual reality. The colors in this painting, although eye-catching, have stuck to similar mostly natural colors of the view he depicted. Vlaminck chose a variety of shades to create some elements of depth and shadow, particularly in the water. The organic lines he used creates a simple, tactile painting while still being able to create a cohesive picture that the viewer can understand. This particular piece bleeds a little bit into Cubism because of the subtle geometric shapes that are used to create figures of boats, trees, and buildings in the distance.

Avant-Garde came before World War I and focused mostly on self-expression and abstraction. It primed the stage for an even further rejection of traditional art after World War I. A movement that was produced in reaction to the nationalism and materialism that was believed to have caused World War I is called “Dada.” Dada art is not intended to be visually pleasing, but rather to pose difficult questions about society. Visually, Dada is grandfathered in a lot of artistic elements that are derived from Fauvism and Avant-Garde art styles such as vibrant colors, abstraction, unwieldy perspectives, and expressionalism. The movement was founded in Zurich, Switzerland, and took place from roughly 1916-1924.

Parade Amoureuse (Amorous Parade) by Francis Picabia (1917.) Oil, gesso, metallic pigment, ink, gold leaf, pencil, and crayon on board.

One of the principal figures of the Dada movement is french artist Francis Picabia, AKA “Papa Dada.” Parade Amorous, which translated to Love Parad is a mixed-medium, Dada piece that presents aspects of cubism as well as Fauvism. It suggests analogies between mechanical and human forms. The upper red portion can be considered female and the lower blue is considered male. The concept is the rejection of the idea of the human soul and instead emphasized that we are driven by our compulsions and instincts, like organic machines. Of course, the growing industrialism in Europe and the United States played a big part in the commentary subject matter of many Dada artworks, specifically Picabia, whose works were often mechanical looking with double meaning. 

Like Dadaism is born from Fauvism, Surrealism is born from Dadaism. It inquired into the world of dreams and the subconscious mind, drawing inspiration from the works of Sigmund Freud. Like Dadaism, Surrealism is not concerned with questions of morality, which is a complete 180 from the moral subject matter that dominated the Romantic Era that came before Early Modernism. 

Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bumblebee Around a Pomegranate a Second Before Awakening by Salvador Dali (1944.) Oil on wood.

    Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bumblebee Around a Pomegranate a Second Before Awakening by Salvador Dali is a surrealist painting created in 1944. In it, a naked woman lies on a floating rock above the ocean. Beside her, a bee approaches a pomegranate that floats above the rock. Above her, two lions jump towards her out of the sky: one being spit out of the other, the other being spat out by a giant fish that is emerging out of a large pomegranate, which is also floating in the sly. The giant elephant walking in the distance is a distorted depiction of Piazza Della Minerva's sculpture Elephant and Obelisk by Gian Lorenzo Bernini which is located outside of the church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva. The bayonet and tigers hurling toward the woman may represent her abrupt awakening from a pleasant dream. The heart-shaped shadow that the small pomegranate casts are believed to be a symbol of Venus as well as the Christian symbol of fertility and resurrection. In this case, perhaps resurrection means simply waking from sleep.

Works Cited

Colourfulexposure. “Visual Analysis.” Contextual Studies, 8 May 2014, https://bp161994.wordpress.com/2014/05/08/visual-analysis-3/.

“Dada Movement Overview and Key Ideas.” The Art Story, https://www.theartstory.org/movement/dada/.

Scott, Dan, et al. “Fauvism Art Movement.” Draw Paint Academy, 8 Sept. 2022, https://drawpaintacademy.com/fauvism/.