Provoking Change
Jose Clemente Orozco was one of the most controversial and celebrated Mexican artists of the twentieth century. He provoked people through his outrageous metaphors and sparked the fuel to the fire of awareness, this being to change the blemishes of our society whether it be dictatorship, war, imperialism, religion, slavery, greed, alienation, and so much more. Even though he lost his left hand when he was just a teenager, he made dozens of major mural pieces that still provoke people’s principles to this day. When he wasn’t creating massive murals he was painting or drawing hundreds of new ideas about social reform, war, imperialism, etc. Both murals and easel paintings influenced generations to come such as Pollock, Guston, and Shahn. He painted the true lifestyle of real mexicans and their problems at the time but called for peasants and workers to change what he was painting so it could be apart of history, not part of the future. With his paintings he challenged authority, norms, and stereotypes of Mexico, Europe, and the United States. His creations are often dark rich colors that have splashed of white and depict tragedies with strong figures that resemble gods, average men, and past dictators/ imperialists. Jose opened peoples eyes in an unconventional way with his massive murals. His pieces are highly detailed and make us question our everyday life. His art made people question society, and once an artist got that question in peoples head, you’ve changed society. But Orozco always caused heated controversy and debates wherever he painted his striking eye-raising social analytical murals and paintings.
To truly understand where Orozco’s drive in political injustice came from, you must understand where he...
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...artwork which is what Orozco biggest strides, having a strong opinion about something. Most importantly Orozco made ground breaking artwork that transformed the future into a better place.
Works Cited
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Hockett, Jeremy. “Analysis of the Hospicio Cabanas Fresco Series of Jose Clemente Orozco.” n.d.: n. pag. Web. 14 February 2011.
Tuck, Jim. “Tragedy and Triumph: the Drama of Jose Clemente Orozco (1883-1949).” Mexconnect. 9 October 2008: n. pag. Web. 9 February 2011.
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Baas, Jacquelynn. “Orozco: Man of Fire.” PBS. 19 September 2007: n. pag. Web. 9 February 2011.
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Alfredo Corchado — is the author of the book named " Midnight in Mexico:A Reporter's Journey through a Country's Descent into Darkness”. We are, probably, all interested in finding out the facts, news, and gossips about Mexico. This country was always associated with something mysterious. For me personally, the title of the book seemed to be very gripping, I was interested in revealing the secrets of life in Mexico, thus I decided to read this book. I was really curious, what can Alfredo Corchado tell me about the life in this country, the country, where the constant massacre is the picture, people used to see. In his book, the author tells the reader about the real situations, which took place in Mexico, reveals the secrets of the people’s lives and tells the story from the “inside”. He describes the way he lives his life, and does his work. The " Midnight in Mexico: A Reporter's Journey through a Country's Descent into Darkness” is a memoir. Author tries to transform his own experience into the story line. Corchado shows the reader the darkest episodes of Mexican society, while relying on his own experience.
Teja, Jesus F. De La. A Revolution Remembered: The Memoirs and Selected Correspondence of Juan N. Seguin. Austin: State House Press, 1991.
In this biographical paper, I will be exploring the history of Juan Cortina, a man who is a hero or bandit depending on who you ask, his historical significance, and then exploring what we know of Juan and what we can deduce about his personality.
Catlett and her husband were deeply involved in activism and politics. In her article titled----, Herzog writes that “ The Taller de Grafica Popular, was known to progressive artists here as well. Like the paintings of the Mexican muralist, the work of the Taller had its ideological roots in the expressions of indiginism and national cultural identity known as Mexicanidad , or ‘Mexicanness’. ” Because one of their goals was to produce a national identity, their art was made for everyone, including poor people. At the taller, they did linoleum print because the linoleum print was an inexpensive medium and thus was perfect for public art. In addition, most of Catlett`s work focused on portraying women of
vii. Mueller, Rose Anna M. "Teaching beyond the Quincentennial," Hispania 76 (3), September 1993. found at http://www.millersv.edu/~columbus/data/art/ MUELLER1. ART, October 2, 1999.
The corrido has been identified as having distinctive characteristics that make up its theme and plot. First, the corrido has a “context of hostile relations between Anglos and Mexicans along the border and the establishment of a scenic structure, geographical locale, and opposing social forces” (Mendoza 146). The corrido’s hero “is a hard-working, peace-loving Mexican, who, when goaded by Anglos, outrages into violence, causing him to defend his rights and those of others of his community against the rinches, the Rangers” (Saldívar). This hero “is quickly introduced in legendary proportions and defiant stature” and many people must die before the hero reaches his triumphant, but tragic, demise (Mendoza 146).
The character of Demetrio Macias proves to be quite ironic. One facet of his character reveals his determination to find Pancho Villa’s army, while the other side of his character parallels the extraordinary qualities Pancho Villa had as a hero. People viewed Pancho Villa as a revered hero who pushed out foreign "proprietors" and fought for the common man. On one hand, there is the compassionate man who helped those in need and rescued orphans providing them with food, education, and a home. On the other hand, there was the ferocious general who destroyed villages and killed innocent victims. Villa was generous and helpful to his followers, of which he insisted on loyalty and trust, but to those who violated his trust and authority, he was merciless and cruel. We can clearly see the similarities of these two leaders when we analyze their noble actions. Demetrio’s reluctance to stop ...
Debroise, Olivier. "Toccata." Mexican Suite: A History of Photography in Mexico. Austin: University of Texas, 2001. 150+. Print.
The photograph “Flor de Manita, 1925” shows great equity between figure and ground shapes. It is a plant that has large sweeping curves, but because of the darkness of the subject and the lightness of the background, if viewed from a distance, the nature of the subject is obscured and one sees only white and black shapes that harmoniously coexist with one another.
The visual narratives of The History of Cuernavaca and Morelos: Crossing the Barranca (ravine) 1929-30, fresco detail, Cortez Palace, Cuernavaca, Mexico, used by Rivera challenge the Western expansion and “settlement” by Europeans is historically based. He labored within walking distance of the extravagant weekend mansions of the corrupt generals and cronies of Calles, clustered together around the mansion of the Jefe Maximo on what Mexicans called "The Street of the Forty Thieves." The frescoes were painted on three walls of the outer colonnade, facing the Valley of Mexico and the great volcanoes called Popocatepetl and Iztacciihuatl. Once again, Rivera was forced to consider the effects of light and weather. He added some painted grisaille
Diego Rivera (December 8, 1886 - November 24, 1957) was a Mexican painter that was greatly known for his murals. Rivera’s murals depicted the struggling lives of the working class and the native people of Mexico. Rivera also had a volatile marriage with the fellow Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. His murals in Fresco had helped establish the upcoming Mexican Mural Movement in Mexican art. Many of Diego’s mural pieces can be found in places like Mexico City, Chapingo, Cuernavaca, San Francisco and New York City. His work was inspired by the political ideas of the Mexican Revolution that was happening. During an Italy trip, Diego found an interest in the creation of murals and found great inspiration in the Renaissance Frescos. The government soon found out about Diego Rivera and started to give him money in order to fund a project into creating a series of murals on public buildings. This is when his most famous mural “Man at Crossroads” was created.
`La Tierra de Alvargonzález' is similar to the old ballads in its content of crime and violence. Machado leaves much of the background o...
de la Cruz, Juana Ines. "Hombres Necios." A Sor Juana Anthology. Ed.Alan S. Trueblood. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard UP, 1988.
One of the first examples of this type of architecture in Mexico was the “Alianza de Ferrocarrileros Mexicanos” building by Vicente Mendiola in 1926. Later on, many buildings were made with this Art Deco, which still...
Life in Mexico was, before the Revolution, defined by the figure of the patron that held all of power in a certain area. Juan Preciado, who was born in an urban city outside of Comala, “came to Comala because [he] had been told that [his] father, a man named Pedro Paramo lived there” (1). He initially was unaware of the general dislike that his father was subjected to in that area of Mexico. Pedro was regarded as “[l]iving bile” (1) by the people that still inhabited Comala, a classification that Juan did not expect. This reveals that it was not known by those outside of the patron’s dominion of the cruel abuse that they levied upon their people. Pedro Paramo held...