Posted by vrcvanderbilt on Wednesday, February 27, 2013 in HART, VRC.

A multi-author volume that deals critically and from a variety of thematic perspectives with Mexican mural painting—its problems, achievements, failures, and legacy—became the project of three editors and contributors: Leonard Folgarait, professor of history of art, Vanderbilt University; Alejandro Anreus, professor of art history and Latin American/Latino Studies, William Paterson University; and Robin Adèle Greeley, associate professor of art history and Latin American Studies, University of Connecticut. The result is a comprehensive collection of essays entitled Mexican Muralism: A Critical History, published in 2012 by the University of California Press.

Three generations of international scholars examine Mexican muralism in its broad artistic and historical contexts, from its iconic figures—Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco, and David Alfaro Siqueiros—to their successors in Mexico, the United States, and across Latin America. These muralists conceived of their art as a political weapon in popular struggles over revolution and resistance, state modernization and civic participation, artistic freedom and cultural imperialism. Contributors to this volume show how these artists’ murals transcended borders to engage major issues raised by the many different forms of modernity that emerged throughout the Americas during the twentieth century.

In addition to co-editing the book, Folgarait contributed two essays: “José Clemente Orozco’s Use of Architecture in the Dartmouth Mural” and “Murals and Marginality in Mexico City: The Case of Tepito Arte Acá.”