Picturing the Proletariat: Artists and Labor in Revolutionary Mexico, 1908-1940

by John Lear

Thomas McGann Memorial Prize, Rocky Mountain Council on Latin American Studies, 2017
Runner-up, Humanities Book Prize, Mexico Section of the Latin American Studies Association, 2018

In the wake of Mexico’s revolution, artists played a fundamental role in constructing a national identity centered on working people and were hailed for their contributions to modern art. Picturing the Proletariat examines three aspects of this artistic legacy: the parallel paths of organized labor and artists’ collectives, the relations among these groups and the state, and visual narratives of the worker. Showcasing forgotten works and neglected media, John Lear explores how artists and labor unions participated in a cycle of revolutionary transformation from 1908 through the presidency of Lázaro Cárdenas (1934–1940). Lear shows how middle-class artists, radicalized by the revolution and the Communist Party, fortified the legacy of the prerevolutionary print artisan José Guadalupe Posada by incorporating modernist, avant-garde, and nationalist elements in ways that supported and challenged unions and the state. By 1940, the state undermined the autonomy of radical artists and unions, while preserving the image of both as partners of the “institutionalized revolution.”

This interdisciplinary book explores the gendered representations of workers; the interplay of prints, photographs, and murals in journals, in posters, and on walls; the role of labor leaders; and the discursive impact of the Spanish Civil War. It considers “los tres grandes”—Rivera, Siquieros, and Orozco—while featuring lesser-known artists and their collectives, including Saturnino Herrán, Leopoldo Méndez, Santos Balmori, and the League of Revolutionary Writers and Artists (LEAR). The result is a new perspective on the art and politics of the revolution.

Genres: Art, Labor

390 pages, Hardcover

Published January 10, 2017

About the author

John Lear’s research and teaching interests include Mexico, Cuba, post-independence Latin America, comparative labor and urban history, cultural politics, and gender and social movements. His newest book, Picturing the Proletariat: Artists and Labor in Post-Revolutionary Mexico, 1908-1940 (2017) considers relations between artists, the state and organized labor during this period. His first book, Chiles Free-Market Miracle: A Second Look (1995), examined neo-liberal policies in Chile. His second book, Workers, Neighbors and Citizens: The Revolution in Mexico City (2001), explored urban mobilization in the Mexican Revolution. He is currently working on a political biography of Diego Rivera, to be published by Verso. He has written a variety of editorials on contemporary Latin America for local newspapers. Lear taught a first-year seminar on Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera. Other courses included Modern Latin America, Modern Mexico, History and Film, Art and Revolution in Latin American, and a travel seminar to Latin America. He speaks Spanish, French, and some Portuguese.