SOUTH OF THE BORDER - Hardcover

Oles, James; Ferragut, Marta; Yale University Art Gallery

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1560982942 ISBN 13: 9781560982944

Publisher: Smithsonian, 1993

Richly illustrated with works of both high culture and commercial kitsch - many of them never before reproduced - South of the Border revisits an era when Mexico captured the North American imagination.
Between the final years of the Mexican Revolution of 1910-17 and the immediate aftermath of World War II, dozens of U.S. painters and photographers flocked to Mexico, among them Edward Weston, Paul Strand, Marsden Hartley, Helen Levitt, Josef Albers, and Robert Motherwell. South of the Border reconsiders the work of these and other American artists, along with representative works of their Mexican contemporaries and examples of the vast quantities of commercial art - illustrated books and magazines, travel posters and postcards - and Mexican folk and tourist art that contributed to Americans' image of their neighbor to the south.
Artists visiting or living in Mexico, Oles writes, were enthralled with the country's climate, pre-Columbian heritage, and folk culture. Especially during the Great Depression, not only artists but the general American public as well saw in Mexico an appealing alternative to the pressures of industrial society. Some artists, including Winold Reiss, Thomas Handforth, and Doris Rosenthal, won acclaim for their depictions of a seemingly timeless rural life in Mexican villages. Others, among them Pablo O'Higgins, Elizabeth Catlett, and Robert Mallary, fired their work with politics, bringing the movement for social reform directly to the people through large murals and popular graphics.
In a bilingual text - English and Spanish - that accompanies more than 180 illustrations, Oles describes these and many other U.S. artists drawn to Mexico, placing their work in its original political and cultural context. An accompanying essay by Karen Cordero Reiman reexamines the history of Mexican art from 1910 through 1950, providing a fresh interpretation of a period long obscured by nationalist discourse and the domination of muralism.
Published in cooperation with the Yale University Art Gallery, South of the Border includes capsule biographies and selected bibliographies for many of the artists discussed in the text.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

Language Notes:

Text: English, Spanish (translation)
Original Language: Spanish

From Library Journal:

Between the final years of the Mexican Revolution of 1910-17 and the immediate aftermath of World War II, dozens of U.S. painters and photographers flocked to Mexico, among them Paul Strand, Edward Weston, Dorothea Lange, Helen Levitt, Marsden Hartley, Josef Albers, Milton Avery, Robert Motherwell, and Jackson Pollock. Oles considers the Mexico-inspired work of these and 40 or so other U.S. artists, along with representative works of their Mexican counterparts, and presents examples from high culture to commercial kitsch, as well as Mexican folk and tourist art, that contributed to America's lingering and overidealized image of Mexico today. Essays place the artists and their work within their original political and cultural context. This impressive and richly illustrated exhibition catalog includes capsule biographies. Strongly recommended for regional academic/research collections.
- Russell T. Clement, Brigham Young Univ. Lib., Provo, Ut.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.