From Library Journal
Containing 11 essays, numerous illustrations, and extensive notes, this catalog accompanies a traveling exhibition that explores Mexican artist Orozco's productivity while visiting the United States between 1927 and 1934. During this time of self-imposed exile, the renowned social realist muralist departed from themes focused on the Mexican Revolution and rural life, which had defined his previous work. He won commissions from various U.S. institutions, including the New School in New York City and Dartmouth College, by concentrating on modern urban subjects: workers, unemployment, and the economic depression that began in 1929. His politically charged works from this period, like those of his colleagues Diego Rivera and David Alfaro Siqueiros, include drawings, paintings, prints, and easel paintings, as well as three magnificent murals. In the introduction, Timothy Rub (director, Cincinnati Museum of Art) describes Orozco's experiences in the United States and his patrons, shows, and work; the following essays, each by a different curator or academic, expound upon specific aspects of his technique, influences, and craft. Ades (art history, Univ. of Essex) merges this scholarship with beautiful illustrations of coffee-table grandeur into a surprisingly academic and informed work. Large public and academic libraries holding specialized collections in Mexican art, muralists, or 20th-century art should not do without this. Last year's Orozco in Gringoland, a monograph by Alejandro Anreus, also explored this period in the artist's life but did not contain full-color reproductions. Rebecca Tolley-Stokes, East Tennessee State Univ. Lib., Johnson CityCopyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.


Book Description
The complete North American work of one of Mexico's greatest muralists. Among the Mexican muralists working in this country during the 1920s and 1930s, including the giants Diego Rivera and David Alfaro Siqueiros, the paintings of José Clemente Orozco are arguably the strongest and most politically charged. This important and profusely illustrated volume is proof. From his first commission, Prometheus, at Pamona College and his highly political work at the New School for Social Research in New York to what some feel is his masterpiece, The Epic of American Civilization, at Dartmouth College, Orozco's stinging characterizations of hypocrisy, greed, and oppression challenged conventional conservative views, to such an extent that in certain instances demands were made for the destruction of his works. All of Orozco's North American work is presented here, with discussions on his life and influences as well as his place among the other Mexican artists and his impact on the exuberant art of the 1960s and 1970s. 250 illustrations, over half in color.


About the Author
Renato González Mello is professor of contemporary art at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, where he also conducts research for the Institute for Aesthetic Investigation.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

The complete North American work of one of Mexico's greatest muralists. Among the Mexican muralists working in this country during the 1920s and 1930s, including the giants Diego Rivera and David Alfaro Siqueiros, the paintings of José Clemente Orozco are arguably the strongest and most politically charged. This important and profusely illustrated volume is proof. From his first commission, Prometheus, at Pamona College and his highly political work at the New School for Social Research in New York to what some feel is his masterpiece, The Epic of American Civilization, at Dartmouth College, Orozco's stinging characterizations of hypocrisy, greed, and oppression challenged conventional conservative views, to such an extent that in certain instances demands were made for the destruction of his works. All of Orozco's North American work is presented here, with discussions on his life and influences as well as his place among the other Mexican artists and his impact on the exuberant art of the 1960s and 1970s. 250 illustrations, over half in color.

Author Biography: Renato González Mello is professor of contemporary art at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, where he also conducts research for the Institute for Aesthetic Investigation.

FROM THE CRITICS

Library Journal