Imaging the political: El Taller de Grafica Popular in Mexico, 1937--1949.

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This dissertation examines the political and cultural history of mid-twentieth century Mexico through a case study of a group of political artists, the Taller de Gráfica Popular (TGP). From 1937–1949, this collectively organized association of graphic artists melded artistic achievement and political activism in poster art designed for public display and consumption. Espousing the politics of the left, the TGP was increasingly restricted during the 1940s, as Mexico's political environment became rightist. The group's tenacious endurance in an increasingly hostile ideological environment is the focus of this study.
TGP survival in the 1940s can be attributed to a process of adaptation within the Taller, led by the charismatic and talented Leopoldo Méndez. Under his leadership, the group withdrew from frank advocacy of a communist Mexico, and expanded its patronage options. To improve the workshop's financial solvency, the TGP obtained funding from official Mexican channels and from art enthusiasts in the United States. As a result, the TGP lost its focus and momentum in the 1940s, shifting from artistic production that addressed smoldering Mexican social issues to producing graphic art that celebrated Mexican history and society, and idealized the global spread of communist ideology. By 1949, the TGP no longer posed a threat to the Mexican political system, and signaled the end of an artistic era with its collective memoir.
This dissertation broadens historical analysis of the political left in Mexico during the 1940s, a much neglected subject in Mexican history. Also, the study expands interpretations of the Taller de Gráfica Popular and its artistic output using both organizational records and graphic work as primary source materials. It documents the TGP's evolution from strident leftist advocacy to a moderate public political position that was palatable to Mexico's conservative ruling regimes of the 1940s.