First, based on this article, what would you say were the five essential elements of the Mexican mural movement?
One of the most important elements of the Mexican mural movement is the political aspect. Paintings by the leading artists, such as Diego Rivera and David Alfero Siqueiros, incorporated ideas of the new Mexican government in order to get the population more excited over this new regime. These murals served as a strengthener of Mexico’s national and cultural identity. However, the Mexican mural movement was not confined to the borders of Mexico. Rivera and Siqueiros were also very influential in the United States, and sometimes even controversial in the content they decided to depict in their murals. The public art of this movement is often geared to evoke memories of patriotism through pictures of past war heroes. The avant-garde style was dominant during this movement because artists studied in Europe, where this movement was prominent at the time.
Second, compare and contrast the context of this movement with our present situation in Syracuse in 2010. If we are going to try to make a work of art for the public in Syracuse how are we going to have to approach this problem differently? What has remained the same between our context and the Mexican muralists' context?
I feel as though today’s murals are less politically oriented than they were during the Mexican mural movement. The United States is not undergoing any drastic change in regime like Mexico was in the 1920’s and 30’s. While looking at websites and blogs that contain pictures of modern-day murals, I realize that there is a lot more freedom in the content of this public art. There are many abstract shapes and colors, and it makes me wonder what the meaning behind the mural is. Murals created during the time of the Mexican mural movement most commonly contained people, and sometimes even rulers of the time. The message was often obvious, and many people pictured in the mural were recognizable. I do not think that the people of Syracuse would react in the same way as those living with political upheaval. This is because there are other problems inherent in our society, such as sustainability that needs to be addressed. Murals have the power to convey a message to many people at once because they are located in very public places; we should take advantage of this amazing opportunity and have our voices be heard in the Syracuse community.
