Revolution, Mexican public art, and the League of Revolutionary Writers and Artists (1934-1938)

Abstract

In the first half of the twentieth century, public art was a central topic of discussions about how mexican art should be. Often, the debate pointed to articulate art and artists with «workers’ fight». Both actors was considered protagonists and agents of a revolution in progress, hand in hand in the same struggle. This paper seeks to describe and analyze some resolutions of public art proposed by the League of Revolutionary Writers and Artists (LEAR), a left and anti-fascist organization which included artists and intellectuals from various disciplines. My aim is to show how the LEAR’s program proposed alternatives of public art, projected as a useful tool for the workers on the basis on a program focused in the collaboration trough art.