University of New Mexico UNM Digital Repository Art & Art History ETDs Electronic Theses and Dissertations 5-1-2013 Chronicles of Revolution and Nation: El Taller de Gráfica Populars 'Estampas de la Revolución Mexicana' (1947) Mary Theresa Avila Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/arth_etds Part of the History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology Commons Recommended Citation Avila, Mary Theresa. "Chronicles of Revolution and Nation: El Taller de Gráfica opulP ars 'Estampas de la Revolución Mexicana' (1947)." (2013). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/arth_etds/7 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Electronic Theses and Dissertations at UNM Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Art & Art History ETDs by an authorized administrator of UNM Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Mary Theresa Avila Candidate Art and Art History Department This dissertation is approved, and it is acceptable in quality and form for publication: Approved by the Dissertation Committee: Dr. Kirsten P. Buick, Chairperson Dr. Holly Barnet-Sanchez Dr. Linda B. Hall Dr. Suzanne Schadl i Chronicles of Revolution and Nation: El Taller de Gráfica Popular’s “Estampas de la Revolución Mexicana” (1947) by THERESA AVILA A.A., Art, Southwestern College, 1993 B.A., Art, California State University, Fullerton, 1999 M.A., Art History, University of New Mexico, 2005 DISSERTATION Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctorate of Philosophy Art History The University of New Mexico Albuquerque, New Mexico May 2013 ii DEDICATION To my husband, Zan Suko, and children, Zinedin and Azra, whose presence, love, and support has been integral to the completion of this project. To David Craven, who introduced me to the Taller de Gráfica Popular and their 1947 portfolio, “Estampas de la Revolución Mexicana.” Your passion for Latin American Art and social justice was motivational throughout this project. I have and will always appreciate, more so now than ever, your generosity in recognizing and acknowledging my efforts, growth, and accomplishments. Your determination that my work was good or well done made me feel seen and accomplished, and it lifted me up and most importantly it made me feel like my work and this project matter. I was especially moved on the day you told me I taught you something with my Madero chapter. The last months of this project were especially difficult without you. I ache to continue our conversations about the TGP, their portfolio, and Latin American Art in general. I wish we could have celebrated together the completion of this stage of this project. Professor Craven, you have left an indelible mark on all that have known you and your legacy lives on in all of us who worked with you, as we strive to agitate the seemingly smooth veneer of Art History. May you rest in peace! iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I want to recognize Dr. David Craven whose advisement guided me through my twelve years of graduate work at the Universtiy of New Mexico (UNM). Dr. Craven first introduced me to the TGP in the Spring of 2001 in a seminar that he co-taught with Kathleen Howe, the then print curator of the UNM Art Museum. Topics addressed in this project that I developed under the advisement of Dr. Craven include nation building, imperialism, labor, and indigenismo. For over a decade Dr. Craven aided and supported my dissertation’s development. It saddens me greatly that his name is not included as a member of my dissertation committee. His contributions to this project were numerous and key. It has been a pleasure to have developed and completed this project under the tutelage of Dr. Kirsten Buick my dissertation chair. My work on how systems of differentiation operate and how difference is reflected in the TGP’s portfolio was developed under the advisement of Dr. Buick over the course of numerous years and these concerns have become ongoing projects of their own. Other subjects I worked on with Dr. Buick and will continue to expand on include gender and landscape. I have worked with Professor Buick for a decade and in that time she has taught me meaningful lessons about the world we live in, the field of art history, and myself. She has been and is a generous mentor, important role model, and a wonderful source of encouragement who has guided me through some of the more difficult trials and tribulations on my academic journey. Her gifts to me have been great and I am truly grateful for her presence in my life. iv I also thank my committee members, Dr. Holly Barnet-Sanchez, Dr. Linda Hall, and Dr. Suzanne Schadel for their valuable recommendations pertaining to this study. Dr. Holly Barnet-Sanchez is the scholar who drew me to UNM for graduate school. Although I veered away from Latino Art as I moved toward Mexican Art, our jouney together both academically and personally has come full circle in unexpected and glorious ways. She has bestowed upon me some of the most generous gifts a scholar can offer. I am overwhelmed by her goodwill, which will stay with me always. I wish to recognize Dr. Linda Hall for her important insights with regard to Mexican history and the Mexican Revolution. Professor Hall has been a generous and wonderful teacher and adviser. I especially appreciate her understanding and efforts to support me in any way I have needed over the years. Suzanne Schadl was very supportive and encouraging of my work, particularly through her sponsorship of an exhibition that I curated in 2012 entitled, Civil Rights and Social Justice: Works of El Taller de Gráfica Popular that was on display at the Hertzstein Reading Room at Zimmerman Library, UNM. Another scholar I would like to thank is Dr. Ruth Capelle, my first mentor and guide in academia. Her encouragement served to jettison me into graduate school. Although we did not see eye to eye on this project, our conversations about Mexican Art and the TGP’s portfolio were meaningful and helpful. I have benefitted greatly from numerous relationships and conversations I have had with my colleagues in the Department of Art and Art History over the years. Dr. Elizabeth Olton has been a good friend and colleague over the years. She is a great source of support and inspiration. In particular, I want to thank my Art History writing group cohort, Corey Dzenko and Gay Falk, who have been generous and crucial in their v support and critical feedback on my dissertaton. They made what seemed impossible, easier. They have been teachers, sounding boards, editors, and good friends. Both have helped me become a better scholar and writer and I will always reflect on our sessions together as some of the best Art History I have ever known. Santosh Chandrashekar has also served as a great facilitator for this writing group. His insights and challenges have been helpful and thought provoking. There are also a number of folks across the UNM campus to whom I am thankful for in terms of their support, guidance, help, and friendship throughout my doctoral program. Gina Diaz is a great friend and source of support and dialogue. Her thoughtful approach to academia, art, and friendship is impressive and enlightening. Leah Sneider organized some of the first graduate writing groups on the UNM campus and was the first writing group facilitator I worked with. Her insights and advisement were very helpful. Another writing group cohort that was important to my productivity and success in producing this dissertation included Elena Aviles and Estela Vasquez. It was refreshing and helpful to work with and around people who understood some of the unique pressures one struggles with in academia. Anna Cabrera helped to organize my writing group with Elena and Estela, which was a gift unto itself. She also served as an important leader and motivator through numerous UNM Graduate Resource Center Writing Boot Camps. There are many who have contributed to this project and I wish to honor all those who remain unnamed. Exchanges with colleagues and faculty at the University of New Mexico that have taken place over the past twelve years have definitely made their imprint on this project. Additionally, institutions on the UNM campus that have been vi crucial to my research, productivity, and success include: The University of New Mexico Art Museum; Center for Southwest Research, Zimmerman Library; The Fine Arts and Design Library; and the Graduate Resource Center. The personnel and staff at all of these sites have supported my efforts in very important ways and I am truly appreciative. Doug Weintraub at the Office of Graduate Studies was particularly helpful in the last stage of the dissertation project. Teresa Law was an important part of my team at UNM. She helped me wade through the academic, professional, and personal. Her commitement to and concern for my well-being was always evident and generous. The University of New Mexico (or UNM) holds the second largest collection in the United States of work by the Taller de Gráfica Popular. This resource has been invaluable to my examination of numerous group productions and individual works by artists of the collective and in particular to my dissertation project. The UNM Art Museum owns a copy of Estampas de la Revolución Mexicana, which provided me the unique opportunity of relatively unlimited access to the prints from this album. Although I have been looking at and thinking about prints by the TGP for over a decade, I realize there is still so much to discover, investigate, and write. Financial support throughout my doctoral program has come from various sources including: The Wallace Endowed Scholarship in Latin American Art History through the Department of Art and Art History, UNM (Fall 2010-Sp 2011); a Dean’s Dissertation Scholarship from the Office of Graduate Studies, UNM (Fall 2010-Spring 2011); a Ph.D.