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  3. Mexican Mural Art P1: The first major modern art movement in Latin America was Mexican muralism, which featured large-scale wall

Mexican Mural Art P1: The first major modern art movement in Latin America was Mexican muralism, which featured large-scale wall

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问题 Mexican Mural Art
P1: The first major modern art movement in Latin America was Mexican muralism, which featured large-scale wall paintings on civic buildings. After the Mexican Revolution (1910-1920), the land was finally in the hands of its own workers, but there was so much to be done: the new government sought to establish a brand new Mexican society, founded on its rich traditions but very much forward-looking. Since most of the population was illiterate, an effective way to change that would be through the creation of visual messages that would not only appeal aesthetically, but that would also promote certain political and social ideals, including the struggle for social justice. This in turn had been accompanied by a desire for authentic forms of self-expression and freedom from cultural dependency. Muralism flourished in Mexico in the years immediately following the Mexican Revolution as a result of a unique combination of circumstances: a climate of revolutionary optimism and cultural experimentation that challenged traditional Eurocentrism; a small but strong group of relatively mature artists of energy, ideas, and ability; and a visionary minister of education, Jose Vasconcelos. Vasconcelos commissioned works of public art, allocated the funds and granted permission for artists to use public buildings for murals to affirm the values of the revolution.
P2: One of the most persistent themes of Latin American art in the last 80 years has been an engagement with issues. Mexican muralism is representational and often narrative in form, but it should be recognized as a modern movement; it was certainly modernizing in intent, in that it challenged the old order—culturally, socially, and politically. Although these sentiments have taken many different forms in many difficult cultures, Mexican muralism was the first, and its influence was the most far-reaching.
P3: The muralist movement was not a unified force, however. Out of a host of Mexican artists, three emerged as its most devoted, celebrated, and prolific, to the extent that they came to be referred to as "the three greats." These artists all differed in their style of painting and their outlook on life. Diego Rivera (1886-1957), inspired by Mexico’s bright colors, sought to promote a pluralistic vision of Mexican society by drawing on the rich heritage of the pre-Columbian past (before Christopher Columbus arrived in the Americas in 1492). He incorporated much of European Modernism in his work, particularly elements of Cubism, which he later toned down on in an effort to recreate the flair of indigenous murals. He was deeply influenced by native pictographic traditions of communication in which pictures represent written words and ideas, and he sought to develop a modern equivalent, a visual language that could be read like a book. The art of Jose Clemente Orozco (1883-1949) was less optimistic: in the manner of a dark prophet, he emphasized human suffering and cruelty, leaving nothing unsaid when it came to the horrors of the Mexican Revolution, in which he fought. He offers no comforting narratives and his expressive, aggressive technique serves as a metaphor for Mexico’s harsh, contradictory reality. His murals were often defaced and even threatened with whitewashing by the government for their explicitly straight-forward content, and he himself was proclaimed "sick" by a number of art critics. David Alfaro Siqueiros (1898-1976) was the most politically active of the three and was an internationalist both ideologically and artistically. In his art he deliberately avoided traditional materials and methods, preferring to experiment with modern industrial paints and spray tools. His works looked forward to a fully socialist future where the workers would have won the right to the benefits of the modern industrial era. His art evoked progress, yet also the kind of political vision that was not well-received by the authorities in Mexico, or the United States - which is why today most of his murals can be found in South America.
P4: The Mexican muralist movement is undoubtedly one of the most important manifestations of twentieth-century Mexican culture. Its ideas also found their way to other parts of the Americas, like Guatemala, Ecuador and Brazil. The influence of the Mexicans on the modern Spanish painter Picasso’s first mural and almost his only major explicitly propagandist work of art—his famous Guernica of 1937—is unmistakable even though the artist would have denied it. Mexican muralists also served as an inspiration for the Works Progress Administration program introduced by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1930s, whose 1933 Public Works of Art Project saw 3600 artists create murals and sculptures for public buildings across the United States. Although their depictions weren’t political, the intention to make art public and accessible to all remained the same.
P4: ■ The Mexican muralist movement is undoubtedly one of the most important manifestations of twentieth-century Mexican culture. ■ Its ideas also found their way to other parts of the Americas, like Guatemala, Ecuador and Brazil. ■ The influence of the Mexicans on the modern Spanish painter Picasso’s first mural and almost his only major explicitly propagandist work of art—his famous Guernica of 1937—is unmistakable even though the artist would have denied it. ■ Mexican muralists also served as an inspiration for the Works Progress Administration program introduced by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1930s, whose 1933 Public Works of Art Project saw 3,600 artists create murals and sculptures for public buildings across the United States. Although their depictions weren’t political, the intention to make art public and accessible to all remained the same.
The word "contradictory" in the passage is closest in meaning to
选项 A、discouraging
B、conflicting
C、unchanging
D、unusual
答案B
解析 【词汇题】contradictory意为“矛盾的”。
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