Mexico Modern:
Art, Commerce, and Cultural Exchange
Harry Ransom Center/University of Texas at Austin, Hirmer, and the Museum of the City of New York
2017
Co-edited and written with Thomas Mellins
This 176-page book accompanied the exhibition Mexico Modern, which explored two decades of dynamic cultural exchange between Mexico and the United States. Telling the rich story of the “Mexican moment” of the 1920s and 1930s, the book featured 200 illustrations and was organized in three parts. An introductory essay by University of Texas associate professor George F. Flaherty traced the connection between art and politics within the context of the Mexican Revolution and its aftermath. The editors’ essay explored how the Mexican moment was orchestrated in the United States, specifically as it played out in three cities: Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York. The third part of the book, also written by the editors, provided brief biographical texts and representative images devoted to 32 artists, designers and promoters who were key to the story. Taken together, the goal of both this book and the companion exhibition was to underscore the critical role played by personal and institutional networks—spanning two nations—in the creation of art, art audiences, art markets, and ultimately, art history
Credits
Editors and primary authors: Donald Albrecht and Thomas Mellins
Designer: WIGEL, Munich
Publishers: Harry Ransom Center/University of Texas at Austin, Hirmer, and the Museum of the City of New York
