Neo-Mexicanism

Teresa Eckmann

The Mexican art movement of the 1980s known as neo-Mexicanism (neomexicanidad), has been dismissed by many historians as strictly folkloric or simply as a display of national insignias. But rather than flag-waving pride, Teresa Eckmann suggests, this art expresses subtle criticism that earlier scholars and critics have overlooked. She proposes that neo-Mexicanist art is an expression of disenchantment-- specifically, disenchantment with the official image of mexicanidad (Mexican identity) promoted by the state, and by the media and tourist industries. In this study, the first book-length treatment of neo-Mexicanism, Eckmann shows an art infused with an undercurrent of disenchantment that reflects the artists' personal responses to the economic and social stagnation, low foreign investment, natural disasters, political corruption, oppression, and general state of crisis that marked the...