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El fascismo en Latino-América (Fascism in Latin America)

A work made of lithograph in black and red on tan wove paper.
© 2018 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / SOMAAP, Mexico City

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  • A work made of lithograph in black and red on tan wove paper.

Date:

1939

Artist:

José Chávez Morado
Mexican, 1909-2002

About this artwork

The Taller de Gráfica Popular participated in the media war against profascist forces in Mexico, and some of its earliest prints were commissioned by antifascist organizations such as the Liga Pro-Cultura Alemana (League for German Culture), a Mexico City–based group of European political exiles. In 1939 the Taller illustrated posters for the Liga advertising lectures on fascism. Some examples reveal the workshop’s sophisticated solutions to representing this domestic and international threat. A photomontage of the Nazis’ notorious aerial campaigns—a new war strategy used against civilians during the Spanish Civil War—recalls the political satires of the German Dada artist John Heartfield, while the Japanese image mocks Emperor Hirohito as a bloated insect. In contrast, the poster for the lecture by Mexican labor leader Vicente Lombardo Toledano visualizes the inclusive nature of the Popular Front antifascist alliance by showing a professional linking arms with the traditional revolutionary trinity of a soldier, an urban worker, and a peasant.

Español:El Taller de Gráfica Popular participó en la guerra mediática en contra de los grupos profascistas de México, y algunos de sus primeros grabados fueron comisionados por organizaciones antifascistas tales como la Liga Pro-Cultura Alemana, una agrupación de exiliados políticos europeos en el D. F. En 1939, el Taller ilustró carteles para la Liga en los que se publicitaban conferencias sobre el fascismo. Algunos ejemplos muestran las sofisticadas estrategias gráficas diseñadas para representar la amenaza fascista a nivel nacional e internacional. El fotomontaje de las tristemente célebres campañas aéreas nazis —formas de guerra desplegadas en contra de la población civil durante la Guerra Civil Española— recuerda las sátiras políticas del artista dadaísta alemán John Heartfield, mientras la imagen japonesa hace burla del emperador Hirohito en la figura de un insecto hinchado. En contraste, el cartel para la conferencia del líder obrero mexicano Vicente Lombardo Toledano proyecta el espíritu inclusivo de la alianza antifascista del Frente Popular mostrando a un profesional marchando hombro con hombro con la tradicional trinidad revolucionaria de un soldado, un obrero y un campesino.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Prints and Drawings

Artist

José Chávez Morado

Title

El fascismo en Latino-América (Fascism in Latin America)

Place

Mexico (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1939

Medium

Lithograph in black and red on tan wove paper

Dimensions

46.9 × 67.7 cm (18 1/2 × 26 11/16 in.)

Credit Line

William McCallin McKee Memorial Endowment

Reference Number

1944.885

Copyright

© 2018 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / SOMAAP, Mexico City

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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