Understanding Mexico Through the U.O. (Workers’ University)! (¡Entendiendo a México por la U.O., Universidad Obrera!)

© Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / SOMAAP, Mexico City
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Understanding Mexico Through the U.O. (Workers’ University)! (¡Entendiendo a México por la U.O., Universidad Obrera!)

Mexico, Mexico City, circa 1937
Prints; lithographs
Lithograph
Image (per Paper Conservation 01/04/22): 8 1/2 × 12 1/4 in. (21.59 × 31.12 cm) Sheet (per Paper Conservation 01/04/22): 12 3/4 × 16 1/4 in. (32.39 × 41.28 cm) Mat: 14 × 19 in. (35.56 × 48.26 cm)
Gift of Electa Arenal, Julie Arenal, and Rose Arenal (M.2001.200.10)
Latin American Art
Not currently on public view

Curator Notes

In 1936 the Universidad Obrera de México (U.O.; Workers’ University of Mexico) was founded by labor leader Vicente Lombardo Toledano (1894–1968).

...

In 1936 the Universidad Obrera de México (U.O.; Workers’ University of Mexico) was founded by labor leader Vicente Lombardo Toledano (1894–1968). The university aimed to improve future conditions for the working class by providing laborers with an education that would enable them to form a collective class consciousness and proletariat culture. The school was an important ally for the Taller de Gráfica Popular (People’s Print Workshop) in the initial years of its founding and member artist Leopoldo Méndez served on the university’s faculty.

Méndez likely created this lithograph as a poster for the school. Three men sit around a map of Mexico. The central figure points, seemingly leading the discussion. The banner behind the men stands out in bright, colorful contrast, its use of red and the five-pointed star alluding to the school’s Communist ties and ideologies. The star and pointing hand are also elements of the school’s logo, which Méndez may be referencing.


For more information see the catalogue entry by Rachel Kaplan in Pressing Politics: Revolutionary Graphics from Mexico and Germany, 2022, pp. 64–65.
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Bibliography

  • Kaplan, Rachel, and Erin Sullivan Maynes. Pressing Politics: Revolutionary Graphics from Mexico and Germany. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2022.

Exhibition history

  • Pressing Politics: Revolutionary Graphics from Mexico and Germany Los Angeles, CA, Charles White Elementary School, October 29, 2022 - July 22, 2023