Finally! After six weeks, we finally get to the part where we talk about art and its relationship to culture. This was what I thought was culture the entire time… But clearly, I was wrong. In Bruce Campbell’s “Mexican Muralism and the Official Public Sphere”, there was a sentence that struck a chord within me. That sentence was “Mural art falls victim to censorious government officials uncomfortable with the content of images”. I drew parallels with this sentence because it reminded me of how China was and probably still is. I remember my mother telling me that during the Cultural Revolution, many temples, paintings, and books were destroyed. This destruction of culture was also brought forth by the censorious Chinese government.

On page 58, I found the measures taken by the Mexican government to be very similar to the United States. During the Great Depression, Franklin D. Roosevelt commissioned many artists to create public works of art. And in Mexico, the Mexican government commissioned mural art for public housing projects, hospitals, public work projects, and newly constructed buildings. From what I read so far (this may be wrong), I see a very strong tie between Mexico and its murals. Through the ages, as society changes, Mexican muralism also takes on a new public life. I never knew Mexico was that passionate about the arts but after reading this reading, it really opened my eyes. For example, with the SEP, they built 1,159 schools and 455 new libraries in a span of 2 years!! Furthermore, the minister told reporters of El Universal: “It is my conviction that many of our present and modest architectural endeavors will be remembered thanks to the painters who have decorated them. Architects should feel elated at their good fortune at working in the midst of an artistic renaissance.”