Greater American Camera: Making Modernism in Mexico

Mexico City during the decades between the world wars was a global art capital. American and European artists gravitated there for brief or extended stays, saw Mexico as more receptive to avant-garde art, and were inspired by and developed friendships with their Mexican colleagues. This handsomely designed, scholarly title by Bravo (history of art and visual culture, California Coll. of the Arts) focuses on photographers Edward Weston, Tina Modotti, Paul Strand, and Helen Levitt. A chapter on each considers images they created in Mexico alongside work by Mexican artists (Diego Rivera; writers of the Stridentist movement; composer Carlos Chávez; photographer Manuel Álvarez Bravo). Bravo explores the theme of “Greater America,” a shared history encompassing the Western Hemisphere and distinguishing the Americas from Old-World Europe. Includes numerous high-quality reproductions of black-and-white photographs and color artworks, plus footnotes and an index.