Building the nation of the future,one waiting room at a time: hospital murals in the making of modern Mexico |
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Authors: | Gabriela Soto Laveaga |
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Institution: | 1. Department of History, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USAgsotolaveaga@history.ucsb.edu |
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Abstract: | AbstractMid-twentieth century Mexican hospitals – the buildings themselves and their interior and exterior walls – became stages that depicted national hopes and aspirations. Hospitals and clinics became ideal spaces that married science and medicine with the state’s version of a triumphant social revolution. Visitors and patients to hospital waiting rooms, lobbies and auditoriums would see, indeed be surrounded by, depictions of the complicated hopes placed on science and medicine as interpreted by politicians, architects, and artists. Hospital walls became contested spaces where art depicted Mexico’s embrace of modern technology and medical practices while also showcasing, in vivid color, citizens challenging the government’s broken revolutionary promises, especially the right of all to health and social security. |
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Keywords: | Hospitals murals Mexico architecture Diego Rivera David Alfaro Siqueiros |
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