ABSTRACT
In 1927, the state-sponsored magazine Forma announced plans to build a “Museo de Arte Moderno Americano.” Beyond showcasing the quality and abundance of Mexican art after the Revolution, Forma promoted the argument that Mexican craftspeople who had not received formal education should be valued just as much as modern, internationally known artists such as the muralists Diego Rivera and José Clemente Orozco; artes populares, folk art, or artesanía, Forma insisted, should be valued as high art. The magazine’s editors, one of whom was the artist and critic Gabriel Fernández Ledesma, outlined plans for a museum that would support this project through an equal presentation of contemporary artists and traditional artisans. Looking to expand their reach beyond Mexico, the editors described a stage in the near future in which artists from other Latin American countries would be invited to donate artworks to the museum. This essay contextualizes the new museum proposal within Mexico City’s intellectual and artistic milieu that saw itself as a leader in the region. Wanting to draw links between the works of contemporary indigenous artists and those of cosmopolitan, avant-garde figures was, most importantly, a mission conceived of as anticolonial. “America,” as it is included in the title of the unrealized museum, explicitly excluded the United States, indicating that this modern art museum was envisioned as a means of defending the region against the encroaching influence of the United States.
