Photomurals

The photographic wall-mounted work, the so-called photomural, became an epitome of the USA’s national art in the 1930s; also as a counter-design to Mexican muralism. For the first time, Johanna Spanke analyzes the extent to which the rise of the photomural can be seen as emerging from a process of mediation between Mexico and the United States; one in which national identity constructs and discourses of modernity played a part, as well as negotiated competition between media. This publication makes an important contribution to perspectives on historical entanglements in U.S. art history, bringing to the fore intermedial and transnational debates, as well as gender-related factors.

• First study concerning a forgotten photographic medium
• Prehistory to the photo wallpaper
• A previously unfamiliar chapter in US American art