Abstract

This thesis examines the staging of a number of exhibitions of Mexican art in the United States during the years leading to the consolidation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) between Mexico, the United States and Canada. It focuses on the emergence and development during the 1980s of a group of painters denominated Neo-Mexicanists and their appropriation of recognized symbols of mexicanidad or 'mexicanness'. Mexican cultural institutions favored these artists to present a desired image of the country for a North American audience. Drawing from the work of scholars Roger Bartra and Néstor García Canclini regarding the construction of the Mexican character and the relation between popular culture and political power, this thesis considers the role of Neo-Mexicanists in the representation of contemporary Mexican national identity.