The Mexico diary

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Winold Reiss (1886-1953), a German-American artist, defies easy categorization as a painter, designer, and teacher, remaining an enigma to art critics. He is pivotal in the emergence of American Modernism, particularly in portraying African American culture. In 1920, during a personal and creative crisis, Reiss embarked on a two-month journey through Mexico, documenting his experiences in a diary that reveals his thoughts and feelings. This diary, paired with his drawings, provides insight into the significance of Mexican art, folklore, and the history of mestizaje within the cultural landscape of what James Weldon Johnson termed “Black Manhattan.” The Mexico Diary presents Reiss's text in original German alongside English and Spanish translations, complemented by sketches and paintings. An audio CD features key diary excerpts set to music by Jens Barnieck and Frank Mehring. Reiss's reflections illustrate his journey beyond American materialism towards a nature-based spirituality, highlighting his multiculturalism. However, he found greater resonance with the New Negro and New Mexico than with the New Woman, showcasing the complexities of twentieth-century modernism. Reiss emerges as both a romantic, rejecting commercialism, and a realist, acknowledging the dual influences on native peoples.