In Hanover, New Hampshire lies Dartmouth College, a reputable institution of higher learning, that among other sterling academic initiatives, houses the famous Orozco mural in the Dartmouth College Library. Jose Orozco, from Mexico, roamed the US during the Depression seeking mural commissions and surprised many by achieving success at Dartmouth. He called this work "The Epic of American Civilization," which he painted on the walls of two large reading rooms in the library's lower level. It was, and still is, considered a radical indictment of North American culture, including its religion and academe. It was especially controversial at the time of its inception in 1932, at a, shall we say, conservative college steeped in tradition. Completed in 1934, Orozco was unapologetic for his message of hypocrisy in the institutions forced on the western hemisphere by the exploitive European colonists, and the firestorm of criticism that it engendered. It is worth making a trip to study this prodigious work of art.
Studying the Orozco Mural in the library's lower-level reading rooms.
The Dartmouth College Library is pictured below.
The Dartmouth College Library is pictured below.
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