Teresa Eckmann explores and analyzes Mexican figurative painting of the 1980s and the broader social processes that are connected to it. Called neomexicanidad, (or neo-Mexicanism), this type of art was often dismissed as folkloric. This regional era of art was intended as critique, but as is often the case, the increasing demands of patrons and critics slowly corroded the original intent leading to the Mexican States use of the works as promotional political tools. Neo-Mexicanism addresses how this art form has been defined, what its motivations and influences are, how it has been promoted and interpreted, and to what extent that patronage has influenced the development and construction of the movement.