by: Ellen C. Caldwell
for JSTOR Daily
The Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles is currently highlighting the life and writing of Anita Brenner, a Mexican-born, American Jewish writer.
Brenner was born in 1905 in Aguascalientes, and spent the majority of her life writing about the art and culture of Mexico, trying to bridge the gap between the U.S. and Mexico.
Brenner was ahead of her times, taking an anti-anthropological approach to explaining the art and culture of Mexico. Rather than differencing and “othering” Mexico as many other Euro-American writers of the time did, she instead explained and translated the art, aesthetics, culture, and history in humanizing and equal terms.