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| Self Portrait to Irene Rich- Diego Rivera. Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton, MA (1941) |
I understand my bold use of a subjective hyperbole and in this case, we can overlook his womanizing and communist influence.
If Frida loved him, so can we!
Everyone should go see his muralist exhibition at the MoMA (53rd St. btwn. Fifth and Sixth Avenues), which is apparently featuring his sketches and designs for the Rockefeller Center commission-- which was eventually destroyed by Nelson Rockefeller due to the obvious glorification of Lenin and Trotsky. (Now a portrait of Abraham Lincoln hangs.)
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| Man Controller of the Universe (El Hombre Controlador del Universo)- Diego Rivera. Palacio de Bellas Artes (1934) |
This mural was a recreation of the Rockefeller Center commission, which Rivera mockingly decided to display at the leading art school in Mexico during the 1930s. (A good way to show evil capitalist Americans that Mr. Rivera can and should do whatever he wants simply just because he's Diego Rivera!)
It's a depiction of the rapid contunuing rise of the Industrial Revolution as well as the glorification of the working class--as portrayed by the Bolsheviks in the upper right corner-- whom, according to Rivera, uphold and will eventually control society: economically and politically, simply through number.
It's an interesting delineation a possible future. Man centered as God within the structured triptych-- holding the "controls of the universe" in the palm of his hand. Machinery, undiscovered planets, and amoebas immediately surround him; ancient Greek philosophy and communism act as his immediate support system...
What if this prophecy came true?
Did I mention this hangs at the schools main entrance staircase? Imagine being greeted by this every morning on your way to class.
Open until May 14th, 2012.
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