Bellringer for 11/1/2016
Mural
A painting, usually large, made directly on a wall.
Narrative Art
art that tells a story, either as a moment in an ongoing story or as a sequence of events unfolding over time.
Juxtaposition
when two things are being seen or placed close together with contrasting effect.
Mexican Muralists
Influenced by the Symbolism Movement
(late nineteenth-century art movement of French, Russian and Belgian origin)
Symbolists believed that art should represent absolute truths that could only be described indirectly. Thus, they wrote in a very metaphorical and suggestive manner, endowing particular images or objects with symbolic meaning.
Diego RiveraDiego Rivera was the most visible figure in Mexican muralism, a large-scale public-art initiative that emerged in the 1920s in the wake of the Mexican Revolution. During the Mexican Revolution that began in 1910 Diego Rivera used his talents as a painter to fuel the movement with passion. Widely known for his Marxist leanings, Rivera, along with Che Guevara and a small band of contemporary figures, has become a countercultural symbol of 20th century, and created a legacy in paint that continue to inspire the imagination and mind.
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"Man at the Crossroads" A commission from the Rockefeller family would bring Rivera to New York City. Given a theme of looking forward and hope to work from he set to work to create a masterpiece that, in Rivera's mind, did just that. The Rockefellers as well as several others did not see it that way. Rivera was criticized for including a portrait of Vladimir Lenin as well as several other socialist themes into this mural. Sadly the original "Man at the Crossroads" met an untimely end and was destroyed... but not before Rivera had it photographed and was able to recreate an almost verbatim version at the Palacio de Bellas Arte in Mexico City.
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Man Controller of the Universe |
"The History of Mexico" From 1929 until 1935 Rivera worked on a mural that told the story of the Mexican people from their ancestral roots to the modern era. Painted at the National Palace in Mexico City this mural is a testament to Rivera's time working with the Mexican government on a mural project throughout the city. This particular mural focuses on the native peoples of Mexico such as the Aztecs. Completed after the Mexican Revolution "The History of Mexico" served to restore patriotism and nationalism to native Mexicans and depict the story of their struggles through various conquests. Using bright colors to contrast the violence and depravity depicted within the mural Rivera effectively restores the hope of the Mexican culture through its adversity and oppositions.
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Diego's Contemporaries
In September 1917, Lenin published Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism, which argued that imperialism was a product of monopoly capitalism, as capitalists sought to increase their profits by extending into new territories where wages were lower and raw materials cheaper. He believed that competition and conflict would increase and that war between the imperialist powers would continue until they were overthrown by proletariat revolution and socialism established
Frida KahloMexican artist Frida Kahlo is remembered for her self-portraits, pain and passion, and bold, vibrant colors. She is celebrated in Mexico for her attention to Mexican and indigenous culture and by feminists for her depiction of the female experience and form.
Life experience is a common theme in Kahlo's approximately 200 paintings, sketches and drawings. Her physical and emotional pain are depicted starkly on canvases, as is her turbulent relationship with her husband, fellow artist Diego Rivera, who she married twice. Of her 143 paintings, 55 are self-portraits. |
The 1937 painting Memory, the Heart, shows Kahlo's pain over her husband's affair with her younger sister Christina. A large broken heart at her feet shows the intensity of Kahlo's anguish. Frido and Diego divorced in 1939, but reunited a year later and remarried. The Two Fridas (1939) depicts Kahlo twice, shortly after the divorce. One Frida wears a costume from the Tehuana region of Mexico, representing the Frida that Diego loved. The other Frida wears a European dress as the woman who Diego betrayed and rejected.
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