Diego Rivera had a very interesting life, or at least that is what he led the world to believe. Rivera aimed to make a social impact through his art. He was able to achieve this through his love of controversy and his miles of murals. In fact, Rivera was so controversial that his nickname was el discutido. This leads into Rivera being a womanizer. This is ironic because Rivera was an unattractive man. Women might have been attracted to him because of his success. Rivera thoroughly enjoyed his public scandals with numerous women. With questionable political standing and a secure grasp of history, Rivera would distort his images in order to support his views. Biographers had a difficult time keeping record of Rivera’s life because he was a good story teller along with a compulsive liar. Rivera was thoroughly involved in international politics as well as Mexico’s. He maintained a friendship with Leon Trotsky and was an anti Stalinist. Rivera, like many artists, was deeply involved with his art. It was the most important part of his life. No woman or political stance would ever be able to fulfill him the way that painting could. Frida Kahlo, one of Rivera’s wives, knew this better than anyone. She knew that art was top priority in his life and always would be. Because Rivera was so devoted to painting he enthralled himself in various styles such as cubism, impressionism, and pointillism. Did Rivera’s questionable standing with women and political parties transfer into his paintings? In order to evaluate his impact as an artist his murals, their locations, symbolism and what was happening historically must be analyzed. By looking at a variety of Rivera’s portraits and murals alike the type of character he portrays and how it relates to his own can be examined.
1) Based on my presentation on Diego Rivera, how do you understand his personality and character?
2) What strengths and weaknesses did you find in my presentation?
3) After hearing my presentation what questions or comments do you have about Diego Rivera?
4) Looking at either the Portrait of Martin Luis Guzman, or Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in Alameda Park, or both, write a short story that portrays the life, or character, of a subject in the portrait.
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Diego Rivera:
ReplyDeleteDream of a Sunday Afternoon in Alameda Park
Here is unlike any other. The sun grins high over head in a cloudless expanse, filtered through the arms and leaves of trees onto canes and frilled umbrellas, beating upon respectably covered heads and the brightly colored dresses with which their eyes flirt. Lofty conversation hangs in the air like smoke, caressing blooms and balloons alike, causing stems and strings to shiver in the heat. Dust rises from soil shifted by neatly clipped black boots and dress shoes, but has not gone too far before it lays down again, unwilling to dirty the pretty skirts of ladies, nor the smartly creased pant legs of ungainly gentlemen.
Foods from far and near await the taking, liquid sugar tempting the eye and taunting the hand. A hard symphony of melodies marches endlessly over our heads, born of horns, flutes, violins and…men, let us not forget men. Clever inventions and little toys illicit delighted feminine smiles while men turn out their pockets. Cries of astonishment and disbelief arise from a small crowd that has formed about one of the numerous booths as a vendor produces his latest finds while cries of another sort press upon my ear from a few yards off. I hear governmentally imbued authority, vicious boredom, and indignant yells in a vocabulary that could be much improved upon. I make my way to the edge of the crowd to find a small girl clothed in a lacey white dress and bonnet, cradling her new doll dressed the very same way. Looking upwards and past her, a fist is raised, poised and ready to strike at a man holding his daughter’s hand, attempting to retreat unscathed. Something inside of me twinges and my lips part. A dancer comes twirling by and I draw backwards into the moving mass, and after she has passed I can see them no more.
I glance down towards my shoes as a man passes overhead in a hot air balloon, waving the Mexican flag and chanting the national anthem. Standing on the tips of my toes, I look over the tops of many ornamented heads to the other side of the walk, to the other edge of the crowd, finding more grim and heavy faces as the ones on each of the two combating men I had just seen. They are watching us. They are watching us in a manner that is not voluntary, and the open loathing in their faces sends an unfamiliar feeling plodding up my spine.
Lowering myself back into Alameda Park, I begin to move forward once again amongst the coquettish glances and haughtily protruding stomachs, the toys and sweet foods, and the canes and umbrellas. A passing shape blocks the sunlight from my face. I glance to the side as a figure in a large feathered headdress and flowing robes saunters beside me, its face a naked skull. And then I realize that here is just like any other.
Looking at Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in Alameda Park, write a short story that portrays the life, or character, of a subject in the portrait.
ReplyDeleteDiary Entry for June 10, 1947:
My name is death. Here I stand, certainly more jubilantly than all the other beings that surround my ephemeral form. My lipless frame of chalky bones permanently displays the glowing white smile I present to those blessed by my visits and personal attention. On this particular Sunday I have decided to drop in on my dear friend Diego María de la Concepción Juan Nepomuceno Estanislao de la Rivera y Barrientos Acosta y Rodríguez. I am quite assured none of our other companions on this day recognize the full beauty of young Diego’s given name, or even acknowledge its elaborate composition for that matter. Where I plan to travel with Diego, the timeless ages will allow the other visitors the opportunity to uncover its full splendor.
My dress is welcoming. The pallid colors that don my frame show how pure my intentions are. I seek nothing secret, nothing unknown. I merely request those I visit to come away with me. People do not fear me as the harbinger of death, they fear dying. I come in to remove the hurt and the pain associated with the actual act of dying, and fill the newfound void they experience with something new and spectacular. Am I wrong to call death spectacular? Practically unknown to the living, the mysteries I uncover for my patrons are extensive and yes, spectacular.
Diego’s youthful smile is evidence of his painless new form. I sense he is reluctant to break away the last connection of security he feels under his dear Frida’s warm embracing hand, but now it is too late for him to turn back and abandon me. Her emblem of yin and yang shows the double-sided nature of the situation Diego is facing. He loses some to gain some. With me he will not experience such vibrant expressions of caring, but alternatively I can gift him understanding of events and concepts that he could not previously see in full.
Certainly it is a shame that I must remove his grinning face from the endless mass of scowls and frowning blurs surrounding his physical being in the world. Coming for one of the others who do not feel enough positive emotion touching their skin to smile would hardly register as a loss of anything on the grand scale of things. This private tour with me looking back on dear Diego’s world provides the gift of an omnipresent view on his past.
It is interesting to me that his thoughts span back as far as the conquest of Mexico, and focus on influences that inspired him such as the Porfiriato Dictatorship and the Revolution of 1910. He only thinks of two comforting figures from his life, his wife and one friend. Now he can add another comfort to his list - me. We will be good friends, Diego and I. After all, we have all the time in the world to get to know each other.
Diego Rivera was, indeed, a womanizer. He married three times and had several affairs while married to his second and third wife. However, he was still a person and all people have feelings, despite the thoughts or feelings of others. Based on Josilyn’s presentation, it is very apparent to me that Rivera may not have respected or cared about the female race as a whole, but there were individuals that became exceptions to his practices. The woman I am referring to is Frida Kahlo. Kahlo understood Rivera, and even though they were married she knew that he could never be a husband. And even though he cheated on her, somewhere in that frog-like man there was love for Kahlo. Why she was different than the others in his eyes I have a few assumptions. Perhaps it was because she was an artist as well. Since art was basically the most important aspect in Rivera’s life, he may have admired Kahlo because she had such a similar interest. The foundation of their love may have been the common ground that art provided for them. Or maybe all the accidents that Kahlo overcame made Rivera see that she was much different than any ordinary woman. Who can really say?
ReplyDeleteOther than the relationship between Rivera and Kahlo, what I gathered most from the presentation was Rivera’s love for art. He was much more than devoted, he was obsessed. He would spend years on one mural, whereas people nowadays only look to get the job done. That kind of time and dedication for one thing, no matter the size is true dedication. Not to mention, the detail and focus that went into the murals was incredible. In one mural there are so many messages that can be taken from it; there are morals, political views, and even religious aspects. Some of his paintings are very controversial. It is apparent that there is always an overall theme to one of his paintings, but when looking at them closely there are so many messages that can be derived, but all of them are interlinked. One painting in particular that I looked at was “Man, Controller of the Universe”, the remake of “Man at the Crossroads”. In this particular mural there is a huge political aspect, particularly the fact that Lenin and Strosky are painted on the right. Now, when I saw this painting I looked way beyond the politics of it. Although it was not in one of our prompts, I really wanted to discuss this mural. When someone is at a crossroads in their life, they are generally looking to make a change for the better or a change is inevitable, but there is a choice that needs to be made. What I know of crossroads goes way beyond the mortal decision to make a change. In ancient history it was known that people would visit literal crossroads, take a piece of themselves (i.e. a piece of hair), bury it in the center of these intersecting roads, and sell their souls to actually ensure that this change would take place. And although, this painting is meant to be more political than religious, it is still evident that heaven and hell are present. In the middle of the painting, there is that cross behind the man which depicts fire and light. In the section descending down from left to right it seems very hellish, including fires. However, the other section seems much lighter in comparison. They both appear to be of outer space, but they are painted in very different manners making the lighter one seem much more welcoming than the other. The man in the middle definitely has a choice that needs to be made, but whether or not it is political is really up to how someone interprets it.
Diego Rivera was obviously wrapped up in the world of himself. If art was his life, then scandal was his passion. In the presentation, you addressed his wives, his art, his political voice, and his many extra curricular activities, all of these aspects in his life made him who he was. I find it interesting that, despite his obesity and rather unsightly appearance, he was still quite the lady’s man. That speaks volumes about the women he choose to associate with on the sidelines, the original gold digger. It was also interesting hearing about his relationship with Frida Kahlo. She understood that art was always and irreplaceably going to be number one in Rivera’s life. It is also refreshing to see someone of notoriety using that fame to bring awareness and politics to the masses. Perhaps Rivera's political message is not one that I necessarily support, but he was working towards an objective that he thought was for the better.
ReplyDeleteEven though Rivera is known for his art, I think that piece of his life is only the surface. It’s the other characteristics that make him who the public knows as Diego Rivera. The affairs, the love of attention and scandals, the vocal political stances, only enhance and add charisma to a talented artist. This is perhaps why he is so well known. There are many talented painters in the world but they never gain such a level of fame as Rivera. He, on the other hand, used the social climate to make a name for himself, though this is only possible because he possessed the talent and a personality that called for the attention.
The part of his life that you talked about was extremely interesting and entertaining, but it is the part of his life where he had already achieved a name and a place for himself. I would also find it interesting to learn a little more about how he entered into the art world as well as the subject matter. I realize that finding this kind of information may difficult to well near impossible, but I always find someone’s inspiration for the lifestyle they lead fascinating. That is really the only area I though might deserve a little more attention. The rest of the information you presented was clear and enlightening. You addressed the various faces of Rivera and the importance of his art to himself. That was the other thing that I thought was amazing: that someone could hold them self in such high esteem and, regardless of anyone else’s feelings or needs, always put their own desires first.
All in all, I respect Rivera’s artistic abilities; I loathe his maltreatment of those closest to him; I admire his ability to stand for what he believes and I find it unfathomable that a single individual can be that selfish. His art, like many other aspects of his life, is unique to him and, though I may not be able to understand certain actions or stances, I am entirely intrigued by him.