
Destroyed by Rockefellers, Diego Rivera Mural Trespassed on Political Vision - walterbell
http://www.npr.org/2014/03/09/287745199/destroyed-by-rockefellers-mural-trespassed-on-political-vision
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WildUtah
The version of this mural in the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City is
spectacular and anyone interested should go see it. The Palacio itself is a
gorgeous museum and theatre with a world famous folkloric dance company, too.

The 1999 movie Cradle Will Rock contains a retelling of the story of the mural
and delicious visuals.

Of course Lenin was nasty and evil and Rivera's politics were awful. Wise
people don't judge art by its creators' politics and personal lives. Rivera's
sense of progress, science, and respect for both the past and the joys of the
machine age shine through the bad politics of the day to make this a brilliant
piece in spite of its flaws.

(One of the flaws is that the Palacio isn't designed for a mural and therefore
has giant gorgeous marble columns impeding any view of the whole work at once;
just step up close and enjoy it in pieces.)

~~~
sanoli
Yeah, but life and politics sometimes are bigger than art. What about all
those statues of Stalin in the soviet repulics that got taken down. Do we
condemn those acts too? Or not, because they were actions of the people, and,
you know, the art just wasn't as good? (I don't disagree with you, by the say,
but it is not so simple)

~~~
WildUtah
It really matters whether the art is good or not. Without wise judgement about
the quality and value of different works, we can't have a beautiful world or
live in beautiful cities.

Of course, getting your leaders to have good judgement is hard. But everything
about organizing a happy human community is hard.

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martey
Could a [2014] be added to the title, since the article is explicitly about an
exhibition at the Mexican Cultural Institute that took place last year?

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madaxe_again
I'm surprised they weren't explicit in their commission - "We'd like a picture
of a boot, stamping down on a human face, forever, please."

Rivera's future died in the second world war.

~~~
bcg1
Downvotes not warranted. madaxe's comment is historically accurate.

The end of WWII ushered in the heyday of "internationalism", or "globalism",
characterized by the formation of the UN on land in NYC donated by John D.
Rockefeller Jr, certainly apropos to this article.

Clearly, the Rockefeller-style "world federalism" has won out over other
modern -ism movements. Most world leaders in most sectors are aligned with
this movement and it is pretty apparent that at the moment the trend is
towards more globalism, not less. David Rockefeller himself self identified
with this agenda in his memoirs:

"For more than a century ideological extremists at either end of the political
spectrum have seized upon well-publicized incidents such as my encounter with
Castro to attack the Rockefeller family for the inordinate influence they
claim we wield over American political and economic institutions. Some even
believe we are part of a secret cabal working against the best interests of
the United States, characterizing my family and me as 'internationalists' and
of conspiring with others around the world to build a more integrated global
political and economic structure--one world, if you will. If that's the
charge, I stand guilty, and I am proud of it."

~~~
forgetsusername
> _Downvotes not warranted._

Thankfully everyone gets to decide that on their own.

