Diego Rivera
filled his work with ideas students can use in their own pieces.
Diego Rivera influenced the course of 20th century art with his monumental murals that reflected his views of history, politics and the future of modern society. His paintings celebrated aspects of Mexican heritage in the wake of the Mexican Revolution when the country sought cultural opportunities to encourage a sense of unity. Although not always successful, Rivera tried to redefine the role art plays in modern life. One way to understand Rivera's work is to accept some of the same practical and philosophical challenges he embraced in his murals and paintings.
The Message of Media
Diego Rivera chose large-scale murals in public buildings to express his vision of man.The size was imposing, while the location guaranteed a broad audience that included working men and women who rarely stepped inside art galleries or museums.Today, technology gives artists tools to create, manipulate and disperse images in ways Rivera could only dream of. Create a digital image that's epic in scope, a picture whose elements reflect the history or evolution of a person, place or issue. Publish your image on the Internet. How does that process differ from what Rivera might have experienced as an artist, and what viewers experience when they come across a public mural?
The Power of Murals
Find an empty wall in a public place and create a detailed sketch of a mural for that particular space. Envision how your mural relates to the surrounding space both thematically and aesthetically. Who will be likely to see the mural, and what, if any, impact might it have?
Choices in Style
In his paintings, Diego Rivera adopted a style that allowed him to express what he understood as fundamental elements of Mexican culture. Bright colors, bold contrasts, black outlines and large, simple figures, often overwhelmed by enormous baskets and bouquets of calla lilies and sun flowers reflected the passion, humanity and reverence for nature and God that Rivera saw in Mexico's working men and women. Around the same time, American artist Grant Wood was using a meticulous type of realism with muted tones to describe rural American culture in paintings like "American Gothic." Create an image that reflects a cultural trait. Describe how the stylistic elements in your painting or drawing contribute to its meaning.
Art and Politics
Art critics often evaluate Rivera's work in light of his strong political beliefs. Rivera was an active member of the Mexican Communist Party and had ties to leaders in Soviet Russia. He filled his murals with images of workers and continually portrayed their struggle in a capitalist culture. Paint, draw or design an image that makes a political statement. Describe the choices made in your composition and style and whether or not those choices were determined by your theme. Explain how that experience illuminates the complicated relationship between art and politics.
Visual Heritages
In creating murals and paintings that reflected a national identity for Mexico, Rivera often used decorative elements found in Pre-Columbian art. Choose a type of decorative style, pattern or design such as the geometric patterns found on Native American pottery or Amish quilts. Incorporate those elements into a drawing or painting. Decide if they are simply decorative or rather a cohesive part of your theme.
