Mexican Artists David Alfaro Siqueiros, Diego Rivera, and José Clemente Orozco became known as "Tres Grandes" (The 3 Great ones) for changing the face of Art and using their skills to advocate on behalf of the world's impoverished Workers. Each Artist was guided by his revolutionary political vision, and each forged a revolutionary aesthetic. Siqueiros painted three murals while in exile in the United States. Two of those murals were destroyed because of their radical political messages. The last surviving mural, "Retrato del Mexico de hoy" (Portrait of Mexico Today - 1932), is now on display in the Santa Barbara Museum of Art in California as part of their permanent collection
"Portrait of Mexico Today" is an important work, not only in the career of one of the world's greatest revolutionary Artists... but also in the history of mural painting. It is a highly political work that not only speaks of the world as it was in 1932, but also reflects our current reality. On Oct. 20th, 2002 I attended the unveiling ceremony for "Portrait of Mexico Today - 1932" and was thrilled to see that thousands of people came to pay tribute to one of the world's greatest Artists. To read my full report on the unveiling of the Siqueiros mural... and to view pictures of the work, please visit the following link;
http://www.art-for-a-change.com/News/siqueiros.htm
How is the new life? Locked within the UCSB or in the Castle Frankenstein of the Getty, where is the new life for this revolutionary artist?
Its a new death where he is further remembered- his corpes removed from the streets and scenes that made his works radical.
And how today, with the Popular Front a long ago memory, can the image of the armed proliteriate united under the benevolent logo of communism be relevant?
Yes, I see the value of his historical practice and it is good that he is remembered, but how is he brought back as anything but Frankenstein?