The Diego River and Rockefeller Center Controversy

When I visited the Diego River murals at MoMA, I was actually stunned to see the different tone it set from the rest of the museum, and even from the rest of the city. There was not much “gore” and “bloodiness” in the paintings, but there were many brutal depictions, and there were a couple of paintings that really struck me. “The Uprising” struck me because of a mother who was holding her infant child in her hands and having her husband next to her, while a soldier was holding a sword pointing towards that family. Even though there was no blood, it seemed very brutal and because of the little small details that he drew- the baby crying in his mother’s arms, and a person crouching and holding (his/her) head near the father figure. And in the background we could see other soldiers holding up guns brutally beating innocent family members, and it was really hard to think of this actual scene happening, in the midst of a great city, one that upholds capitalism and freedom as its ultimate theme. The other painting that struck me was called “Frozen Assets” and my friend and I (who went together) were actually staring at this painting for a long time, and I think we were both very moved by this. To be honest, I’m not very much into paintings, especially ones with political agendas, but this one really caught my eye. At first when you look at it, you see the huge skyscrapers and even Rockefeller Center, but then when you look a little deeper, there were these dead bodies in grey suits all lined up in the middle floor, while a guard was keeping look over them. It is a horrible scene. People seemed to build beautiful cities over these dead bodies that just rotted underneath all those cranes and construction. It really was ironic that Rockefeller Center would be portrayed under this light, and it changed my view on New York City.

But if you ask me whether we should know the information behind Rockefeller Center and the controversy in order to visit this famous place, I would say that you do not need to know the history. I feel that Rockefeller Center is a place where people can just enjoy the city, and look at the great architecture and the different décor that it has. Especially near the winter holiday season, it’s a great place to spend time at because it really does have that holiday spirit, with all the decorations –the trees, the lights, etc. Knowing the history behind the Diego Rivera controversy is helpful when you’re trying to understand the history of Rockefeller Center, but if you’re trying to just enjoy yourself, it becomes a burden to understand every historical background of the place, because then you’re just trying to learn history and understand politics, it’s not a vacation anymore. It’s just like if you were to go to Coney Island, in order for you to “visit” it correctly, you would have to learn who built every ride, what materials went into it, and how many accidents occurred- it seems to be more of an assignment, then just a carefree visit. But if you were to evaluate it at a point where you have to understand the motifs and events that occurred at Rockefeller Center (because you’re interested, or because it’s part of an assignment) then it would be extremely justified to understand the historical background, but as for tourists or people who just want a relaxing day, it would become quite the opposite if you had to internally think about all the controversy behind this masterpiece.

I also believe that the removal for Diego Rivera’s murals from Rockefeller center was a great decision, because it really did not have the same motifs that Rockefeller wanted to symbolize for the Center itself, nor for New York City itself. Rockefeller hired Rivera to paint something that would have theme of modernism, of moving forward, but instead Rivera thought since he was a good friend of Rockefeller’s family, he would paint the communist murals that depicted Lenin, and that really should not be approved of. I’m am a big fan of artists painting what they feel, and not holding back what they believe, but at the same time, if someone is going to hire you to promote a theme that represents not only the Center, but the huge City of New York, it’s important that you either not take the job (because you feel that your ideas a inconsistent with the theme, and you feel that you cannot betray either yourself or the person who hired you, OR you can take the job and curve your own ideas so that the people who hired you are satisfied with your work). It’s really frustrating for someone to try to hire someone to express a theme that they believe is very important and have them think that the painter is on the same page, and then it turns out that the painter had a whole different hidden agenda, and that seems very unfair. I’m not saying that Diego Rivera was wrong in painting his murals, because I thought they really did depict harsh realities in places that New York is so opposite from, but at the same time, Diego Rivera shouldn’t force his ideas on such a large scale in one of the most important and famous places in New York, especially when the person who built the Center is opposed of it.