The Art of David Alfaro Siqueiros

In Mexico in the Dieearly 1920s, a growing, collective social consciousness gave rise to a revolutionary furor focused on liberating the country's workers from harsh conditions and poverty. In 1921, Mexican artists Diego Rivera, Jose Clemente Orozco, and David Alfaro Siqueiros were all commissioned by the government to create educational paintings on the walls of public buildings. After that initial experience, they devoted themselves almost exclusively to painting these large-scale murals--forming the foundation of a movement that would last 50 years. The muralists' work took up the themes of society and revolution. Often the paintings depicted historical vignettes like the story of Cuernavaca and Morelos crossing the barranca, or Mexico's ancient Indians. They satirized contemporary society, created ideal visions of peaceful families, and built up dark, imposing industrial cityscapes then leveled them by depicting the debauchery and death of the capitalist industrialists.

The paintings themselves reflect diverse artistic influences--surrealism, cubism, and illustration, most notable among them. Their bold colors and strong imagery practically bound out of the 150 color plates in this book. Mexican muralist and scholar Desmond Rochfort lucidly traces the development of the movement to place the work in context and provides a solid history of each of the artists' social and artistic influences. This is an excellent overview of work that should appeal both to fans of the individual artists and Mexican art in general.

Opening with a poignant gallery of photographic portraits of the Mexican people dating from Revolutionary times, Mexican Muralists offers a sweeping visual account of these towering works and their creation, replete with copious photographic details and an admirable pictorial treatment that positions the murals firmly in their architectural context. A key element in the drama of a successful public work lies in how it is integrated with its physical environment, and the books shows plentiful examples of the use that the muralists made of theirs settings, from deconsecrated churches (which provided their own ironic points of reference) to unusual architectural details and, occasionally, unconventional media (Rivera's remarkable, sprawling mosaics, for example).

Latino artist David Alfaro Siqueiros was a leading painter of murals, a medium for which Mexico became known in the 20th century. In 1921 Siqueiros wrote about the importance of mural painting; he devoted his artistic life to discovering new techniques and paints in order to create largely inflammatory murals with direct political messages. This beautifully filmed documentary makes it clear that painting murals was the ideal means to convey his political views, which influenced not only his artwork, but his life. As a soldier and officer, he fought in numerous battles in Mexico and in Spain, and was put in jail repeatedly for his publicly stated views in which he espoused Communism, although he was also directly involved in an attempt on Trotsky's life. He repudiated easel painting as aristocratic, yet he made paintings that won international acclaim at the Venice Biennale in 1950. Narrated by Ricardo Montalban, this hour-long program carefully documents the didactic nature of Siqueiros's work as well as his dexterity in composition, particularly in difficult architectural spaces such as corners and staircases, and in his use of multiangular perspective.

The life of Mexican muralist David Alfaro Siqueiros (1896-1974) was one of passion, political commitment, and controversy, perilous adventure, and prolific artistic achievement. With Diego Rivera and Jose Orozco, Siqueiros was a leader of the Mexican mural movement. While each of these artists was concerned with producing popular, public, and political art for a revolutionary society, Siqueiros was the most politically active of them all. A stormy, iconoclastic personality, he was one of the great desperadoes of modern art. Siqueiros regarded his life and his painting as a battle with himself and against social injustice. A revolutionary and innovative creator, he lived, fought, and painted with extreme passion. This program captures the fire, turmoil, and talent that is Siqueiros.