Mexican artist Rivera featured at exhibition
BY DAVE BENJAMIN
Staff Writer

DAVE BENJAMIN Carl W. Goetz Middle School eighth-grader Michael Lupia discusses the work of Mexican artist Diego Rivera with visiting fifth-graders from the Elms Elementary School.

JACKSON - An art exhibit featuring Mexican artist Diego Rivera was recently on display at the Carl W. Goetz Middle School.

"Rivera was one of Mexico's most important painters and a major artist of the 20th century," said World Language teacher Catherine Salas, who teaches eighth-grade Spanish honor students. "His artwork had an immense effect on the international art world and on the working class, whose perspectives he depicted within his murals."

World Language teacher Felicia Sesty, who also teaches eighth-grade Spanish honor students, said the honor students were acting as tour guides for 50 fifth-graders who were visiting from the Elms Elementary School.

The students learned that Rivera, the son of a school teacher, was born in the village of Guanajuato, Mexico, on Dec. 8, 1886. He was proud of his Russian, Jewish and Indian heritage. They learned that Rivera's father would talk to him about the poor conditions and the coming revolution that would make conditions better for the people.

At the age of 6 Rivera moved to Mexico City, where he attended school. After graduation he continued his studies at the San Carlos Academy of Fine Arts. His study of Aztec sculpture led him to paint the native Indians.

In 1910, after returning to Mexico from studying in Spain, Rivera joined the revolution that ousted President Diaz.

He eventually returned to Europe and was influenced by Pablo Picasso and several Italian artists.

In the early 1920s Rivera returned to Mexico and completed numerous murals.

Rivera died in Mexico City on Nov. 24, 1957.

Sesty said the purpose of the exhibit at the Goetz School was to focus on Rivera's murals, several of which can be seen in Rockefeller Center and Grand Central Station in New York City, and in other major cities.

"These particular hanging [cloth] murals that you see [pictured] here today are not in the United States," she said. "They are currently found in Mexico and some of them did get destroyed during an earthquake a few years ago."

Salas added, "Since we were discussing Diego Rivera and his work, we decided to have the students take a piece of paper and create [their own] cubism artwork. Some of them chose letters and others chose his name, Diego. They put the letter or the name in the center of the paper and started to create their works of art. They did a wonderful job."

The visiting fifth-graders had a chance to examine the artwork and to create their own murals.

Eighth-grade Spanish honor student Devan Corona said Rivera liked to paint what happened in everyday life.

"In his town, the flower called the collar lily was very popular in Mexico," Devan said, pointing to one picture. "This picture shows people trading and buying the flowers."

Devan said Rivera won a scholarship at the age of 21 and studied with Picasso, the father of cubism.

"Cubism uses random cubical shapes which intersect at random angles," Devan explained. "So when you make flowers, they're not like normal flowers."

Honor student Ian Maher pointed to another work by Rivera and explained that a woman in the painting was getting ready to sell collar lilies.

"There are two social classes in Mexico," Ian said. "I think in this painting these are very poor people and the mom is giving her daughter flowers for her birthday or for a holiday."

Ian said that during the course of the project, he learned quite a bit of information about Rivera's life and about Mexican society.