Murals are a classical form of art known since Renaissance frescoes. Mexican artists of the twentieth century brought new life to murals popularizing and transforming them. The artists who represented the ideas of the Mexican Revolution, communism, and socialism, believed that art should be accessible to everyone.
That is why the bare walls of urban architecture were the perfect mediator that helped to bring art into the masses. Socialists believed that social functions and purpose are the primary components of art, while aesthetic characteristics are secondary. América Tropical by David Alfaro Siqueiros, located in Los Angeles, is an outstanding example of a large-scale mural where the content is essential, and the form is secondary.
According to Zamora, the full name of the artwork is translated from Spanish as “Tropical America oppressed and destroyed by imperialism” (118). The name represents the theme itself and explains why the mural received such a controversial reaction in the US. América Tropical is the manifest of Siqueiros’ political views and his position concerning Mexican and Latin American history during all the years after Columbus.
Mexican Muralists: Rivera, Siqueiros, and Orozco
The historical background for the transformational movement in art is the Mexican Revolution of 1910-1920 that initiated significant social changes. The revolutionists who fought against the 31-year-long regime believed in democracy, and supported the ideas of socialism and communism. Such ideas started the development of the Mexican cultural Renaissance. The central tendency of revolutionary art was its functionality, as artists believed that their work should serve humanity and make the lives of people better. Antiimperialistic themes that highlighted human suffering during the regime prevailed in the artworks of that era.
Murals, as one of the major forms of revolutionary art, were popularized by the government of the country that promoted exterior frescoes in Mexico City and other cities of the country. As Stein explains, three main muralists of the era first gathered to complete a large-scale governmental task, which implied painting several murals with social content on the walls of the buildings in Mexico City (35). Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siqueiros, and Clemente Orozco were later called “the three great figures of modern Mexican art” (Oles 3).
In 1922, they created the Syndicate of Technical Workers, Painters, and Sculptors, the organization lead by Diego Rivera that consisted predominantly of artists from the left political platform. They had similar approaches that focused on the supremacy of the content and function of art over the aesthetic form. Although the artists worked in the same direction, their works had significant differences in terms of style and themes.
Diego Rivera is probably the most known of the three outside Mexico, as he started his artistic career in Europe and worked across the US. His early works are performed under the strong influence of cubism that was popular in Europe during the change of the centuries. Oles highlights the specifics of Rivera’s cubism as rational and mathematical in contrast to Picasso’s intuitive cubism (9). His Mexican period is characterized by the use of vivid color schemes in his frescoes, and the emphasis on such themes as history, society, industry, and urban life. He created several famous artworks in the USA, mostly in New York City, San Francisco, and Detroit.
Works of José Clemente Orozco are mostly defined as political murals with the central theme of human suffering. They are less realistic with the specific color scheme of deep red and black that refers to infernal scenes. His works can be found both in Mexico and the US in New York City, California, Guadalajara, and Mexico City. His epic mural cycle on the walls of the Dartmouth College library presents the story of historical tragedies of American civilizations.
David Alfaro Siqueiros, according to Rochfort, was the first of the muralists who implied technical innovation in his works (145). His color schemes were mostly dark and not vivid, which reflected themes of human suffering under imperialism and the historical trauma of indigenous peoples.
The History of América Tropical and Other Los Angeles Works by Siqueiros
Siqueiros came to the US in 1932 as a political refugee and spent six productive months in Los Angeles, where he gave a course teaching fresco painting. During this period, he created three murals, all of them bearing a powerful political message. The mural titled Workers’ Meeting is a black-and-white fresco with an explicit political meaning. It was criticized as propaganda, was whitewashed several times, and cannot be restored today. Portrait of Mexico Today is the only Siqueiros’ mural in Los Angeles that has remained intact. It was created in a private home, so it was spared of destruction and criticism.
América Tropical is the most famous of the three murals painted on the exterior wall at Olvera Street. According to Schrank, “art became tied to the social production of place in Los Angeles in the early twentieth century” (435). With this purpose of connecting artistic works and urban space, América Tropical was ordered. Olvera Street is the center of Mexican culture in Los Angeles, so the mural had to depict lush tropical scenes of the country to resonate with the local environment.
However, the artist had different intentions and decided to express his political position through América Tropical that was far from the idyllic picture that was ordered. As it was unveiled, the mural was met with controversy (“The Controversy”). Americans understood Siqueiros’ deep commitment to communism and socialism” (“Historic Mural – LAaRT” 00:01:28). That is why the mural was whitewashed and currently cannot be restored.
Summary: Political Significance of América Tropical
América Tropical is the depiction of the suffering of peoples in Central America under imperialism. The mural portrays the struggle of peoples against imperialism and the destruction of cultures (“David Alfaro Siqueiros (biografía)” 00:05:52). The fresco contains several unambiguous symbols that explain why it was not accepted in American society.
In the center of the mural, there is the figure of a Mexican person, lynched to a double-cross, over which sits the American eagle with its “fierce eye and carnivorous claw” (“David Alfaro Siqueiros’ mural “América Tropical” 00:05:46). The figure on the cross is portrayed against the ancient ruins of the Aztec temple that refer to the decline of ancient peoples after the invasion of Western civilizations.
Although such a powerful work with a political accent was not recognized immediately, it still influenced several artists and critics. The artistic value of the work is considered to be essential for the Mexican muralist movement. As Zamora claims, the interpretation of the author’s message should be made by “situating the mural within its local historical context” (117). Goldman defines the work by Siqueiros as the “monumental protest against inhumanity” (325). América Tropical is the tribute to all the nations of Latin and Central America that suffered from inhumane regimes.
Works Cited
“David Alfaro Siqueiros (biografía).”YouTube, uploaded by Sandra Juárez. 2016, Web.
“David Alfaro Siqueiros’ Mural “América Tropical:” Historical Context and Project Overview.” YouTube, uploaded by Getty Conservation Institute. 2013, Web.
Goldman, Shifra M. “Siqueiros and Three Early Murals in Los Angeles.” Art Journal, vol. 33, no. 4, 1974, pp. 321-327. Web.
“Historic Mural – LAaRT.”YouTube, uploaded by PBS SoCal, 2016, Web.
Oles, James. Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siqueiros, José Clemente Orozco. Museum of Modern Art, 2011.
Rochfort, Desmond. Mexican Muralists: Orozco, Rivera, Siqueiros. Chronicle Books, 1998.
Schrank, Sarah. “Public Art at the Global Crossroads: The Politics of Place in 1930s Los Angeles.” Journal of Social History, vol. 44, no. 2, 2010, pp. 435-457. Web.
Stein, Philip. Siqueiros: His Life and Works. International Publishers, 1994.
“The Controversy.”América Tropical Interpretive Center. 2015, Web.
Zamora, Rebecca. “Shifra Goldman and David Alfaro Siqueiros’s América Tropical.” Getty Research Journal, vol. 6, 2014, pp. 115-127. Web.