The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 87, No. 4, Ed. 1 Friday, September 24, 1999 Page: 12 of 28
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12
THE RICE THRESHER ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 24,1999
GERAUH) /.\(7 M
MFAH allows Rivera's murals
to chronicle his artistic evolution
Abi Cohen
THRESHER EDITORIAL STAFF
Diego Rivera is often known for
his murals, or for being Frieda
Kahlo's husband, depending on
whom you ask.
'diego rivera:
ar t and
revolution'
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
Rating: *** 1/2 (out of five)
Free admission on Thursdays.
Through Nov. 28.
The recent retrospective "Diego
Rivera: Art and Revolution" at the
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston suc-
ceeds in showing that Rivera was
more than a successful, populist
muralist, but also a fine artist who
could tackle a variety of styles head-
on, from cubism to surrealism, and
bend each to suit his unique vision.
Hie show is loosely organized in
four thematic sections, which
chronicle different phases in Rivera's
life.
The first section, "Rivera's For-
mative Years," shows early work that
he painted in Spain as a student. We
can see how his early academic style
began to incorporate contemporary
influences, from the Viennese se-
cessionists like Klimt whose influ-
ence can be seen in Rivera's nudes,
to cubists like Braque, whose frac-
tured take on the picture plane fla-
vored Rivera's landscapes and por-
traits.
His "Portrait of Adolph Best
Maugard" (1913) is a. brilliant syn-
thesis of the cubist style with Rivera's
own nostalgic eye. The stark, impos-
ing figure, reminiscent of a Whis-
tler, is posed so that it looks like the
grand Ferris Wheel of Paris could
be spun by his index finger. The
fractured planes of the wheel seem
to indicate that even early in his
career, Rivera was concerned with
the relationship between man and
machine.
Many of the paintings included
in the first section are soft, pastoral
landscapes, which, though not my
favorite subject matter, stand out
nonetheless for their incredible use
of color. Like the landscapes of the
American West, they capture the
vitality of the land, undisturbed by
the influence of human industrial-
ization.
In the second section of the show,
these soft flowing landscapes give
way to fractured cubist images such
as "Majorca Landscape" (1914).
Here, the soft colors remain, but the
flowing lines give way to stiffness
and rhythmic repetition.
... the last thing I
think we need is
to close art shows
with is the
faceless body of
a woman reduced
to her sex parts.
* Yes, there are some strange sur-
realist paintings, and of course,
Rivera's famous neo-classical folk-
inspired lily paintings, but the real
strength of the show is its collection
of portraits.
The "Portrait of Lupe Marin"
(1938) is a tour de force of his ma-
ture style. Unlike his romanticized
folk realist paintings, these portraits
capture detailed raw emotion in his
subjects' faces.
Though there are many portraits
of young women, Frieda Kahlo is
noticeably absent from his work
because, as curator Alison de Lima
Greene explained, she was an intel-
lectual companion, but not one of
his muses.
Rivera's own self-portraits, scat-
tered throughout the show, form an
exciting chronicle of both his varied
artistic styles and his own somatic
maturation.
The final self-portrait, a carica-
ture of himself rendered in a rain-
bow of swirling pencil strokes, bor-
ders on grotesque. His enormous
bulging eyes stare up at the viewer,
almost pitifully, but a smirk plays
across his mouth.
This portrait, exclusive to the
Houston leg of the exhibit tour,
would have been an apt closing to
the exhibition, but for some reason
the show closes with a large canvas
of a nude woman with her back to
the viewer bending over a plant.
This final piece is cute, yes. Erotic,
maybe. But the last thing we need is
to close art shows with is the face-
less body of a woman reduced to her
sex parts.
Houston is privileged to host this
show, organized by the Cleveland
Museum of Art and the Mexican
Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes,
which has already toured through
Cleveland and Los Angeles. After
Houston, the show makes its final
stop at the Museo de Arte Moderno,
Mexico City.
Though the show is confined to
very little gallery space (only half of
the meager second floor of the.
MFAH), the 80 paintings are well
chosen with one hit after another.
This show is not to be missed, espe-
cially on Thursdays when the mu-
seum is free.
^'American Beauty' will quickly find
in the category of unique masterpi<
'The Graduate]'One Flew Over The Gi
and 'Ordinary People'.
Richard Bayner, HARPERS BAZAAR
KEVIN SFACEY ' ANNETTE
AMERICAN
fciurespresfnts
ajw&tohfn comr&NY production
KWNSPKEY ANNETTE BENING
mm mm' thora birch
ALltSONlANNEY PETER GALLAGHER
MENASUVARI WESBENTLEY
and CHRIS COOPER "^THOMAS NEWMAN
"■f BRUCE COHEN«DAN JINKS
"""BALAN BALI """B SAM MENBES
ItMMMMSLit
SMITH COLLEGE/MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS. MASSACHUSETTS
Diego Rivera reveals himself In a self-portrait now on display at the MFAH.
SAP
SOCIETY FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS
Hriniituv. tfu World< fust to Houston
ptcsenls
DON COSSACKS OF ROSTOV
Wednesday, September 29,1999, 8:00 p.m., Jones Hall
For program notes visit our website at www.spahouston org
— ARTS
WBI talk 30 minutes prior to curtain
713-227-4SPA
TICJCeSQju
FIESTA • FOLEY'S • KROGER
Special Engagement Begins September 24
The Arts & Entertainment Section
of the Thresher needs an assistant
editor. Call Marisaat (713) 527-4801.
Did we mention the free stuff? Call and
find out (713) 527-4801.
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McAlister, Jett & Tam, Mariel. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 87, No. 4, Ed. 1 Friday, September 24, 1999, newspaper, September 24, 1999; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth246655/m1/12/: accessed June 23, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.