The images are breathtaking.
As I walked into the Rivera Court at the Detroit Institute of Arts, I was surrounded by 27 panels of vibrant murals by Mexican artist Diego Rivera, depicting Detroit and its industry.
Created in the early 1930’s, the Detroit Industry murals are known internationally. For many people, the murals are considered Rivera’s best work.
This week’s photo of the week is the mural on the south-facing wall of the court, which depicts factory life at Ford Motor Company’s giant Rouge Complex.
I was fascinated by the details and history of the murals.
- In 1932, Rivera spent months of research, touring the Ford auto plants, and creating hundreds of sketches for the murals
- It took Rivera eight months to create the fresco murals (paint was applied to wet plaster), often working 15 hour days with his assistants
- When the murals were unveiled, they weren’t well-received by the public. People didn’t like how workers were portrayed; clergy condemned the murals as blasphemous.
- The Detroit News editorial of the murals called the work, “… is that the whole work and conception is un-American, incongruous and unsympathetic…”
- The south-facing mural is 17 feet high and 45 feet long
- In the center of the mural are assembly line workers working on an axle. In the background, you’ll see people touring the assembly line, which represent the middle class. Notice their facial expressions, an almost downward look on the workers.
- Look carefully in the touring crowd; you’ll see a man in a gray suit on the left side based on Dick Tracy from the comic strip (which debuted in 1931 in the Detroit Mirror). You’ll also see two kids with baseball caps at the front of the crowd, a reference to the Katzenjammer Kids, another comic during the 1930’s.
- The stamping machine that dominates the right side of the mural symbolizes the Aztec deity Coatlicue, the goddess of birth, death, and regeneration.
- In the right bottom corner, you’ll see two people that appear out-of-place in the murals: Edsel Ford, son of Henry Ford and president of Ford Motor Company, who funded the project and Wilhelm Valentiner, director of the Detroit Institute of Arts.
You can spend an entire morning or afternoon viewing the murals and all their details.
If you’re a resident of Wayne, Macomb, or Oakland counties in Michigan, you can visit the museum and see the Rivera murals for free.
With the M-1 construction in summer 2015, it can be a challenge to get around and to the museum. Visit the museum general info page for the latest updates.
