Diego Rivera and the Working Class Hero

Greenbelt Museum

Join us on October 18, 2023 at 7pm via Zoom for a lecture entitled, Diego Rivera &amp; The Working Class Hero, in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month. Our lecturer, Jonathan Maffay, wrote his dissertation on Diego Rivera. He writes, &quot;When Mexican muralist artist Diego Rivera arrived to the U.S. in the early 1930s, a country in the throes of the Great Depression, he saw less the struggle of the working class, but more the hope that a modern industrial economy might offer  the working class. That sense of optimism resonates throughout the murals he painted first in San Francisco and then Detroit. That optimism also resonates within the Center School relief sculptures  by Lenore Thomas Straus (see below) created during that same period though in a more stylized abstract, stylized manner.&quot;  We are so pleased to welcome Jonathan Maffay who holds a Ph.D, School of Interdisciplinary Arts, and an M.A. Counseling Education, both from Ohio University. Dr. Maffay is an Existential psychotherapist in Athens, Ohio  working in community mental health. He wrote his dissertation on Diego Rivera and his Mexico City murals depicting the history of Mexico from a Mexican perspective. Through these works Rivera is educating Mexicans about the greatness of their ancient cultures, one that honors the richness of their achievements, and thus providing a more accurate sense of self. In other words the process of identity formation, a focus in Dr. Maffay’s clinical work.I﻿mage above: detail from Diego Rivera&#x27;s Detroit Industry Murals, 1932-33. Image below: Panel from Lenore Thomas Straus&#x27; bas reliefs on the front of the Greenbelt Community Center, 1937.This is a virtual event. Please register in advance. An email with a Zoom link will be sent closer to the date of talk. This event is free! Sponsored by the Friends of the Greenbelt Museum, Greenbelt Recreation, and the City of Greenbelt.Greenbelt, Maryland, a National Historic Landmark planned community, was built in 1937 as part of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal. The town was designed as a garden city that would be a model of modern town planning and cooperative living in America. Though segregated when it opened, today Greenbelt is a thriving, diverse community. To learn more, please visit <a href="https://www.greenbeltmuseum.org/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">GreenbeltMuseum.org</a>. To make a tax deductible donation to the 501(c)3 nonprofit that supports the Museum click <a href="https://www.greenbeltmuseum.org/donate" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">here</a>.

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Diego Rivera and the Working Class Hero

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Diego Rivera and the Working Class Hero

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