My Art, My Life: An Autobiography
Category: Books,Arts & Photography,Individual Artists
My Art, My Life: An Autobiography Details
"Engrossing as a novel … throws a clear white light on one of the most spectacular artists of our time." — Chicago Sunday TribuneThis remarkable autobiography began with a newspaper interview the artist gave journalist Gladys March in 1944. From then until the artist's death in 1957, she spent several months each year with Rivera, eventually filling 2,000 pages with his recollections and interpretations of his art and life. Written in the first person, this book is a richly revealing document of the painter who revolutionized modern mural painting, was a principal figure in launching the "Mexican Renaissance," and is ranked among the most influential artists of the twentieth century.As the colorful narrative unfolds, Diego Rivera seems always to be in the midst of political, artistic, and romantic turmoil. As the reviewer for The New Republic observed, "Rivera reveals a keen appreciation of this prowess in art, sex, and politics, and the record seems to be complete on the series of spectacular rows he got into over all three."The book details his bold confrontations with dictators and presidents, the battles that erupted over his murals in Rockefeller Center and the Hotel del Prado, his tempestuous marriages to Lupe Marin and artist Frida Kahlo, and much, much more. "There is no lack of exciting material. A lover at nine, a cannibal at 18, by his own account, Rivera was prodigiously productive of art and controversy." — San Francisco Chronicle. 21 halftones.
Reviews
Begun by Gladys March in 1944 as an interview for a newspaper article, this book grew until the annual research visits to Rivera's studio "ended in 1957 because my notes,now bulking over two thousand pages, suggested that I might now have all I needed." Yes, indeed! And Rivera "seemed to be flattered by the continual attentions of a young American woman" while telling one story after another, elaborating, assimilating, modifying and spinning the facts to end up with the story of a man destined to be a leader in anything and anywhere. Early on, Diego was about seven after a memorable church visit, three old gentlemen came to Diego's home, to ok off their hats and inform the proud youngster that he is now a member of their liberal fraternity. Oh ... things continue in that vein. Diego is everywhere and nothing works without his input, the military in particular, Diego leaves on a scholarship to Europe and we hear his view of artistic life just prior to World War I. His later trips to the US to paint murals in New York or Detroit and his stormy relationships with donors and clients as well as his life with Frida Kahlo. The older he gets, the more grandiose Diego's persona becomes. It is a fascinating book, highly entertaining and always just hovering between too much and not enough.
