Glenn Beck and the Society for (In)sanity in Art

Last night Fox News ranter Glenn Beck went off on the art made more than 70 years ago for Rockefeller Center, corporate headquarters of NBC and -- not coincidentally -- supposed arch-enemy of Rupert Murdoch's television empire. To the surprise of no one, but to the great amusement of the blogosphere (here, here and here) -- Beck donned his art critic's tin-foil conspiracy hat to find hidden evidence of "progressives, fascists and communists" in the carved reliefs and paintings of a landmark Manhattan building complex that was made a national historic monument in 1987. (Let's see; who was president that year? Oh, yeah: Commie-symp Ronald Reagan.)

How nutty did Beck get? As nutty as usual. He pointed to a portrait of Lenin in Mexican master Diego Rivera's destroyed Rockefeller lobby mural, "Man at the Crossroads," but forgot to mention that old John D. had the mural removed because of it. (Facts are stubborn things -- even more stubborn than demagoguery.) With comedy stylings like that, Beck is turning out to be the Harold Harby of our day.

Who was Harold Harby? A Los Angeles city councilman in the early 1950s, Harby took up propaganda-arms with a paranoid group of right-wing loonies called the Society for Sanity in Art. They made it their patriotic duty to search out Communist symbols they just knew were hidden in that weird, postwar abstract art.

Here's an explanation of what went down back then, from a Times interview I once did with venerable L.A. artist June Wayne, witness to those events:

We had a little city councilman named Harold Harby. The occasion was a city-sponsored exhibition at Griffith Park, and in that exhibition was a watercolor [of a sailboat] by, as it happens, a Republican artist whose name was Rex Brandt. Rex liked to sail, and he had a certain class of sailing sloop, the insignia of which vaguely resembled a hammer and sickle. Harold Harby went to the exhibition and saw this painting, and the next thing we know, "communists invade the Griffith Park exhibition!" Before you knew it, the police were out there gathering in works of art and dragging them downtown to the City Council to be investigated.

So I thought to myself, this I have to see, because how do you investigate a painting for communism? I went down to City Hall, and it just scared the wits out of me. They had a circle of easels, with various paintings, semi-abstract. People came up and testified. There was one complete abstraction, and some woman got up and testified that this was really a secret code, and that this was how the communists were getting the details of Boulder Dam so it could be sabotaged. From this painting!

Remember that tale if you watch the Beck clip above, when he gets to the part about the hammer and sickle and how President Obama is trying to brainwash America's children.

-- Christopher Knight

Comments

[J.G.]

I am an artist, and I was (un)fortunate enought to participate in a Democratic Convention years ago. I had heard that democrates are usually more into art, but I had a horrible experience. And BTW, Glenn Beck is great!

[Warren Keating]

Thank you Chris for your entertaining reminder of the mistakes of the past. Maybe Beck should see the movie "Frida" to get his facts straight. Thanks for an interesting article.

[Rory]

I have a very nice bottle of champagne just waiting for Rupert Murdoch to die.

[David V]

I laughed so hard I started to cry then the tears turned to real tears. How can Glenn Beck even be taken seriously? It sucks that idiots like him, Rush, and Sarah Palin can even get to a bull horn at all. If there is a hell, may he rot in it.

[jason martin]

Wait till Beck finds out about the Commie tree they put you every December at Rockefeller Center!

[SkinTheGoat]

Aw, memories of the despicable clam plate orgy scandal ... started by a guy who wrote a book about the deleterious effects of subliminal advertising because he thought he saw an orgy happening on the cover of a frozen clam plate package.

There was one major logical flaw in his argument, however. If the effect of a stimulus is commensurate with the strength of the signal by which we perceive it, then something that is "subliminal" (by definition, “beneath” the level of conscious awareness) can be expected to have no effect on one's consciousness. (Apologies to Herr Doktor Freud notwithstanding.)

Unless, of course, someone like that crown prince of buffoons, Glenn Beck, is around to point it out to you. Nice job of disseminating more degenerate fascist-communist propaganda, Glenn!

[Jon Mitchell]

Beck is a waste of space.

[Enzo]

Hey Christopher "Knight", once you're done with praising the Rockefellers, start kissing the Rothschilds. You go Glenn Beck, give them hell, as we're right behind you!

[jeff]

How this nut-bag was ever given a TV show is beyond me! This men represents everything that is wrong with America. This self-righteous racist nit-wit should really have his head examined. Please! This man gets more insane day by day. It's art stupid. Get over yourself.

[J Silver]

The United States has a long and glorious history of ugly clown jesters. McCarthy, Cheney and the uglyest of all: that drug addicted junky and fool Rush Haw Haw. But, Beck is really trying to claw his way to the top of that stinky pile.

[MRH]

Glenn Beck makes me laugh and laugh. I would long to keep him on the air forever ... if I hadn't realized how many poor saps are taking his words to heart. I don't have a psychiatry degree, so can't determine Beck's diagnosis. But I'm sure there is one.

[Sandra]

Beck must be doing something right to get a rise out of all the lefties.

[Douglas]

Fascinating. I watched that show. I was astounded by the symbolism that really is in those artworks. But I am also not worried about them as propaganda pieces. Rockefeller undoubtedly had no idea what was being put in the mural, for example. Patrons of the arts often have no idea what is actually in the mind of the artist. It bothers me, however, the reactions to the show as evidenced by the blogs and comments about it. So much hate, so much anger.

Beck asks questions. If the questions are silly, they should be easily refuted. So refute them. If there are innocent answers then provide them. That is, after all, what free speech is all about. Just as we get the nutcases like the Daily KOS and 911Truth.org (and some might say Huffington Post as the internet-based polar opposite of Limbaugh), we also get some thoughtful concerns and necessary debates and discussions.

I happen to think that the appointment of at least a few of Obama's "czars" raise some important questions about the policies and goals of this administration. Those questions shouldn't be dismissed just because the loudest voice bringing them up appears to be a bit wacky.

[Polomoche]

There is a certain prescience to Glenn Beck's seemingly paranoid portrayal of an increasingly polarized America. He might want to read up a little on some of his history, where political and economic polarization served as necessary precursors to the very revolutionary movements he seems to so disdain. His own pathetic contribution ironically serves to increase the likelihood of our union's eventual and possibly inevitable dissolution. If we are to have any hope, our nation's people should start working now to bridge gaps, not widen them.

[ATL Guy]

The Republican Party seems to think that reasonable, rational people would look beyond the foolishness coming out of Fox News and return them to power. They may choose to ignore the antics of O'Reilly, Limbaugh, Beck to their peril. It's just a matter of time before people really start tuning out this nonsense. In the meantime Fox News, enjoy your time in the sun. The birthers and Tea Partyers may never desert you but others will move on from this freak sideshow.

[Bill]

Anyone who took an art history class should know the true history behind the art in Rockefeller Center. I guess that's why this is so laughable.

[Gopher]

The answers to those "questions" are not only easily accessible but some are also included in this article. Defending free speech is noble. Defending an irresponsible and under researched "journalist" doesn't make anyone more informed, let alone credible. Questioning is healthy, misinformation disguised as questions is not.

[AD]

I am stunned at people on here defending Beck after it has been proven HE WAS LYING! Rockefeller had the painting removed himself for a portrait of Lennon in it and he's still a commie? Are people defending Beck living on the same planet? You can't defend someone as doing good when they are blatently lying to you. These are the same people that are always telling me to wake up! Well I got news for you guys - I am wide awake watching you tear the credibility of this country down.

[scott]

Entertaining, yes. Important, no. I'd love to go to the LA times, as I do every day, and see coverage of the 2010 senate candidacy of Rand Paul and potential candidacy of Peter Schiff. The Ron Paul candidacy during the presidential primaries has propelled these admirable conservatives to actually have a chance... Matters of substance please!

[biggato]

If one reads the art at Rock Center with some historical knowledge the Fascist Moment becomes obvious. Art Deco is the same as Futurism, the art movement that launched Italian Fascism. The glorification of Futurist Labor (not individual workers) is identical to Socialist Realism and Nazi art. It is also the same as Mexican muralist art of the 1930's, especially by Diego Rivera and the Monument to the Revolution and the Monument to Obregon by the architect Carlos Obregon. The Rock Center has wonderful art, but it is, without a doubt, fascist art.
For an art critic Christopher Knight makes a good pop music blogger.