Hollywood's new big-screen star: Diego Rivera
The great Mexican muralist Diego Rivera was a movie lover who in the course of his life befriended such cinematic luminaries as Edward G. Robinson and Soviet director Sergei Eisenstein. So it was only fitting Sunday night that images of several of Rivera's monumental murals were illuminated and projected onto a giant screen (flown in from Ohio) at the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre, next to Universal Studios.
The spectacle was emceed by Gregorio Luke, former director of the Museum of Latin American Art in Long Beach and a full-time promoter of making fine art more accessible to mass audiences. In his previous job, Luke hosted an annual "Murals Under the Stars" event in the museum's parking lot. Now he's hoping to draw new, larger crowds to works by some of Mexico's 20th century masters. Upcoming lecture/performance shows by Luke this summer at the L.A. County-run venue, across the 101 Freeway from the Hollywood Bowl, will spotlight Rufino Tamayo and Miguel Covarrubias.
Read our report here about Luke's efforts to give Mexican art the same monumental platform as "Land of the Lost" or "Star Trek."
Caption: Gregorio Luke presents a slide show on Diego Rivera in Hollywood on Sunday. Credit: Axel Koester / For The Times
