When Frida and Diego first arrived in San Francisco in 1930, they toured the Bay Area, visiting farms in Northern California so Diego could gather information for his mural Allegory of California for the luncheon room at The Pacific Stock Exchange. He wanted to learn as much as he could about the Golden State. In the end, his mural depicts "California" as an imposing Earth Mother whose left side is filled with the natural riches of the land while her right side is mined, investigated, and cut down. The images of industry behind Mother Earth explain why some of her land is destroyed. Profit is the driving force in a capitalist economy. Luther Burbank is embedded into the right side of the mural. He's the man down on his knees inspecting a plant. In Frida's portrait of the same man, which I discussed in a previous blog, Burbank is front and center. Frida's portrait places Luther Burbank out in nature with no clear connection to industry. Instead, the artist pays homage to a man whose grafting experiments led to more varieties of fruits, vegetables, and trees. In Diego's mural, Burbank is one of many who have had an impact on California's economy. It's interesting to reflect on what each artist chooses to emphasize about California. Life and death are expressed in both, but in very different ways, both visually and metaphorically. Also, only Diego's mural references Calafia, a black woman warrior who ruled over a Queendom of black women on the mythic island of California. Apparently, Diego was familiar with this queen, yet he made his allegorical female figure white. Not only would Diego have read about the origins of California, but he would have seen Maynard Dixon and Frank Von Sloan's 1926 seven foot mural at The Mark Hopkins Hotel in San Francisco (seen above). Dixon and Von Sloan's mural depicts the Queen and two of her warriors as dark-skinned women. The question remains: why did Diego Rivera paint California's queen as white? Do you think he changed her skin color to appease the predominantly white stock traders who would have seen her on their way to the luncheon room? How many Californians know the origin of the word California? It is believed to come from Garci Rodriguez de Montalvo's book The Adventures of Esplandian, c. 1500. This fictionalized account of Queen Calafia describes her as a courageous and strong queen who wore armour made out of gold. This pagan queen commands a fleet of ships and she uses griffins, fantastical winged creatures, as aerial weaponry. When she meets Radiaro, a Moslem warrior, he convinces her to join him in retaking Constantinople from the Christian armies. In the end, they lose this battle and Calafia is imprisoned. She eventually converts to Christianity and marries Talanque, a Christian knight. They return to the island of California and establish a new dynasty comprised of Christian men and women. The word Calafia is thought to derive from both the Arabic word Khalifa, translated as "Religious/State leader," and the Spanish word Califa, translated as leader or successor. The word is either spelled Calafia or Califia. The Spanish conquistador, Hernan Cortés, read Montalvo's book. When landing in Baja, Cortes exclaimed to his crew that they had arrived in Califia's land. Three-hundred crew members were of African descent, including Juan Garrido, the second-in-command. From this point on, Califia and California were used to describe this area along the entire Pacific Coast. Since it was controlled by Spain, the Spanish-speaking people were referred to as Californios. By 1770, the area was officially known as California. © Celia S. Stahr 2014 For more information on the origin of California, refer to: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etymology_of_California
7 Comments
6/17/2015 09:38:00 pm
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10/16/2015 08:51:34 pm
Frida has a very broad imagination. This has led to these beautiful works of art. Her construction of her idea was very unique. Hence, no wonder these paintings portrayed her journey in San Francisco. Thanks for sharing this great information with us. I must say that you were able to clearly express the ideas.
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11/22/2015 03:08:58 pm
Thanks for sharing your work. I now need to add some interactivity to the offline map, so that a user can get info after clicking on a point.
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6/1/2016 12:21:18 pm
Interesting story. I guess, Diego made wall-painting because he might feel it on his way and side. He draw the queen figure white because he find something peculiar in her. Artists are very creative. Thanks for your post.
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6/2/2016 08:28:20 am
When I first saw this mural my feel of beauty was blossomed on a new level. In my view, Diego's works are combined symbolic sense and history of California. Frida and Diego were unique painters with original way of expression. Thanks for your consideration!
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10/8/2016 04:33:29 am
Articles of interest can certainly make his readers was, his example as I see in this yard, I was quite helpful at all, thank you sir.
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Celia Stahr teaches art history at the University of San Francisco. She’s interested in women artists and artists who cross cultural boundaries. She fell in love with the power of Frida Kahlo's art in the 1980s, a feeling that has intensified over the years. Frida in America took 10 years to research and write, but Stahr never lost interest in this fascinating woman and artist.
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