Wallace Middle School was abuzz with budding art critics this week. Art teacher Adrienne Simes shared the history of three of Diego Rivera’s murals, replicas of which were hanging in one of the school’s hallways. Rivera, a lifelong Marxist known for his radical political views, is considered one of the greatest Mexican artists of the 20th century. With his chosen medium, frescos (murals painted on fresh plaster), Rivera found a way to express the complexities of his day and still reach a wide audience of primarily illiterate working class people. Many of his murals addressed themes of revolution and class inequity. The murals hanging in Wallace Middle School are “Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in Alameda Park,” “The Flower Vendor” and “The Agitator.” (Photos by Kim Hilsenbeck)
