AmiraHaidar,NatalySalman,SihamSaleh,PatriciaDonnelly,FatimaIssa,Delayni

KornakKotarba
ProfessorSprague
HON1000
6November2015
Technology/Industry

Diego Rivera is a Mexican artist that was commissioned by Edsel Ford to paint murals
for the Detroit Institute of Arts in 1932. After documenting the Ford plant, he set to work. By
late March 1933,themuralwascompletedandthousandsofDetroitersflockedtosee theGarden
Court. Many were astonished as to the level of symbolism Rivera had incorporated. Somewere
highly critical of Riveras use of religion and the female nude. Overall, Detroit Industry was
considered the most successful piece of his career. To this day, many people pay a visit to this
historical site. These four walls of symbolism and culture deserve recognition and appreciation.
The mural itself symbolizes the importance of history to a city like Detroit. The brush strokes
represent the people of Detroit whose hardworkandresiliencehelpedcarveoutamotorcityout
of a simple frontierpost.RiverasmuralisavitalpieceofDetroitmostlybecauseofits portrayal
of various emblematic themes all throughout. The theme oftechnologyandindustryisuniversal
inRiverasimageofDetroit.
Detroit Industry, one ofRivera's morewellknownpieces,highlightedthetechnological
advancements occurring atthetime.Withinthemuraltherearemanydepictionsoftechnological
advances that result in both societal progression and regression of humanity. The very first
example of technology seen is the plow used in the paintings of agriculture. This seemingly
undeveloped piece of technology plays a remarkable role in such an important industry. This
simple gadget leads the viewer to the vibrant scenes of factory workers and large technological
advancements. However, Diegos mural represents something deeper than what is seen on the

surface. Amid the rise of these innovations,diversitywasanextremelycontroversialtopic.Inan

attempt to break the barriers, Rivera depicted the way in which technology wasbringingpeople
of all ethnicities together. The mural shows people of all different races and color working in
these factories. Heshowsthatnotonly wastechnologyimportant,italsobroughtpeopletogether
and unified them towards a common goal. Asian workers, which at the time would have never
been the case, in addition to those of green skin tone, unified the workers due to one common
denominator. He depictedthisindustrytheway hehopeditcouldbe.Inthisinstance,technology
is portrayed as a saving grace that diminishes the separation between races that allows disputes
tobeforgotten.
However, while Rivera portrays technology as a savior, he also represents the way in
which thismanmademachinecanbethedemiseofentiresocieties.Riverafocusedonpoisonous
contributors to society. It can be seen in the mural, however, that despite the good that
technology can bring, it can also bring destruction.Thescenesofbombingplanesandsulfurgas
are examples of how technological advancements can be used for bad. Diego counteracts these
picture with those of commercial airliners and children being given importantvaccines:waysin
which technology was used for good. This portrays both the progression and regression of
humanity through technological advancements led by intellectual propositions. Altogether,
Diego meticulously various units of technology and industry in a way that proves they are an
objectofunitydespitethedifferenceswithinhumanity.
Since Detroit was a major catalyst in the auto industry, Riveras mural is of major
significance to the depiction of factory lifeandthecity.Inchaptersix ofDetroit,aBiography,
Martelle focuses on the idea of Detroit being the leading tinkerer of technology through its

advancements within theautoera.Fordfocusedonthedesignofahorselesscarriageandworked

withelectriciansaswellas otherengineerstofurtherexperimenthisnewfoundphenomenon. All
of this marked Detroits maturation from its gawky adolescence as a regional economic
center...to its future as a fullgrown global industrial center (Martelle 71). Although,according
to Martelle, the assembly line dehumanized manufacturing work, Riveras mural proves
otherwise. The mural illustrates a unity of the people. The machines within the assembly line
portray people of different color, race, and size to participating in the same activities, as
aforementioned. This representsadvancementsnotonlywithintheindustry,butalsoinhumanity
and perspective. If a single unit of industry is able to unify man, society is able to purposely
move forward andachievegreatnessbothwithintheindustryandoutsideof.Unifyingthepeople
allows for progression within the factory as well as within the city. Riveras mural depicts
various men working in different sections of the assembly line within the factory. Within each
section, a specific part is manufactured, and eventually put together with other partstoformthe
automobile. This is analogous to the people, whom are unified through labor to form the great
cityofDetroit.
As depicted by the mural, Rivera emphasized the harmonious environment between
people of all races within the factory. The mural illustrates a fraction of the amount of people
who were actually employed by Ford. The automobile industry provided Detroit with an
immense amount ofjobsfornotonlythecityalone, butfortherestofthecountryaswell.Asthe
Great Depression set on the country in 1929 when the stock market crashed, Detroits
automobile industry was greatly impacted and was one of the reasons oftheeconomicdownfall
that the country experienced. According to Martelle,Detroitwasoneof themostimpactedcities

inthenation.Theautomotiveindustrymadethe largestcontributionrevenuewiseandstimulated
the economy and so Detroit suffered from an extreme paralysis (Martelle 114) when the
depression hit. The extremity of the situation can be illustrated by some statistics Martelle
discussed in his book. In 1920, 2.3 million cars were produced then in 1929, theyearthestock
market crashed 5.5 million cars were produced in 1931 when the depression had settled in the
country less than 1.4 million cars were produced (Martelle 114). These numbers clarify the
severity of the depression based on the sharp decline in car production. The Great Depression
can be portrayed as the opposite of what Riveras mural was showing. In contrast from the
employees hard at work and the baby representing a new beginning in his painting, the
Depression brought along a downfall to this hard work by putting people out of jobs and a
representationofallthatwasgoodcomingtoafalteringend.
Detroit Industry, located in the heart of the motor city, represents Diego Riveras
motivational portrayal of the city. Within the mural there are many depictions of technological
advances that result in both societal progression and regression of humanity. Whether it be
medical, automotive or war time production, laborers united and became part of a significant
industry. Riveras mural demonstrated the economic prosperityandunionamongcitizensbefore
the depression had hit the nation. The technology and industry factors portrayed by the mural
illustrated a successful time for Detroit and because of this, the mural should stay to serve as a
motivational depiction of what we want our world to be like and unite us underacommongoal
topositivelyadvanceanduniteoursociety.

WorksCited
Martelle,Scott.Detroit:ABiography.Chicago,IL:ChicagoReview,2012.Print.

Rivera,Diego.
DetroitIndustry
.1933.Mural.DetroitInstituteofArts,Michigan.