Cultural significance
What poem was inspired by the Rockefeller-Rivera dispute?
Man at the Crossroads
The Rockefeller-Rivera dispute has become an emblem of the relationship of politics, aesthetics, creative freedom and economic power. The American poet Archibald MacLeish's 1933 collection "Frescoes for Mr. Rockefeller's City" was inspired by the incident. It included six "irony-laden" poems about the mural in which both Rockefeller and Rivera were criticised. "The New Yorker" magazine published E. B. White's poem "I paint what I see: A ballad of artistic integrity" on May 20, 1933, an imaginary debate between Rockefeller and Rivera. It has been discussed or dramatized in a number of films dealing with the politics of art. The events are dramatized in the American films "Cradle Will Rock" and "Frida", both set in the 1930s. In "Cradle Will Rock", the painting we see is identical to the Mexican version. When it is smashed, only the fragment of plaster containing the depiction of syphilis remains. It is also discussed in the Tamil film "Anbe Sivam", in which an Indian Communist argues with a supporter of the capitalist system.