Man Controller of the Universe
Man Controller of the Universe is a work of art that was created by Diego Rivera in 1934. This particular work of art measures 11.45m by 4.85m and can be found in Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico. Diego Rivera made the work of art using the fresco technique of mural painting (Olowin, p. 32). The controversy and context of this painting in history help define its fame. Although the image was created to decorate the RockefellerPL Center in New York, there were other vital implications brought by the work of art. Diego Rivera sought to achieve his ideas of vast political propaganda through this work of art. He had a lot of information to enlighted the word that he could accomplish through this beautiful artwork. He designed the image to show three planes, the communism and capitalism poles, and a man located at the center of the image (Gilbert and Sabine, p. 225).
Apart from the historical context and motives of Rivera that makes his image famous, his excellent use of the formal elements of art makes the artwork great and beautiful before the eyes of the viewer. The shape is one of the elements artists use to make their works exciting. Rivera used both geometric and irregular shapes in this mural. The edges of the planes combine with the lines of the image frames to form four triangles in the four sides of the image. The round object protruding from the top of the image has a perfect circular base and a height which makes it form the shape of a sphere. This arrangement also gives the work of art a form, which is also a major formal elements of art (Sayre, p. 57). This is created from three-dimensional shapes such as the sphere and cubes of the artwork. The edges of the three planes and the communist and capitalist poles also give the painting a parallelogram shape. Under the poles are various types of trees that combine to give the bottom part of the artwork an irregular shape.
Color is an important element of art that any artist should make proper use of since it is the first thing to draw the attention of the viewer. A poor combination of colors or a color that repels away the eyes of the viewers hinders them from recognizing the beauty of any work of art (Sayre, p. 62). Colors play a leading role in defining the beauty of artworks, and Rivera did not fail in achieving the right combination of colors in his work. The man at the center of the artwork has his clothes painted a silver color, the same as that of the spherical object above him. The same color is in the clothes of some of the peoples in the picture. One of the planes has white as the dominant color while the other one is a combination of different colors such as white, red, brown, green, purple, and orange. The rest of the people are wearing clothes of red, white, brown, black, and grey colors. Rivera intentionally failed to make any of the color dominant to achieve a fair balance of colors which attracts the eyes of the view to finer details of the artwork. It is no doubt that Rivera made excellent use of color in this work of art. A dominant color in the painting would make the viewer concentrate more on the color rather than the finer elements thus losing the beauty (Yuan, p. 14).
Rivera also used patterns and tone properly in this particular work of art. The edges of the planes in the work of art combine the poles to form a zigzag pattern. The top frame of the mural is painted with white and red stripes that stretch to the heads of the people to form symmetrical patterns. While in the artwork the communist and capitalist poles and three planes appear to be in front of the audience in the background, Rivera balanced shadows properly to give them an excellent contrast. This was an appropriate approach to ensure the eys of the viewer focus on the whole art rather than certain aspects of it. He also used different colors and lines to give the picture a rough visual texture (Sayre, p. 61).
In conclusion, Rivera made proper use of elements and principles of art to make an exciting artwork. He achieved a balance of colors and tone to give the image the contrast that attracts both lovers and nonlovers of art. His use of shape and form highlights the creativity one would wish to get from such a work of art. He intended to ensure the viewer focuses on finer details of the painting and this goal was achieved through the right balance and unity of all elements.