Get Sleepy: Sleep meditation and stories - Dreaming with Diego Rivera

Starting point is 00:00:01 Welcome to Get Sleepy, where we listen, we relax, and we get sleepy. My name's Thomas. Thank you so much for joining us. Tonight we'll be taking a journey through a work by Diego Rivera. It's an epic mural called Pan American Unity. This mural was painted in front of a live audience at the 1940 Exposition in San Francisco. The artwork was meant to portray solidarity and commonality across the Americas. During a time of great change and uncertainty, thank you to Nicole for writing this fascinating story,

Starting point is 00:01:00 and to Areef, who you'll hear narrating it, shortly. But first, let's take a few moments to settle in. If you're in bed, you can shift around a bit if you need to. Make yourself nice and comfortable. When you're ready, take a deep breath in through your nose. Pause for a moment. Then slowly exhale. Take another deep inhale. really noticing how your body moves to receive the breath. Then very slowly, allow the breath to release. Now, bring your awareness to your sense of touch. Notice the softness of the sheets against your skin,

Starting point is 00:02:22 the support of your mattress, and the flow of air in your room. room, using the senses to practice mindfulness can be a helpful way to ease into sleep. And you're very welcome to fall asleep during the story. You can always pick up right where you left off another time. So let's begin. As you settle into your bed, you begin to feel more and more relaxed and soon and enough, you drift into that liminal space between wake and sleep, the lines between dreams

Starting point is 00:03:48 and reality blur, and you find yourself standing in a large, open room. There is scaffolding set up in various parts of the room and crowds of people gathering. You see a sign that reads, Welcome to the 1940 Golden Gate International Exposition on San Francisco's Treasure Island is excitement and creativity in the air. And you get a sense that whatever is happening in this room is very special. Begin to walk over to the crowd forming in the center of the room,

Starting point is 00:04:37 which you realize is an area. port hangar, will past you, waist dresses with squared shoulders, narrow hips, and skirts that at the knee, bright rays of California sunshine stream in through the hangars open doors, filling the space with a radiant, natural light.

Starting point is 00:05:10 You look up and see an imposing figure perched on the scaffolding, painting finishing touch, on a large mural. Several assistants around him appear to be grinding pigments into fine powders, and tracing sketches on paper they are working on is enormous. You count ten cement panels stretching from floor to ceiling. The painting itself is a dazzling display of colors and figures in motion. There is clearly a compelling story within this mural, and you are eager to learn more about it. A nearby brochure tells you that the artist is the Mexican painter, Diego Rivera.

Starting point is 00:06:20 As part of the Art in Action Program, he's painting a work called The Marriage of the Artistic Expression of the north and south on this continent. It's also known as the Pan American Unity mural. At this time, Diego Rivera is one of the most prominent muralists in the world, known for his technical expertise and political advocacy. He is here in San Francisco to headline this interactive program. by working in front of a live audience. The impressive mural measures 22 feet high by 74 feet wide

Starting point is 00:07:19 and weighs over 60,000 pounds. As the crowd shifts, you edge in a little closer to the mural, and the full composition comes into view. You see a panorama of San Francisco. On the left, it's flanked by depictions of ancient Mexican civilizations. On the right, there are scenes of modernization and technological advancement in the United States. In the middle of the mural is a towering central figure, which appears to be a synthesis of an Aztec goddess and a robot.

Starting point is 00:08:17 The closer you get to the artist, the deeper you're pulled into the world he is creating before your eyes. Your gaze lands on the far left panel, which appears to be the beginning of the story. Here, you see a compilation of Mexican mountains and volcanoes on the horizon. In the foreground is the Aztec deity Ketzal-Co-Otel. He's teaching a council of leaders who are gathered around him in a circle. The group is sitting in an Aztec temple complex and is surrounded by dancers, musicians, and artisans. Some of the artisans are sculpting figures out of stone, including a jaguar deity. You feel like you have been transported into an ancient world.

Starting point is 00:09:27 where nature and everyday rituals are sacred and rooted in community. As you imagine the chinking of tools against stone, you feel a sense of peace. Ace of life in this scene is slow, intentional, and in rhythm with nature. You move closer to the painting so you can really take in the scene. at the bottom of the Aztec panel are more artisans and inventors. One man is holding a flying machine, resembling a pair of pale yellow batwings. Another group works together to cast gold, jewelry, and wax.

Starting point is 00:10:29 These scenes offer a peek into the ingenuity and craftsmanship of proofs of pre-conquest Mexican societies. The indigenous people in this first part of the mural are thriving and living in harmony. Turning away from the Aztec panel, UC Rivera and his assistants at work. One of the assistants appears to be measuring the humidity in the room to determine how much time they have

Starting point is 00:11:11 to complete the fresco before the plaster tries. Rivera painted on wet plaster and would need to complete an entire section that same day before it tried. The fresco technique was demanding and labor intensive. Rivera's assistance would grind his pigments to a very precise consistency and then add water to prepare the paint by hand.

Starting point is 00:11:51 Rivera had previously spent time in Italy, learning the fresco technique popularized by Renaissance masters. Yet, he made this technique his own by creating his frescoes on cement backing rather than on traditional plaster surfaces. Rivera was a master of blending the old with the new. This is also evident in how he depicted his figures. Much of Western art was based on the foundations of Greco-Roman antiquity.

Starting point is 00:12:38 Rivera believed that modern art in the Americas should also be inspired by its own ancient art. so his work was heavily influenced by pre-Hispanic art. Works created in the Americas before the 16th century. Rivera's figures often appeared to be large, boldly colored, and simplified, with rigid poses and mask-like faces. The scenes of the Mexican valleys on the first panel of the mural, blend into a panorama of northern California to the right. Your gaze is immediately drawn to a female diver

Starting point is 00:13:33 who's back-flipping through the sky above the Bay Bridge, the foggy San Francisco skyline, and Aquamarine Bay provide a dramatic backdrop for her soar through the sky. Spectators gather to watch the show, as a contemporary Mexican artist carves a sculpture of the deity, Ketzal-Kowadl. In Aztec culture, the plumed serpent's movements

Starting point is 00:14:12 created waves in the water, air, and soil. The body of the serpent is depicted as a colorful braid of fabric. It snakes back into the first panel of the fresco, weaving throughout, The artisans across the valley floor, toward the bottom of the second panel, are a group of about two dozen figures. These include contemporary Mexican craftspeople, painters, weavers, metal smiths, and woodworkers. Rivera himself is also depicted here, painting a fresco of a tree. Further to the right are a group of men wearing suits and holding documents.

Starting point is 00:15:15 These men include Mexican and South American patriots and revolutionaries who fought against Spanish rule in Mexico. You also notice North American historical figures like George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Thomas Jefferson. For Rivera, the term America spanned the entire continent and had a transnational definition. In Pan American unity, Rivera's intention was to convey a sense of cohesion and shared creative energy

Starting point is 00:16:02 that distinguished America from Europe. He believed that collaboration between Mexico and the U.S. would ensure future prosperity for both countries. You reflect on this as you gaze at the second panel of the mural. The graceful diver catches your eye, and you begin to imagine yourself back flipping through the sky. You feel as if you are floating freely, buoyed by the clouds and fog.

Starting point is 00:16:44 As the world carries on below, a sense of great ease and peace washes over you. You allow yourself to linger in this space for a while, just floating in the San Francisco sky. Eventually, you turn your head and notice Rivera shading in the skirt of his wife, the painter Frida Kahlo. she is depicted in the central panel of the fresco, wearing traditional clothing, and holding a paintbrush and palette. Rivera thoughtfully fills in the creases on Carlos' skirt. It looks as if it is flowing in the breeze. As you watch Rivera work, you can see how engrossed he is in what he is.

Starting point is 00:17:50 doing. A crowd clamors around him, filling in the main section of the hangar, and he carries on, completely unperturbed. The central panel of the fresco is quite remarkable. A large, towering figure embodies the essence of the painting and represents the meeting of two distinct worlds. The figure is a hybrid, of an Aztec Earth goddess and an industrial stamping machine. The goddess's right hand is held up to reveal jeweled calluses to convey the necessity and value of working the land. Her head is half skeleton and half human. She represents the dualities of life and death,

Starting point is 00:18:58 spirituality and technology. and past and present, the mechanized left side of the figure is representative of the industrialized north, which values the efficiency of machines. Toward the base of the figure are two men carving a large wooden sculpture of a mountain ram. Below the woodworkers are another group of figures, which include Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, and Paulette Goddard, who was the wife of Charlie Chaplin. There are also a few children and two men, one of whom was a friend and patron of the artist. These figures from various backgrounds are meant to represent the melding together of cultures and close-knit Pan-Americanism.

Starting point is 00:20:12 In the distance is the Golden Gate Bridge, which had just opened to the public a few years prior. You can hear Rivera talking to the crowd below him, explaining some of the themes in his mural. He says that the invention of machines requires the same creative urge as other forms of art. It just takes on a different expression. Rivera goes on to talk about the different creative opportunities

Starting point is 00:20:52 that are available in various parts of North America. The faster pace of life in North America means that creative energy gets channeled into other outlets, like technology. As in the South, It is easy for people to make art because they don't even know they are artists. Art is just an extension of daily life and of their emotional experience. Rivera continues talking about unifying the Americas by depicting their shared creative impulses.

Starting point is 00:21:43 Meanwhile, your eyes wander over toward the right side of the first. The same back-flipping diver is mirrored on this side. Yet here, she is soaring over the other side of the San Francisco Bay, the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz Island, Treasure Island, and the Marin Headlands are visible beyond her. There is a crowd of people working on a platform below the diver. one man is carving a wooden figurehead for a large ship. Several architects, workers, and artists gather around,

Starting point is 00:22:36 seemingly all engrossed in their crafts. As you step back and take in the mural in its entirety for a moment, you begin to really appreciate Rivera's compositional skills, the imposing central figure and symbol of the mural draws the viewer's eye immediately. There's aquamarine water on both sides, offering spaciousness and beauty, while skillfully framing the figure. The graceful mirrored divers add an element of whimsy, fluidity, and awe. they balance out some of the more serious characters below.

Starting point is 00:23:35 The mural is visually striking, offering so many details, and also a masterfully composed and unified scene. Below the platform of workers and experts is a more serious scene of war and political turmoil. You see a compilation of cinematic image. which depict clashes between the totalitarian powers of the 1930s and the world's democracies. A hand wrapped in an American flag rises up out of a machine, as if to ward off any threats to freedom. You know that at the time of painting, Germany had conquered much of Western Europe. Rivera believed that the U.S.

Starting point is 00:24:38 had a role to play in resisting fascism. Again, you can't help but notice the interplay of the carefree diver, sailing upside down through the sky and the imagery of World War II below her. Four moving on to the final panel of the fresco, you pause once more to let it all settle in, taking a deep, full breath, You notice a sense of ease throughout your body. Pouring this painting in person is such a special experience.

Starting point is 00:25:24 In this moment, you feel so grateful. You focus your gaze on the final panel of the painting. This last panel mirrors the first one on the far left and celebrates the technological spirit of the North. Rivera's intention in this mirror, is to convey how the artistic traditions in the South influenced the North, and how the engineering genius of the North enriched life in the South. The creativity of the North is depicted here through the construction of dams, bridges, railways,

Starting point is 00:26:19 agricultural machinery, and hydraulic mining techniques. Northern Californian Mountains resemble those in Mexico. Mount Lassen and Mount Shasta are featured in the backdrop. Below the scene of pioneering industrialism are portraits of prominent northern inventors. Henry Ford stands in front of an automobile assembly line. Other well-known figures hold inventions like the the phonograph, movie projector, light bulb, steamship, and telegraph. Rivera believed that the motion picture was the great mural of the 20th century.

Starting point is 00:27:18 It was one of North America's most important contributions to art. As your eyes move between the first and last panels, you can really appreciate their contrasts, as well as compliments. On the right, the scene is much more focused on physical work and machinery. The figures here are building, digging, pulling, and transporting materials. There is a sense of productivity and power. The earth does not appear to be sacred ground, like it does on the left panel. Here, the people are exerting influence over the land, rather than living in rhythm with it. And yet, there is a similar appreciation of creativity and ingenuity.

Starting point is 00:28:31 Both panels depict creative expression and relationships to land, and both show inventors at work. As you consider the parallels and rich, symbolism of Rivera's mural, you step back again and close your eyes. You want to remember everything you have seen and learned today. What a gift to get completely lost in a piece of art. Lost in the moment, as if time has stopped. You picture the divers sailing through the foggy sky. the sacred Aztec figures, the machines, and all the artisans and workers. You hold them all in your mind as you feel a sense of unity too,

Starting point is 00:29:40 a sense that you inhabited their world for a moment in time and felt the energy of their creative pulses. The mural plays through your head, as if being projected on a movie screen. So many interesting characters contribute to one compelling storyline of unity through creativity. Rivera's work is complex and rich in visual symbolism, applauding artistry and Pan American solidarity. There are clear themes of collaboration and commonality. The fresco masterfully blends past, present, and future, and calls for cooperation and unity during a time of global conflict. There is a celebration of creativity and evolve the people who use their art and technology to shape society.

Starting point is 00:31:09 The visuals of the fresco now begin to fade out. and you yawn deeply, suddenly feeling very sleepy. Once more, you become aware of yourself lying in bed. As your body settles a bit more with each yawn, your mind follows suit, and you start to drift off. You can feel the softness of your bed and a light current of air against your sense. skin. There are some subtle sounds in the background that seem to become further and further away with each deep, sleepy breath. Your body becomes heavier as you yield into the soft support of

Starting point is 00:32:16 your bed. There's nothing else to do for the day. Nowhere else to go. You're feeling more and more relaxed at ease. You drift into a peaceful slumber.

Get Sleepy: Sleep meditation and stories - Dreaming with Diego Rivera

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