30 Rock

I found myself inside the lobby of 30 Rockefeller Center on a rainy Sunday recently. Shoppers and tourists were coming and going, there was a frenetic pace to their movements. Fortunately I wasn’t in a hurry, and my eyes were drawn to giant murals along the building’s south corridor; then up to the ceiling above the main lobby entrance. I was stunned.

I have always admired the works of art adorning the exterior of the buildings at Rockefeller Center and the ice rink and summer garden. The conception of its design in total, as a coherent expression of certain neo-classical, American, and futurist themes, demonstrates that real estate developers can think big, and think long term. This cluster of buildings and public spaces were meant to be functional. But also were intended as a statement to the city and the world. The theme of Jesus of Nazareth’s message to humanity unifies the Anglo-Welsh artist, Sir Frank Brangwyn’s, murals looking down from the walls of the south corridor. As one turns the corridor into the main lobby one encounters José Maria Sert’s contribution. The themes of progress and time itself are conveyed with great power by the Spanish painter.

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The scale of the murals as much as their location, adds great power to this art. I was moved. Apparently, the initial design was created by Mexican muralist, Diego Rivera, but was deemed too overtly political by the Rockefeller family. It was destroyed, and Sert was commissioned to start over. He was a contemporary of his fellow Catalans Pablo Picasso and Joan Miró. He designed sets for Diaghilev’s “Ballet Russes” in Paris and painted the council chambers of the League of Nations in Geneva. His work is lesser known today because he sided with Franco in the Spanish Civil War, and his politics became unacceptable in the art world. This was in stark contrast to Picasso and Miró who stood by the Republic. Should one’s political or ideological associations determine how we view their work? I don’t know. I do know these paintings are impressive.