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Louis Aguilar

 

Title: The Troublemakers: The True, Epic Story of Diego and Frieda in Depression-era Detroit

Medium: Multi-Media Presentations

Year Created: 2011

The Troublemakers: The True, Epic Story of Diego and Frieda in Depression-era Detroit is a multi-media telling of the battle over Diego Rivera’s Detroit Industry mural – a fierce controversy that nearly resulted in the whitewashing of Rivera’s masterpiece at the Detroit Institute of Arts. The words said by Rivera and his wife Frida Kahlo—now one of the most famous artists in the world—have been preserved in archives and newspapers articles of the time. Presented in Rivera Court and told in the form of a three-act play, community leaders and artists recreate Rivera’s and Kahlo’s impressions of Detroit. Other voices include architect Albert Kahn, an ardent supporter of the DIA, as well as some of the artwork’s fiercest critics. Rivera loved Detroit and called Henry Ford “America’s greatest poet.” Kahlo considered Detroit a “shabby old village” plagued by poverty and racism. But Detroit is where Kahlo produced her first great art.

The Troublemakers also features more than 100 archival images, including unpublished images of Kahlo and Rivera at the DIA. An original musical score has been composed by Jessica Hernandez. The archives have been provided by the DIA, The Detroit News, the Collections of The Henry Ford, Wayne State University’s Walter P. Reuther Library of Labor and Urban Affairs and the estate of Lucienne Bloch. Please note the following change for the performance time of “The Troublemakers”: 8:00 – 9:00 pm – Detroit institute of Art – Rivera Court