Glenn Beck, his critics and Rockefeller Center's public art

From "Industry & Agriculture"

Glenn Beck recently attacked some public art that has graced New York’s Rockefeller Center since the 1930s. Beck targets what he describes as “progressive, communist and fascist” propaganda. His comments have created a great deal of heat, and very little light, since they aired.

Los Angeles Times art critic, Christopher Knight wrote Beck donned his “tin-foil conspiracy hat,” and that he is “[a]s nutty as usual.” Tyler Green, at Modern Art Notes, asserted Beck was “appealing to the black helicopter crowd.” Tyler might actually have a point on that one. Beck contributes little to art history and much to Right-wing conspiracy theorists, as he urges his viewers to be “awake” so as to “see the things that are hidden in plain sight.”

The Huffington Post’s Nicholas Graham writes, “Trying to discern Beck's ultimate point from this is difficult,” but not impossible as Graham then goes on a tear about Beck linking Rockefeller, progressives, communists, and fascists, that cannot help but make one chuckle.

Jennewein's Eagle @ Ardennes Memorial

Who are behind these communist and fascist works “hidden in plain sight?”

C. Paul Jennewein is one. He created “Industry and Agriculture,” which Beck targets as crypto-communist because there is a scythe in one relief and what looks like a hammer in the other. According to the “Look & Learn," which briefly describes all of Rockefeller Center’s public art, it is not a hammer. It is a shovel. Furthermore, the idea that Jennewein was a communist is doubtful, to say the least. He migrated to America in 1907 from Stuttgart, served in the U.S. Army during WWI, and has numerous sculptures to his credit including the Soldier’s and Sailor’s Memorial in Barre, Vermont and the Ardennes American Cemetery and Memorial.

Attilio Piccirilli created “Youth Leading Industry,” a work Beck targets as fascist propaganda. “Look & Learn” notes this work “is neo-Roman and is a typical fascist theme of the 1930s: A youth shall lead the way.” Whether the man depicted is Mussolini, as Beck asserts, is highly questionable. That this theme is present in an example of 1930s art seems to be a historical fact.

Gustav Courbet's "The Quarry"

Does that make Piccirilli or Rockefeller fascist propagandists? Not neccessarily. It makes them products of their times. Jonah Goldberg notes in Liberal Fascism, “During the ‘pragmatic’ era of the 1920s and early 1930s, a host of liberal intellectuals and journalists were quite impressed with Mussolini’s experiment.” No wonder, then, that one of the era’s most celebrated artists employs fascist themes in his work.

The only work Beck targets that was meant by its creator to propagandize is Diego Rivera’s mural “Man at the Crossroads.” Knight rightly notes a fact Beck conveniently ignores. The mural was removed in 1934 at John D. Rockefeller, Jr.’s request. So much for Rockefeller propagandizing the American public for the last 75 years.

Glenn Beck would be advised to avoid art, and stick with populist politics. At least on that subject he can claim some sort of expertise.

Mark Rothko's "White Band (Number 27)"

At the same time, it would be nice to see those knocking Beck around, for his conspiracy-laden criticism, be as tough on others in the art establishment. Michael Fried, for example, who sees “the structurally feminine” in Gustav Courbet’s paintings or Anna Chave, who sees “the pictorial structure of pieta” in Mark Rothko’s "White Band (Number 27)" (see Roger Kimball’s Rape of the Masters). While Fried and Chave are not scouring New York's public art of commies and fascists, they do stand watch in academia ensuring that political correctness is maintained in the arts.

When people go looking for ideology in art, they are bound to find what they are seeking. More often than not, unfortunately, we learn more about the person pontificating on the art then the about work itself. Beck should limit his activity to the DC Beltway. Leave the art to those less likely to find “progressives, communists and fascists” lurking behind every sculpture. Likewise, those attacking Beck should cast just as critical an eye on their peers in the arts establishment. Then we all might enjoy the art that graces our public squares and museums.