S1 EP 15: Rockefeller's Greatest Nightmare

When Mexican muralist Diego Rivera was hired to paint a mural at Rockefeller Center, it seemed like a perfect collaboration between art and American industry. But when Rivera included Vladimir Lenin in the painting, the commission exploded into one of the most famous art scandals of the twentieth century.In this episode of Articulated, Youki explores Rivera’s mural Man, Controller of the Universe and the dramatic story behind its destruction. Why did one image cause such outrage? What happens when art challenges the people who pay for it? And who really gets to decide what the future looks like?