Siqueiros, << see KAY raws, >> David (1896-1974), was a Mexican painter famous for his vigorous and colorful murals on political themes. Many of his murals deal with Mexican and Latin American history. They reflect his opposition to tyranny and his sympathy with workers and the victims of oppression. Siqueiros was frequently imprisoned for his left wing political views.
Siqueiros experimented with modern materials and techniques, such as a spray gun and synthetic paints. Through these experiments, he was able to give his works a three-dimensional quality. Siqueiros conceived of his murals as dynamic rather than static images. He treated the painted walls as one continuous surface, with the subject matter carrying over onto adjacent walls without a break.
David Alfaro Siqueiros was born on Dec. 29, 1896, in Chihuahua, Mexico. He studied art in Europe from 1919 to 1922 and painted his first murals in 1922. In the early 1930’s, Siqueiros painted murals and exhibited his work in Los Angeles and New York City as well as in Uruguay and Argentina. He was expelled from the United States in 1932 for a controversial painting. He created famous murals in Mexico City in the Union of Electricity Workers headquarters (1939) and the Museum of National History (1964), and in a school library in Chillan, Chile (1942). He died on Jan. 6, 1974.
