Siqueiros Mural

I commend Irene Herner (Commentary, April 7) for supporting the restoration of Siqueiros’ masterpiece, “Tropical America,” on Olvera Street. It is indeed historical, and it needs to be held in that regard and not as Marxist propaganda.

This furor over the Siqueiros mural is not surprising, considering that his views on the national scene were totally oppositional to standard American dogma of the 1930s. Being an artist of color with such a dissident stance only intensified the attacks on the work.

Objective examination of the Siqueiros mural should reveal the undercurrent of oppression and racism. The depiction of struggle and defiance in murals by Mexican and African American artists has traditionally struck the consciousness of white America with anger and denial. Even today murals address social conditions throughout the diverse inner-city landscape. They remain symbols and monuments for the voiceless masses in the forgotten segments of our society, regardless of political affiliations. Such works need to be seen, not censored.

ERIC T. MYLES

Hawthorne