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| Keywords: Mural-Ariel-Rios-Rockwell-Kent-1.jpg Rockwell Kent at the Ariel Rios Federal Building Washington D C Date 1937; dimensions 7' x 13' 6 Photographed as part of an assignment for the General Services Administration Title date and keywords from information provided by the photographer Credit line Photographs in the Carol M Highsmith Archive Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Gift; Carol M Highsmith; 2009; DLC/PP-2009 083 Forms part of Photographs in the Carol M Highsmith Archive Mural information from the http //m gsa gov/m/vpb/01028/art_10 html General Services Administration <br> Depicting mail delivery to the island of Puerto Rico Mail Service in the Tropics is notable for its rhythmic figures and bold colors However when the mural was unveiled public response did not focus on the technical merits of the mural but on the text of the letter that the postman delivers to the four women Relying on his familiarity with Alaskan culture Kent painted text in the little-known Kuskokwim dialect creating a fictional message sent from Alaska to Puerto Rico Translated it reads To the people of Puerto Rico our friends Go ahead let us change chiefs That alone can make us equal and free The implication of revolutionary sentiments angered groups of both American and Alaskan viewers In Puerto Rico some viewers objected to the inclusion of only dark-skinned figures These negative reactions led to an extended public debate that ultimately was left unresolved see Revolution and Race below <br><br>Revolution and Race<br>Rockwell Kent made his first trip to Puerto Rico in July of 1936 while conducting research for Mail Service in the Tropics There he encountered and was distressed by scenes of great poverty especially among those of African descent At this time the Nationalist Party repeatedly clashed with political leaders including the U S -appointed governor culminating in the March 1937 Ponce Massacre during which Puerto Rican police killed approximately twenty and wounded over 100 peaceful Nationalist parade-goers Due to his political and humanitarian sympathies with the Puerto Rican people Kent chose to depict the dark skinned Puerto Ricans that he encountered during his visit and to embed in his mural a message of political solidarity <br>In September of 1937 newspaper reporter Ruby Black a friend of Kent's who had worked in Puerto Rico published a translation of the text which was confirmed by another friend of Kent's Arctic explorer and ethnologist Vilhjalmur Stefansson Heated reactions ensued from individuals who interpreted Kent's inscription as inciting revolution The New York Times called the murals insurrectionary propaganda albeit ineffective; Rep Anthony J Dimond of Alaska wrote to Postmaster General James A Farley objecting to the misrepresentation of Alaskan sentiments The natives of the Kuskokwim like other residents of Alaska are loyal and devoted citizens of the United States and they have no more intention of making war against the Government of the United States than you and I have <br>Stefansson responded directly to Dimond noting that the text did not call for violent revolution merely a change of power Black also defended the text writing if a great country like America could not tolerate on her walls a mild expression in favor of liberty Puerto Ricans were all the more right in wishing to have their independence Kent for his part argued that the aspiration communicated in the letter the burning desire for independence was an essentially American one <br>Nonetheless Kent offered to replace the text with May you persevere and win that freedom and equality in which lies the promise of happiness W E Reynolds director of procurement for the Section of Fine Arts countered with To commemorate the far-flung front of the United States Postal Service But Kent refused this alteration insisting on retaining a message of liberty and independence <br>Puerto Rican officials while remaining quiet on the Kuskokwim text objected to Kent's inclusion of only dark-skinned men women and children Santiago Iglesias resident commissioner of Puerto Rico wrote that the picture did not represent the country or its culture referring to it as perverse propaganda against our country; Rafael MartÃnez Nadal president of the Puerto Rican Senate called the mural an insult due to its depiction of a bunch of half-naked African bushmen; the mayor of Ponce Puerto Rico described the subjects as unkempt and uncultured In response to this barrage of racist criticisms Kent offered provocatively to revise the panel free of charge to include portraits of members of the Puerto Rican Senate including Nadal himself if he would agree to model for Kent <br>In August of 1938 Puerto Rican governor Blanton Winship requested 3 000 from the Puerto Rican government to remove the Kent mural from the U S Post Office Department building stating that it is in bad taste and conveys a false impression of conditions in this beautiful island Kent assured Ruby Black that the NAACP the United American Artists and the Artists Congress would respond which they did charging censorship In the end the mural has remained unchanged Kent wrote about the incident My simple little trick has given the Nationalist movement more front-page publicity than was accorded to the Ponce Massacre Today the mural continues to testify to the artistic and political passions of Rockwell Kent as well as to a politically and racially charged moment in the history of the United States and Puerto Rico LOC-image highsm 24934 Creator Carol M Highsmith 2011-09 PD-Highsmith Ariel Rios Federal Building mural photographs by Carol M Highsmith Rockwell Kent | ||||
