Glenn Beck Rewrites Art History

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Welp, he’s done it again. Glenn Beck went loose cannon on FOX News yesterday morning, and this time his irrational ire is aimed at NBC’s Rockefeller Plaza. According to Mr. Beck, whom we seem to remember from our art history days at the Sorbonne, the 1937 intaglio carvings on the limestone facade of 1 Rockefeller Plaza are actually Communist art. He also accuses Rockefeller (not sure which Rockefeller, but does it matter?) of sympathizing with Communists, supporting Fascism, and hating America. The best parts come at 1:48 when Beck analyzes another insidious mural on 636 Fifth Avenue (Attilio Piccirilli’s Youth Leading Industry from 1936) and at 6:10 when he pantomimes how a “crazy journalist” called out a Diego Rivera sculpture formerly housed in 30 Rock. We’re relieved to know what “propaganda” we’re unwittingly ingesting every day.

Related: Art critic Jerry Saltz throws down the gauntlet on Modern Art Notes.