Separation Anxiety, by Diana Stein
homage to Migrant Mother, by Dorothea Lange
The focus of this
posting is on Social Realism and The Works Progress Act. This historical
period and artistic style of expression is relevant because of the narratives
shared, and the importance of celebrating freedom of speech in artistic
expression. Artists have a unique responsibility to the viewing public to document our
cumulative life experience. Our dreams are built on hope, our emotions are
connected through compassion, and our art elevates our devotion to the human
cause. Artistic narratives completed in paint, photography, sculpture, and
poetry pontificate that the values and beliefs of the artists who expressed
these emotions were not always aligned with the aims of the commissioned
themes.
The Works Progress
Administration (later called the Works Projects Administration, WPA) was the
largest New Deal agency and was designed to provide work to the unemployed.
During its years of operation, the government-funded Federal Art Project of the
WPA hired hundreds of artists who collectively created more than 100,000 paintings
and murals and over 18,000 sculptures. The Project was part of President
Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal during the Great Depression (1929-1943).
· Many of the artists employed under the WPA are associated with Social Realism.
· Social Realism became an important art movement during the Great Depression in the United States in the 1930’s.
· Many artists who subscribed to Social Realism were painters with socialist (but not necessarily Marxist) political views.
· The movement therefore has some commonalities with the Socialist Realism used in the Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc,
but the two are not identical.
· Social Realism is not an official art, and allows space for subjectivity.
· Many of the artists employed under the WPA are associated with Social Realism.
· Social Realism became an important art movement during the Great Depression in the United States in the 1930’s.
· Many artists who subscribed to Social Realism were painters with socialist (but not necessarily Marxist) political views.
· The movement therefore has some commonalities with the Socialist Realism used in the Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc,
but the two are not identical.
· Social Realism is not an official art, and allows space for subjectivity.
Included within the study with hans-on activities are works completed by:
Ashile Gorky
John Augustus Walker
Dorothea Lange
George Segal
Maxine Albro
John Augustus Walker
Dorothea Lange
George Segal
Maxine Albro
Thomas Hart Benton
About Social Realism
What is Social Realism? According to “Social
Realism Socially Conscious Painting Movement In America During Depression” (2015),
In modern art, the phrase “Social Realism” is traditionally associated with interwar American art, which commented on social, economic and political conditions prevailing during the Depression era. Embodied in the work of Ben Shahn (1898-1969), American Social Realism was one of two modern art movements with a left-wing character – the other being Soviet-inspired Socialist Realism. It evolved out of the earlier Ashcan urban art movement, led by Robert Henri (1865-1929). More importantly, it was reinforced by the Federal Art Project (1935-43), a WPA state-sponsored program of public art, which promoted the role of the artist within society. At its peak, the Federal Art Project employed over five thousand modern artists involved in poster art and printmaking as well as crafts and painting. Decoration of public buildings was an integral part of the program, and it also involved an Index of American Design, a vast written record of decorative art in America. Other realist movements of the interwar years included American Scene Painting and its offshoot Regionalism.
In modern art, the phrase “Social Realism” is traditionally associated with interwar American art, which commented on social, economic and political conditions prevailing during the Depression era. Embodied in the work of Ben Shahn (1898-1969), American Social Realism was one of two modern art movements with a left-wing character – the other being Soviet-inspired Socialist Realism. It evolved out of the earlier Ashcan urban art movement, led by Robert Henri (1865-1929). More importantly, it was reinforced by the Federal Art Project (1935-43), a WPA state-sponsored program of public art, which promoted the role of the artist within society. At its peak, the Federal Art Project employed over five thousand modern artists involved in poster art and printmaking as well as crafts and painting. Decoration of public buildings was an integral part of the program, and it also involved an Index of American Design, a vast written record of decorative art in America. Other realist movements of the interwar years included American Scene Painting and its offshoot Regionalism.
On May 6, 1933 President Franklin D.
Roosevelt signed an executive order creating the Works Progress Administration
(WPA). The WPA was
just one of many Great Depression relief programs created under the
auspices of the Emergency Relief Appropriations Act, which Roosevelt had signed
the month before. The WPA and other federal assistance programs put unemployed
Americans to work in return for temporary financial assistance. Out of the
10 million jobless men in the United States in 1935, 3 million were
helped by WPA jobs alone. ("Federal Art Project Of The Works Progress
Administration", 2015)
“Breadline” close up of sculpture by George Segal in the FDR Memorial in
Washington, DC. ("The Great
Depression Videos: FDR: A Voice Of Hope", 2015)
Follow these links to build interest and connect with
background knowledge:
The Ballad of Roosevelt (3 min) TV-14
Danny Glover performs a Langston Hughes poem inspired by
unfulfilled promises to the poor.
FDR: A Voice of Hope (5 min) TV-PG
Elected in 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt was a reassuring
presence for many Americans through the trials of the Great Depression. http://www.history.com/topics/great-depression/videos
• “Of all of Roosevelt’s New Deal
programs, the WPA was the most famous because it affected so many people’s
lives. The WPA was
the largest New Deal agency and was designed to provide work to the unemployed.
Roosevelt’s vision of a work relief program employed more than 8.5 million
people. For an average of $41.57 a month, WPA employees built bridges, roads,
public buildings, public parks and airports” ("The Works Progress
Administration", n.d).
• During its years of operation, the
government-funded Federal Art Project of the WPA also hired hundreds of artists
who collectively created more than 100,000 paintings and murals and over 18,000
sculptures. The Project was part of President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal
during the Great Depression (1929-1943).
Conclusion: Art Education as Cultural Practice
Art and artists have the same responsibilities today
that they did during the Great Depression,
and for as long as man has the desire and the will to create art. The relationship between art
and societal values are inseparable if an artist has his or her pulse on current events and the
world in which we all live. As artists, and as art educators, I believe that we have an obligation
to require ourselves and our students to search for deeper messages, and ways to connect with
each other using art as a form of expression and communication. Having said that, I don’t
believe that it is possible for all art that is produced to be “approved of” by all who view it.
Sometimes art is intended to be a vehicle to open dialog. Sometimes it’s designed to create an
experience that will launch further contemplation and richer dialog. At the very least, it should
connect us to the message it is carrying. In these ways it is possible for art to produce the
changes that the dedicated artist strives to produce within a society for the greater good.
and for as long as man has the desire and the will to create art. The relationship between art
and societal values are inseparable if an artist has his or her pulse on current events and the
world in which we all live. As artists, and as art educators, I believe that we have an obligation
to require ourselves and our students to search for deeper messages, and ways to connect with
each other using art as a form of expression and communication. Having said that, I don’t
believe that it is possible for all art that is produced to be “approved of” by all who view it.
Sometimes art is intended to be a vehicle to open dialog. Sometimes it’s designed to create an
experience that will launch further contemplation and richer dialog. At the very least, it should
connect us to the message it is carrying. In these ways it is possible for art to produce the
changes that the dedicated artist strives to produce within a society for the greater good.
References
Anderson, T., & Milbrandt, M. K. (2005). Art for life:
Authentic instruction in art.
Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill.
California Department of
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State
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http://www.cde.ca.gov/re/cc/literacyresources.asp
California
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http://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/thproficient.asp
California Department of
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Instruction for Close Reading in
History/Social Studies. Retrieved from https://www.mydigitalchalkboard.org/portal/default/Content/Viewer/Content?action=2&scId=508656&sciId=18080
Florence Owens Thompson. (2015). Retrieved from
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence_Owens_Thompson
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for Schools Visiting Art Museums
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Levin, G.R. (1999).Art Education as Cultural Practice. Art Journal, 58(1), 16
Tom Anderson,
Melody K. Milbrandt, 2005, para. Chapter 1: Art for Life:
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National Core Arts
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Nelson, L. W. (2015). Coit
Tower & PWAP Murals on Telegraph Hill in San
Francisco. Retrieved
from http://www.inetours.com/Pages/SFNbrhds/Coit_Tower.html
Oxford University
Press. (2015). Constructivism. Retrieved from
http://www.moma.org/collection/details.php?section_id=T019195&theme_id=10
955
Social
realism. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.wikiwand.com/en/Social_realism
Thomas Hart Benton (1889-1975). (2015). Retrieved
from
http://www.artexpertswebsite.com/pages/artists/benton.php
Tintero, G., Mintz Messinger, L.,
& Rosenthal, N. (2007). Abstract Expressionism and
Other Modern
Works: The Muriel Kallis Steinberg Newman Collection in the Metropolitan Museum
of Art . New York, New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Photographic References
Carter, C. (2011). Focus on Value. Retrieved
from https://creativecolor.wordpress.com/tag/color-study/
Dorothea Lange, Migrant
Mother, 1936. A portrait of Florence Owens Thompson (1903-
1983). (2015). Retrieved
from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_realism#mediaviewer/File:Lange-MigrantMother02.jpg
Federal Art Project of The Works Progress
Administration. (2015). Retrieved from
http://www.theartstory.org/org-wpa.htm
Faraut, P.
(2011, May 18). [Video file]. Retrieved from Sculpting Geometric
website:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1tH03sOhkU
Maxine Albro, California (mural), 1934, Coit Tower,
San Francisco. (2015). Retrieved
from_http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_realism#mediaviewer/File:Coit_Mural_Agriculture.jpg
Walker Evans, Floyd Burroughs, Alabama cotton
Sharecropper, Hale County, Alabama,
c. 1935-1936,
photograph. (2015). Retrieved from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_realism#mediaviewer/File:Floyd_Burroughs_sharecropper.jpg
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