social realism (american)_final
TRANSCRIPT
Kristen Simpson
Maggie Phillips
Sarah Messer
Social Realism (American)
1920s-1940sArt with social
commentaryEveryday Americans
Social Realism
Reactions
Positive Negative
Made Americans face harsh realities
Sometimes offended those pictured
Helped America through the Great Depression
Misunderstood, underappreciated, considered ugly
*More positive reactions to Regionalism (happier, proud, hardworking Americans) than to American Scene painting, photography & other commentary focused works, although all considered Social Realism
Ashcan SchoolArtists often traveled to
France to studyArtists often left-wing
& politically activeMexican MuralistsGreat DepressionNew Deal Federal Art
ProjectRegionalism/Second
WaveNewspaper Muckrakers
Context & Influences
Detr
oit
In
du
stry
, R
ivera
193
33
Cli
ff D
well
ers
, B
ell
ow
s 1913
Important Artists
Lithuanian immigrant > NYC
Worked with Diego RiveraPolitically active, social
commentaryTrademark jagged nervous
lines
Ben Shahn
The Passion of Sacco & Vanzetti, c. 1932
Martin Luther King Jr. Lithograph, c. 1965
Born on Midwest farm
Regionalism
Art was easy to understand & relate to
PatrioticPopular
during lifetime
Grant Wood
American Gothic, c. 1930 Woman with Plants, c. 1929
Missouri nativeRegionalismPainted murals, farm landscapes & hardworking
MidwesternersMentor to Jackson PolluckCombined modern & traditional art principlesStrong, unapologetic style & personality
Thomas Hart Benton
American Historical Epic c. 1928
Photographer Interest grew – Great
DepressionFarm Security AdministrationReports of all lifeEstablish migrant campsGet subjects helpInternment camps
Dorothea Lange
Art Analysis
Dorothea Lange
Migrant Mother
Florence Owens Thompson
Migrant Mother
Contrast of European Gothic Architecture and American Farmhouse
Staged the perfect American farm couple
American Gothic
Won 3rd place at an Art Show
American Gothic became an American Icon
Wood gained recognition from this painting
American Gothic
Ben Shahn, c. 1932Inspired by case of 2 executed Italian-
Americans accused of armed robberyEvidence distorted & destroyed by stateSentenced & electrocuted anyway
The Passion of Sacco & Vanzetti
Depicts protestors, lawyers, & judgesRacism, corruption of the judicial systemComparisons to ChristTheme of martyrdom & injustice
The Passion of Sacco & Vanzetti
Other Prominent Artists
Painter/printmakerSatireStudio in Boston
slumsThemes of political
corruptionCriticized by Pres.
EisenhowerPope was a fan,
“always welcome in the Vatican Museum”
Jack Levine
Election Night, c. 1969
Painter from KansasRural MidwestImportant in RegionalismGenerally conservative in
political contentObserved & captured what he
saw, accidentally controversial
Popular amoung Americans, but not as much with native Kansans, who often thought they were being made fun of
John Steuart Curry
Comedy, c. 1934
Important Farm Security Administration photographer
Goal to make photographs "literate, authoritative, transcendent“
Works were icons of the misery & poverty during the Great Depression
Walker Evans
Alabama Tenant Farmer, c. 1936
Painter“Dynamic
Cubism”Focused on
exposing African American struggles
Trademark lively, decorative masks
Harlem NYC
Jacob Lawrence
Migration Series, Panel 1, c. 1940-41
Cartoonist/ painter/ lithographer/ muralist
Focused on human tragedy caused by injustice
Involved in Communist movement
William Gropper Youngstown Strike, c. 1937
Search for truthReality TVMotivated social changeArt should be about expressing one’s
surroundings, NOT abstract ideasArt should be easy to understand by
the public“Art as a weapon”
So what?