In Chapter 3 of her book Langa looks at 1930s prints of labor-related images as part of her larger project of offering a more nuanced reading of 1930s prints as active social documents on which the multiple and contradictory forces shaping America at the time found a visual outlet. She thus places these images within a larger socio-historical context to expand our understanding of what she prefers to call “social viewpoint, ” as opposed to “social realist,” prints by looking at them as multidimensional cultural artifacts. Her analysis is, therefore, informed by extensive research into the lives and/or politics of the artists who created the images included in the chapter, the social, political, and art historical milieu in which they were producing their works, and, ultimately, the reception(s) or potential reception(s) of the works by the different social groups and ideologies shaping the nation during the Depression years. After all, Langa argues, it was the particularity of this moment in American history that brought a working-class consciousness to many of the artists and, therefore, an interest in leftist politics and in labor-related themes previously ignored in mainstream American art. On that note, Langa's project in this chapter is to immerse her selection of labor-related prints in their socio-historical and ideological contexts to both underscore their visual importance and explore their role in the creation and shaping of labor discourses in the 1930s. Throughout the book, Langa is also interested in placing these prints within an art historical context while attempting to provide the reader with a sense of the social dynamics at play in the America of the 1930s. To that end, she offers a short art-historical revie... ... middle of paper ... ...nts of the 1930s. Excluded from the high-testosterone, hyper-masculine depictions that celebrated the male worker as the ultimate icon in labor-related artwork during the Depression, working women were largely ignored in social viewpoint prints. With the exception of garment and textile workers as symbols of exploitation and weakness, few images presented women as active and powerful members of the labor force, even less as revolutionary agents in themselves. Langa's own level of inclusiveness in this chapter offers an important account of what has been popularly known as social realist art in America at a time when the country found itself looking for answers to its economic and social crisis. By carefully linking art to its social and political context, she successfully enriches her narrative and our understanding of the works of art discussed in the chapter.
The Great Depression was one of the hardest eras America has ever had to face. It tore families apart, leaving them with nothing but despair. Wood and Shahn use their pictures, American Gothic and Rural Rehabilitation Client, to depict this feeling of anguish. American Gothic displays the anxiety of those who experienced the first ripples of the Depression and Rural Rehabilitation Client shows the sheer desperation of those who lived during the worst days of the Depression. Through these two works of art, the feelings of hope and hopelessness are powerfully represented.
Chants Democratic, by Sean Wilentz examined the emergence of New York’s labor class during the Jacksonian era and in essence revealed Artisan Republicanism. Wilentz offered a unique perspective in his historical analysis of the social and political labor histories during 1788 through 1850. Wilentz stressed the importance of the republicanism ideology in the creation of a working class that was instrumental in a pre-industrial New York. The author stressed the significance in both the political histories and social histories of the early nineteenth century by incorporating political ideologies and labor union descriptions. He further integrated these insights by means of articulating the social working conditions and lives of small masters, journeymen, and artisans to show their respective importance to the creation of the working class scruples. Chants Democratic iterated not only on the formation of the labor class in America, but also illuminated the changes within this new social class by exploring how antebellum New York’s population began to live and think.
Tischler, Steven. "The Manly Art (Book)." Labor History 28.4 (1987): 562. America: History and Life with Full Text. Web. 4 May 2014.
Yellin, Samuel. American Labor Struggles New York: Harcourt, Brace and Co. 1936; Reprinted New York: Arno Press, 1970.
..., 1820-1865. Columbia Studies in American Culture Series (New York: Columbia University Press, 1942): 13-14.
... after nine at night, but in those days [we] ... did not think of our day in terms of hours. We liked our work, we were proud to do it well, and I am afraid that we were very, very happy.” The 1930s were a time of struggle and sadness. However, American citizens continued to work and search for the happiness they once knew. Although the Great Depression stretched through the 1930s, putting a damper on the economy and liveliness of the nation, the decade cannot be solely defined by it. Art and photos illustrate the decade’s sentiments, while acts of society and architecture reveal much more regarding a common citizen's lifestyle. A tragic photo, a vast-spread psychological struggle, and a famous building, are all examples of artifacts taken from the 1930s that have changed, they way we perceive our country, the American way of living, and America’s skyline forever.
Ware, Susan. "Women and the Great Depression." The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2014.
World War II affected the workforce of men and women in different ways, men were drafted to war while women took their place in factories and workyards. Patriotism influenced women into working while the men were at war. Once at work, women were convinced to go to work by the economic incentives, the women learned about the nonmaterial benefits that come with working such as learning new skills, contributing to the public good, and proving that women can do the jobs meant for men just as good as the men could do the work (1940s.org). Women in the 1940s were hesitant to join the workforce, that was until Norman Rockwell’s fictional character “Rosie the Riveter” inspired multiple women to join the workforce to help dedicate their services to the war. The creation of “Rosie the Riveter”lead to, many other images of “Rosie” to help bring forth volunteers for the
Though most works of art have some underlying, deeper meaning attached to them, our first impression of their significance comes through our initial visual interpretation. When we first view a painting or a statue or other piece of art, we notice first the visual details – its size, its medium, its color, and its condition, for example – before we begin to ponder its greater significance. Indeed, these visual clues are just as important as any other interpretation or meaning of a work, for they allow us to understand just what that deeper meaning is. The expression on a statue’s face tells us the emotion and message that the artist is trying to convey. Its color, too, can provide clues: darker or lighter colors can play a role in how we judge a piece of art. The type of lines used in a piece can send different messages. A sculpture, for example, may have been carved with hard, rough lines or it may have been carved with smoother, more flowing lines that portray a kind of gentleness.
Two of the most well-known photographs taken by the agency, also which are used in several American history textbooks are icons of the Depression Era. Both symboliz...
After the 1940 surrender of Paris, which many Americans viewed as the fall of culture due to Paris’ status as the international mecca for the arts, it was evident that the world required a new and superior cultural hub. Throughout the 1940s American artists, with the influence of European Modern and Surrealist painters, were able to elevate New York City to the center of the art world by implementing a “new, strong, and original” artistic style that simultaneously fought fascist ideology: Abstract Expressionism (Guilbault 65). After the war, galleries throughout Europe exhibited American Abstract art, Rothko’s in particular, to prove that American art, once thought tasteless, possessed artistic depth and merit (“Mark Rothko”). Therefore, Abstract Expression had a major role in making New York City the worldwide cultural metropolis that it is today. In terms of shifts in worldview, Abstract Expressionism placed a great importance on intense emotion and spirituality in a society where religiousness was, and continues to be, replaced by other, often self-centered or materialistic, pursuits. The movement allowed and encouraged the public to explore their darkest fears and woes, which, in the wake of the Second World War and, later on, during the Cold War was likely therapeutic. Above all else, it made society recognize that art should no longer be viewed with suspicion; instead, it should be accepted as an integral element of culture
Montgomery, David. The Fall of the House of Labor: The Workplace, the State, and American Labor Activism, 1865-1925. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1987.
Images of women throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries have both shaped women’s outlook on their lives in the workplace, at home, and in politics, and have also encouraged change for them as individuals. While often times women are seen as weak individuals that have minor influence on society, artistic evaluations and various writings throughout history have successfully proved otherwise.
Harvey, Eleanor. The Civil War and American Art: A Ride for Liberty?. Eye Level: Smithsonian American Art Museum, 21 February 2013. Web. 30 October 2013.
During the Great War and the huge amount of men that were deployed created the need to employ women in hospitals, factories, and offices. When the war ended the women would return home or do more traditional jobs such as teaching or shop work. “Also in the 1920s the number of women working raised by fifty percent.” They usually didn’t work if they were married because they were still sticking to the role of being stay at home moms while the husband worked and took care of the family financially. But among the single women there was a huge increase in employment. “Women were still not getting payed near as equally as men and were expected to quit their jobs if they married or pregnant.” Although women were still not getting payed as equally it was still a huge change for the women's