American Art During The Great Depression - 723 Words

American Art during the Great Depression and before World War II sought to rebrand and rebuild a broken and desperate nation. In colonies around the country, artists banded together to study and support one another, and U.S. government programs of the WPA, FAP, and FSA provided opportunities for artists to create public works on a scale never seen before in this country. Like the LDS Church Welfare program begun at the same time, these art initiatives revived the individual’s dignity in the form of opportunity. The public, too, wanted new art that reflected the turmoil of the country. The nation was hurting, and from this crucible of suffering emerged a body of artwork that documented the common man and woman—rural and urban, North and South, the haves and the have-nots. Distinct from the romanticized landscapes of the frontier and portraits of wealthy Easterners that proceeded the period, this was art that mattered: it was aimed squarely to uplift and ennoble a battere d public. One of the WPA-era artists of distinction, whose award-winning paintings and prints were exhibited at the Art Institute of Chicago, Corcoran Gallery, New York World’s Fair, Whitney Museum of American Art, and in galleries in New York, Washington, D.C., St. Louis, San Francisco, and is now in the permanent collections of the National Gallery, the Smithsonian, Carnegie Museum of Art, and St. Louis Art Museum, among others, is Joseph Paul Vorst. He was born in Essen, Germany in 1897, the son of aShow MoreRelatedCultural And Social Aspects Of The Great Depression1073 Words   |  5 Pagespast. This iconic period in American history, known as the Great Depression, truly did change the cultural and social aspects of the United States. In the Great Depression, pop culture provided an outlet for the millions of deprived unemployed Americans. Men commonly fled their homes and families out of shame of their inability to find work, leaving it up to their wives to find jobs and take care of the children. The Great Depression was a hard time for many Americans, but influenced many aspectsRead MoreAmerican Art Before and After World War Ii729 Words   |  3 PagesAmerican Art before and after World War II Marty Rieth ARTS/125 June 27, 2016 Sarah Baer American Art before and after World War II The objective for the following paper is to discuss issues concerning American art before and after World War II. The discussion will include an examination of the artwork of three artists. Two artists will have worked during the Great Depression and one artist will have been an Abstract Expressionist. In discussing the artists’ work, a description ofRead MoreDorothea Lange And The Farm Security Agency Essay1258 Words   |  6 Pagesphotographic program of the Farm Security Administration, embarked on a nationwide quest to document, collect and create a pictorial record of American life during the 1930s and 1940s. Spanning all fifty states, the photographers produced more than 175,000 black and white negatives, crafting one of the most immense and important photographic compositions in American history. Created by the federal government, the photography project spanned several government agencies, from the Resettlement AdministrationRead MoreThe Great Depression Through Th e Artist s Eyes1508 Words   |  7 Pagesthe Western industrialized countries succumbed to a bleak period of time known as the Great Depression. This economic collapse, which persisted for ten long years, was preempted by the stock market crash on Wall Street, buying on credit, supply and demand along with the Dust Bowl of the Great Plains. During this economic state of crisis, the unemployment rate had risen from 3% to 25%, almost 13 million Americans were jobless. Many people could not pay their rent or mortgages. People were evictedRead MoreThe Migration Series Analysis1147 Words   |  5 Pages During the Great Depression, millions of African Americans decided to travel into the unknown. They ventured North, where they sought better employment and living conditions, as well as an escape from Jim Crow laws and other forms of institutional racism. In his paintings depicting the Great Migration, Jacob Lawrence captures a feeling of hope and ambiguity as a family pulls into an urban landscape on a train. During the Great Depression, President Franklin Roosevelt successfully passed the NewRead MoreHumanity Will Prevail Society always has its ups and downs; however, when we begin to spiral down600 Words   |  3 Pagesstrive to succeed. Tim Robbins’ film, Cradle Will Rock, exploits how humans during the greatest conflicts over the world. The Great Depression and World War II were able to gain exposure to the arts, be strong willed and creative in a time where all hope seemed to be lost. The Great Depression brought upon programs that were supposed to stimulate the economy, give people jobs and increase the overall peace of mind in American society. One of the programs that did this was the Federal Theater ProjectRead MoreEssay on Modernism at Its Finest in Literature756 Words   |  4 Pagesliterature and art became a larger part of society and impacted more American lives than ever before. During the American modernism period of literature, authors, artists, and poets strived to create pieces of literature and art that challenged American traditions and tried to reinvent it, used new ways of communication, such as the telephone and cinema, to demonstrate the new modern social norms, and express the pain and suffering of the First World War. With new modernist American literature,Read MoreDorothea Lange s Portrait Of Beauty And Creativity1169 Words   |  5 Pages Although art is often characterized as works of beauty and creativity, Dorothea Lange proved that her art is authenticity as she depicted the Great Depression of the 30s and the Japanese Internment of the 40s without filters; moreover, Lange s photographs embodies the failure of the American ideal in periods of poverty, dejection and discrimination. Lange s family inspired her later career in photography by exposing her to endless possibilities of creativity. After studying at Columbia UniversityRead MoreThe Harlem Renaissance850 Words   |  4 Pagesexpress themselves. The Great Migration was the movement of six million African Americans from the rural South to the cities of the North during 1916 to 1970. Driven from their homes by unsatisfactory economic opportunities and harsh segregationist laws, many African Americans headed north in search for a better future. Due to the aftermath of World War One , it brought many African Americans into the thriving New York City. Moreover, during the early 1920s the African Americans developed their own cultureRead MoreThe Great Depression And World War II955 Words   |  4 PagesIn America, the period between the Great Depression and World War II was rife with uncertainty. The struggles of the Great Depression were over, but their lasting effects shed doubt on America’s future . Persephone, was an attempt by Thomas Hart Benton in 1939 to cement regionalism as the official American art style during this era. However, despite his attempt to promote hope in America’s future, while still acknowledging the despair of the Great Depression, Persephone was regarded as obscene. Regionalism