A New Deal For Art
Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal focused on revitalizing and securing the frail American economy by providing work, but the project also made sure to help starving artists by promoting American art and culture. These projects allowed Americans across the country to feel unified under one American culture, visualize others’ experiences, and most of all, realize that they are not alone.
Unemployment was close to 25% by the beginning of the 1934, and as the New Deal began to create work-relief programs, many artists questioned whether they would benefit as well. After all, many artists were self-employed and relied on commissions. However, Harry Hopkins, who was in charge of work relief, exclaimed that “Hell, they’ve [artists] got to eat just like other people!” This launched the Public Works of Art Project (PWAP) which hired artists across the country to produce murals and paintings for government buildings. Later on, the Works Project Administration (WPA) created programs, such as the Writer’s Project, that also helped support young artists. The WPA supported individuals such as Mark Rothko and Jackson Pollock, who would later go on to become household names in the world of art.
Although most art produced by these artists weren’t too groundbreaking, they documented American life such as landscapes, industrial scenes, mills, and sunsets. Additionally, many works of art were used to extol Roosevelt’s political virtues, while others commented on social issues. The art produced allowed individuals to rediscover America, celebrate communities, and promote their own activism. For example, many muralists painted scenes of local history, writers recorded traditional folklore, and playwrights wrote plays celebrating American life. Administration called this type of art as focusing on “American Stuff”, meaning that this government sponsored art promoted a sense of national identity even as social classes were so divided amongst one another. Some artists even depicted workers employed in government programs in an effort to show the daily life of many Americans and how they faced life with a quiet dignity. Politically charged pieces often sympathized with the labor movement and were more famously left wing. These pieces were used to expose capitalism and promote social change. Art was also seen as “useful” as many artists took it upon themselves to reach out to many Americans in the form of classes, children’s books, handcrafts, and illustrations.
Through the Great Depression, we can see that art has always been an important aspect of American life and has been at the forefront of change. Whether used to unify the American people or to discuss perspectives, art is invigorating and allows individuals to see the world with a different depth.
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I think something that's very interesting is the wide variety of art that was being produced during this period. While some of the most famous pieces of the time are uplifting and beautiful pieces with messages of hope, many people did just as well expressing the relatable difficulty to find work and support your family that everyone was going through. Some people appreciated finding true to life artwork surrounding them more than they liked the images of hope they could get elsewhere. Pictures also made a huge rise showing the faces and emotions of the Depression. One of the most famous pictures, 'Migrant Mother', about a mother a her kids, remains a stunning symbol of the era even today. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/roadshow/stories/articles/2014/4/14/migrant-mother-dorothea-lange/ I think the wide range of self-expression accurately represents the many varying reactions to how the Depression affected people. Some retained hope for a better future, while other people preferred to be realistic and think of things as they were.
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ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed learning about the effects of the New Deal on artists, as we generally focus on either farmers or industrial workers. I hadn't heard of the Writer’s Project before thought very interesting that FDR and his administration thought to include artists in the New Deal (rather than training them for a different vocation). While we talked a little about the evolution of jazz to swing jazz during the Great Depression, the following website goes into more detail about both the art of music and painting during the 1930's: http://depts.washington.edu/depress/culture_arts.shtml
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