The Art during Great Depression

 

    The Great Depression taught us many things in history. It happened across Europe and Spain and hit hard in the US. The American people experienced poverty, the economy went down, and people lost their jobs and became homeless. Different kinds of art styles emerged during this time. The artworks artists made inspired them because of the Great Depression. Some artists use these artworks to help implement social change. Other artists around the time have also created artwork so they can be heard about their hardships and situations. However, some artworks tell a story of how they were able to bounce back and recover from adversity which helped boost the citizen's morale.

            

Ben Shahn, Jersey Homesteads Mural 1936-38, Roosevelt Public School (Right Panel)  

Ben Shahn, Jersey Homesteads Mural 1936-38, Roosevelt Public School (Left Panel)

    Let's take a look at one of the paintings that inspired the Great Depression. It is the mural that Ben Shann painted in the 1930s. This piece is located inside a public school in New Jersey. Ben Shan created this artwork to tell a story about the effects of the Great Depression and to show people's social problems during that time. Social Realism dramatically inspires his works. Social Realism is the representation of social and economic issues through art, music, and photography that helps people be aware of current events. Social Realist artists used art as a weapon to fight against the exploitation of labor (The Art Story). This piece shows the workers' social issues in making ends meet. He used warm colors in this painting. I see a lot of colors of blue and orange, Red and green. Shan is very detailed in this painting, even though it's mostly people with their respective events that are happening during that time. He used some shades to highlight the color. The architecture was utilized by changing the perspective to change scenes to portray the lives of the immigrants. This expansive and detailed mural tells Shahn's commitment to improve the human condition through narrative storytelling and his incredible skill at creating complex compositions.

          Philip Evergood,  An American Tragedy, 1937, Oil on Canvas,  Private Collection

   This is another artwork that talks about social realism. It is a painting by Philip Evergood called "An American Tragedy." Evergood is also an activist and used art to depict awareness of social injustice. He advocated for the civil rights of artists, especially when there was a budget cut and layoffs from the Federal Art Project. It shows people rioting against the policeman because of struggles of oppression during the Great Depression. It is a chaotic scene in which the artists use different lines to draw the characters in this piece. I like how he used rich colors to depict the tumultuous scene and is consistent with the color choices, like the striking blue color of the police officers to show colors of authority. Today we can see and even feel this tragic event by just looking at this painting.

  

Seymour Fogel, The Wealth of the Nation 1938, Wilbur J. Cohen Federal Building

   Not all artworks depict people's oppression and misery during the Great Depression. This is a painting that Seymour Fogel makes. He was one of the artists that worked for the Federal Art Project. A program that the government made to help fund artworks like murals and paintings. It brought attention to the public of real-life events happening in America and also helped provide jobs to artists during the Great Depression. Fogel was inspired to make this painting based on Franklin Roosevelt's quote, "In our personal ambitions, we are individualists. But in seeking economic and political progress as a nation, we all go up or down as one people." This painting helps inspire and motivate the people that in order for us to thrive, we must all work together. Fogel didn't use a lot of colors in this painting. Instead, he used lighter shades to blend the color. It is realistic because it happens in our daily lives. It is also simple but does create a deep meaning behind it. I like how Seymour used this artwork to bring awareness to the public that the economy would eventually bounce back from adversity.

   Overall, Art has dramatically influenced the history of the Great Depression. Artists began addressing politics and using their Art to influence society. Artworks, whether it depicts negative or positive effects, both teach us a lesson. I became more appreciative of what we have in this generation because of the resources that are readily available to the public and the wide variety of jobs that are more accessible than before. The Great Depression taught us how the economy's downfall could significantly impact the people.

Works Cited 

“Social Realism Movement Overview.” The Art Story, https://www.theartstory.org/movement/social-realism/.

“Shahn's Jersey Homesteads Mural | Graphic Arts.” Princeton University, The Trustees of Princeton University, https://graphicarts.princeton.edu/2018/07/31/shahns-jersey-homesteads-mural/.

“Cohen Federal Building: Fogel Murals - Washington DC.” Living New Deal, 18 Mar. 2021, https://livingnewdeal.org/projects/wilbur-j-cohen-building-fogel-murals-washington-dc/.

“An American Tragedy (1937).” Art Through the Third Eye, 27 Sept. 2018, https://blog.mcdaniel.edu/thirdeyeart/2018/09/27/an-american-tragedy-1937/.