Social Realism
What is Social Realism? The Social Realist political movement and artistic explorations flourished primarily during the 1930s, a time of global economic depression Two defining events of the 1930s, the Great depression and the rise of Fascism in Europe, prompted many American artists to turn away from abstract art and to adopt realistic styles of painting Social Realists built on the legacies of Gustave Courbet and Francisco Goya in their politically charged and radical social critiques. With the lingering effects of the Great Depression of 1929, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's Works Progress Administration (WPA) provided many struggling artists with patronage, a sense of community, and the mandate to paint realistically. Social Realists joined together to publish magazines, organize unions, and publicly agitate for the importance of their revolutionary work, the role of the artist within society, and radical anti-capitalistic change for America. https://youtu.be/se8oogz-rs8 Stop at 1:50
Characteristics While there was a variety of styles and subjects within Social Realism, the artists were united in their attack on the status quo and social power structure. Social Realists envisioned themselves to be workers and laborers, similar to those who toiled in the fields and factories. Often clad in overalls to symbolize unity with the working classes, the artists believed they were critical members of the whole of society, rather than elites living on the margins and working for the upper crust. focused on the human figure and human condition.
Class Activity Is it Social Realist?
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Artists William Gropper Dorothea Lange Edward Hopper
William Gropper (1897-1977) Known for his expressive paintings of American life and satirical cartoons of politicians Forced to testify because of accused use of Communist ideas in painting America: Its Folklore "I began to realize that you don't paint with color, you paint with conviction, freedom, love, and heart-aches, with what you have.
Dorothea Lange (1895-1965) Was a photographer whose portraits of displaced farmers during the Great Depression greatly influenced later documentary photography Her photographs of migrant workers were often presented with captions featuring the words of the workers themselves
Edward Hopper(1882-1967) He studied with William Merritt Chase, a leading American Impressionist painter, and with Robert Henri, who exhorted his students to paint the everyday conditions of their own world in a realistic manner Widely acknowledged as the most important realist painter of twentieth-century America His work demonstrates that realism is not merely a literal or photographic copying of what we see, but an interpretive rendering
Nighthawks By Edward Hopper 1942 84.1 152.4 cm (33 1/8 60 in.) Oil on Canvas https://youtu.be/7j5putrcnx4
Migrant Mother By Dorothea lange This Picture has become an icon of the Great Depression She wanted to capture the suffering she was seeing around her that was caused by the Great depression and the dust bowl. Part of a series of 6 pictures
Youngstown Strike By William Gropper this painting depicts not the 1937 strike, but rather a similar incident that occurred in an early 1916 steel strike in Youngstown. This reflects the long-term commitment of Gropper, and of many other artists of the Great Depression, to depict past incidents that could logically serve to illustrate primary causal forces for the social disruptions of the 1950s. The movements of the excited figures appear artificial, yet it is by the use of such rhetorical gestures that Gropper could best express his outrage. At the same time, the figural organization, the strong colors, the body gestures and facial expressions, the powerfully bright light, contrasting with the almost black background,, effectively echoing the suffering and desperation of the period. Youngstown Strike is a powerful work that forcefully communicates the mood of despair which so characterized the Great Depression.