Art of the Day Presentation by Connie Shi Period 1 Ms. Tanaka

“City Life” by Victor Arnautoff

Background Information Arnautoff is a artist who painted murals primarily of San Francisco The context for this scene is the 1934 Longshoremen’s Strike During the Great Depression The waterfront worker; sailors, engineers, watertenders, wipers, cooks, pilots etc. are on strike

The city folk in this piece all seem busy with a routinely event they are trying to accomplish and they aren’t paying much attention to their surroundings. Characters :

Woman is wearing fur, which symbolizes wealth Almost everyone is wearing a hat and most their heads are tilted downwards which is conveying the uncertainty amongst them and their future. (The result of the Longshoreman Strike)

The characters on the left side are all well-dressed, marking the importance of their presence

Color : The colors in the painting are medium-dark shades that are slightly faded. The theme of color represents that there is not a definite conclusion for the fate of the people.

The image lacks shades of true black and white. However, the black and white shades are concentrated around the newspapers and the mass of people near the newsstand. Having black and white tones, the newspapers signify honesty and truthfulness. The absence of those colors perceives dishonesty between the individuals, even though they are crowded together as one.

A man steps on a newspaper, which is no longer black and white, signifying that the not all that is published is truthful. He is defying the Press.

There is more contrast between the colors on the left conveying that there are more possibilities for the people who stand on that side. The sky on the right is a murky tan representing hardships.

Light: The street light in the center of the painting is turned on, dousing the police officer, a mother and her child, and part of a worker in the light from it.

Standing in the same light, it shows the individuals aren’t as different as they seem.

The sun is a source of light that seems to be coming from the front view of the painting, given that the shadows cast slightly behind.

Angle : The painting is viewed from the top—above eye level, so the characters are viewed from above. Looking down upon them, they are judged. The painting is viewed from the top—above eye level, so the characters are viewed from above. Looking down upon them, they are judged.

Parts of the characters are hidden by the bodies of other characters, degrading the importance of them as individuals. Rather, they are seen as whole.

. The street in the back is angled upwards and it is empty. This reveals that the path to change is not an easy climb and the goodness they seek is high above and difficult to pursue. Because the lane is empty, few can suspect the correct path is opposite to the one they are pursuing.

Proportion : The streetlight is disproportionally large compared to the rest of the photo. The streetlight is disproportionally large compared to the rest of the photo.

The city-folk avoid looking at the sign that reads: AUTO FERRY to OAKLAND because the Longshoreman’s Strike, that is taking place at that time, closed many of the west coast’s ports. They cannot leave. Therefore, the strikers are crowded up in the opposite direction in relation to the sign as an attempt to contradict it.

Poverty is shown on the right side of the picture and wealth is displayed on the left. The buildings take up almost half of the picture. Many more people are on the left side of the image than the right, perceiving their dependency.

Placement : The police officer is in the middle of the picture, standing out among the rest of the crowd. He is on the right side of the street light the splits the picture in half. The right symbolizes what is right and good. The left is not right and in fact wrong. The police officer holds the phone to his left ear, hinting that the news he receives is unpleasant.

The men who are doing laborious work are separated by the streetlight from the individuals on the left who are wealthy and uninfluenced by the poverty brought to them by the Great Depression, opposed to the right

The crowd is behind the police officer. The police officer is a metaphor for authority and conformity. The people stand behind him but do not acknowledge at him, showing that they are blindly submitting to the order

Setting: The scene of this painting takes place in downtown San Francisco in the early 1930s. The characters are taking part in the Longshoreman’s strike. From the light, the painting seems to be taking place in the late afternoon.

Setting: In the time frame, the Great Depression is occurring, however, the people are dressed well on the right side of the painting which conflicts with the existing poverty in the United States at that time.

Setting: The characters are taking part in the Longshoreman’s strike. From the light, the painting seems to be taking place in the late afternoon.

Character: The city folk in this piece all seem busy with a routinely event they are trying to accomplish and they aren’t paying much attention to their surroundings. Almost everyone is wearing a hat and their heads are tilted downwards which is conveying the uncertainty amongst them and their future (the result of the Longshoreman Strike). The woman in teal in the center of the piece is wearing fur which symbolizes wealth. The characters on the left side are all well-dressed, marking the importance of their presence. Color: The colors in the painting are medium-dark shades that are slightly faded. The theme of color shows that there is not a definite conclusion for the fate of the people. The bottom portion of the painting has a greater range of colors, contrasting between the dark pastels. The image lacks true black and white shades. The existing black and white shades are concentrated around the newspapers and the mass of people near the newsstand. Having black and white tones, the newspapers signify honesty and truthfulness. The absence of those colors perceives dishonesty between the individuals, even though they are crowded together as one. A man on the left steps upon a newspaper and it is no longer black and white. It is signifying that not all that is published is truthful. He is defying the Press. There is a better example of contrast between the colors on the left, conveying that there are more possibilities for the people who stand on that side. The sky on the right is a murky tan that represents hardships. Light: The street light in the center of the painting is turned on, dousing the police officer, a mother and her child, and part of a worker in the light from it. Standing in the same light, it shows that the individuals aren’t as different as they seem. The sun is a source of light that seems to be coming from the front view of the painting, given that the shadows cast slightly behind. The workers on the right are illuminated by the orange glow of the sun illustrating that they still have a chance to cross the border provided by the centerline of the painting which is another light—a streetlight. Crossing the border, they will have better life which lacks the depression on their side. Angle: The painting is viewed from the top—above eye level, so the characters are viewed from above. Looking down upon them, they are judged. Parts of the characters are hidden by the bodies of other characters, degrading the importance of them as individuals. Rather, they are seen as whole. The street in the back is angled upwards and it is empty. This reveals that the path to change is not an easy climb and the goodness they seek is high above and difficult to pursue. Because the lane is empty, few can suspect the correct path is opposite to the one they are pursuing. Proportion: A streetlight is disproportionally large compared to the rest of the photo. The city-folk avoid looking at the sign that reads: AUTO FERRY to OAKLAND because the Longshoreman’s Strike, that is taking place at that time, closed many of the west coast’s ports. They cannot leave. Therefore, the strikers are crowded up in the opposite direction in relation to the sign. In addition, the streetlight divides the picture in half. Poverty is shown on the right side of the picture and wealth is displayed on the left. The buildings take up almost half of the picture. Many more people are on the left side of the image than the right, perceiving their dependency. Placement: The police officer is in the center of the picture, standing out among the rest of the crowd. He is on the right side of the street light the splits the picture in half. The right symbolizes what is right and good. The left is not right and in fact wrong. The police officer holds the phone to his left ear, hinting that the news he receives is unpleasant. The men who do laborious work are separated by the streetlight. The people on the right are affected by the poverty brought to them by the Great Depression. The individuals on the right are wealthy and uninfluenced. The crowd is behind the police officer. The police officer is a metaphor for authority and conformity. The people stand behind him but do not acknowledge at him, showing that they are blindly submitting to the order. The large crowd of people eventually cut off on the left. Setting: The scene of this painting takes place in downtown San Francisco in the early 1930s. In the time frame, the Great Depression is occurring, however, the people are dressed well on the left side which conflicts with the existing poverty in the United States at that time. The characters are taking part in the Longshoreman’s strike. From the light, the painting seems to be taking place in the late afternoon.