1. BELLWORK
Read “The Great Depression and the Arts” pgs and answer the following questions:
Why did the Roosevelts support the arts?
What was a focus of the CWA? (note: The Civil Works Administration was created by Roosevelt to increase employment in civil works projects; PWA)
Explain the roles of the PWAP and TRAP during the Great Depression.
What was FPNO and how did they contribute to the arts?
Why did the FSA hire photographers?
What were the two themes of art during the 1930s?
THINKER: In your opinion, why was art such an important part of the 1930’s?

2. The Great Depression and the Arts

3. Roosevelts and the Arts
Upon election, FDR promised to uplift the American people

4. Public Works of Art Project
Program to employ artists as part of the New Deal
Funded by CWA (Civil Works Administration)
Dec1933 – June1934

5. Roosevelt’s Involvement
Influenced by the nationalist cultural program Alvaro Obregon put in place as president of Mexico ( ), employing artists on plumbers salaries.
Promoted public opinion on political buildings
In his inaugural address he promised to uplift the American spirit.

6. Inspired by Mexican murals

7. Roosevelt’s Involvement
Government funding created an art identity unlike any of the past. It was not controlled by the art market.
PWAP success ( ):
sponsored 10,000 artists
Created over 340,000 works of art
let to the WPA/FAP programs ( )

8. San Francisco’s Coit Tower

9. Detroit Institute of the Arts; Mural depicts Detroit industries

10. Astronomers Monument in Griffith’s Observatory; Los Angeles

11. Department of Justice Building; D.C.

12. Treasury Relief Art Program

13. Federal Project Number One
Also part of the WPA
Included:
Federal Writers Project
Historical Records Survey
Federal Theatre Project
Federal Music Project
Federal Art Project

15. New Deal Photography
Roy Stryker – director of the Historical Section photographic projects of the Farm Security Administration.
Farm Security Administration (FSA) –created to improved the conditions of sharecroppers, tenants, and poor landowning farmers.

16. New Deal Photography
Stryker’s goal was to increase public awareness of the FSA.
While many PWA works were upbeat in their content, FSA photographers were intended to capture difficult situations.
Stryker had strong connections in the media, allowing him to promote stories in newspapers, magazines, and often art galleries and museums.

20. Dorothea Lange
First began photography in New York, then moved to begin a portrait studio in San Francisco in 1919.
Collaborated with her husband, an economics professor, on projects that addressed poverty in rural California, focusing on the conditions of migrant workers and sharecroppers
Hired by the FSA

21. Migrant Mother FSA shoot; March 1936
An iconic photograph of the Great Depression
Contrast between light and dark is subtle, allowing the artist to capture details, such as the textures of clothing.
Lange focused on the mother’s facial expression while other FSA photographers focused on the farm.

22. Walker Evans
Evans first began taking pictures as a hobby in Paris in 1926.
He returned to the US in 1927 & photographed on the side while he worked day jobs to support himself.
He met Roy Stryker in 1935, who hired him for the FSA. Stryker had a clear political agenda for his work, but Evans strongly opposed propaganda.

25. Negro Barber Shop Interior, Atlanta
Taken by Evans in 1937
Tightly cropped interior space, void of human figures
The shop is neat and tidy, but at the same time the scene is cluttered
Rich in detail and texture (notice smoothness of barber chairs against roughness of wall)

26. Bernice Abbot First began to study sculpture in New York, 1918
Moved to Paris, 1921, and became attracted to photography
1926, Abbot had her first solo exhibition in Paris, which led to her own studio
Returned to the U.S. in 1929 and was struck by the growing metropolis
She proposed a documentary survey project for the WPA titled “Changing New York”.

29. Contrasting No. 331 East 39th Street with Chrysler Building and Daily News Building, Manhattan
Architects tried to alleviate the depressed vibe of American citizens by encouraging growth and the feeling of progression through the construction of skyscrapers.
Abbott’s Contrasting (1938) sets up a dramatic juxtaposition between the old and quickly disappearing, like heavy brick building, New York and the new lighter skyscrapers.
Different from the works of the FSA because it was not set in a rural setting, and did not express a political agenda.

31. Social Realism American Gothic: Grant Wood
painted scenes promoting hard work and scenes representing the reality of their lives.
Commonly painted on;
- libraries    -schools
-hospitals   - prisons

32. Critical Social Realism
The Senate: William Gropper

33. Celebratory
Dance Marathon: Philip Evergood

34. Success of New Deal Art Programs
The success of the PWAP led to WPA, which lasted eight years
In total, 340,000 works of art were created during the New Deal

35. New Forms of Music Swing Blues Folk
Orrin Tucker:
Blues
Bessie Smith:
Folk
Huddie Ledbetter (Leadbelly):
John Lomax:

36. The Golden Age of Hollywood

37. To what extent were Roosevelt’s policies successful? (pg. 207)
SUCCESSES
FAILURES