American Art Before and After World War Ii

During the early 1930s Movies, Music and Art had a major role during the Great Depression. Despite all the hardships in the 1930s, people were enthralled by the entertainment provided during this time period. It was extremely exciting and it had a huge impact on peoples daily lives. It would also take people out of the dark times, and to a much happier place. Some people were so impacted by the Great Depression, that they began to lose hope until Movies, Music, and Art spoke to the people of our society.

Art has always been used to voice emotions or stories in a way that can easily be understood. Conquering nations used art to immortalize their leaders, warriors and conquests. Similarly, conquered nations used art to keep their cultures alive. This pattern of dueling voices, those in power versus the oppressed, is shown throughout American art. From slavery and the Civil War to World War II to the modern day, art has been there to stand up to oppressors and keep faith alive for the oppressed. No era better shows a revolution against oppression and cruelty through art than the Harlem Renaissance of the early 1920s.

World War I was a war that shocked the world and brought about new emotions that created a large wave of “-isms” as well as the “lost generation” of writers. Modern art was catalyzed by World War I and without a thorough study of the various forms of art that resulted from it, modern art and the tremendous effect that World War I had on the people of the world cannot be fully understood. This historical investigation will cover a few aspects of the art that resulted from World War I so that a general idea of the emotions shared by the people of the world can be known. A few paintings that represent specific movements will be studied to understand the artistic movement. A number of museum exhibitions will be studied along with government websites, databases, and museum websites, especially from the Museum of Modern Art.

America finally had the war behind it. The country was booming and the majority had a carefree attitude. People were accustom to their lives and were not prepared for what was about to happen in 1929. The new decade would be a time of great change for everyone – art included. The 1920’s would bring a rollercoaster of events to America.

    The great depression was a time where unemployment was at an all time high and to add on to it people in the great plains faced another problem the dust bowl. In the great depression many kids from all over the country were told or felt like leaving their home because of hard time that have faced their homes because the money was scarce. So they road the rail looking for work and trying to make money for the family. These were kids that were faced with hardship and having to worrying about where their next meal was coming from, they didn't know were they were going or what they would spend the night.

The Depression Era was a period of major strife brought about by speculation and largely unregulated business practices. Almost everyone in the United States was affected, even many citizens of other countries around the world, but the working poor were disproportionately affected. Factory workers and farmers alike experienced a mass anti-union sentiment since before the turn of the century, and were subject to extremely hazardous working conditions, low wages, and in the case of farmers, many accumulated mass debt to decreasing prices of produce. While the great depression led to the unnecessary suffering of working poor, it also led to many great successes by the work of the labor movement, which went on to benefit future generations and

Artists used this tragic time to accept and face the Depression by painting, photographing, sketching, writing, etc… Along with various other reasons, artists published artwork to help inspire individuals and influence other artists. These artists hoped that one day people could look back on their art and learn from it. Appreciation later came to the artwork when people could look back and remember the significance of this time period. Starting in the late 1920’s,

“A Bright Future” is a primary source and “Art for America” is a secondary source about the Federal Art Project (FAP) in the 1930s. In Willie Oliver’s journal, “A Bright Future”, he talks about how the FAP affected his life personally. Willie Oliver gave his personal story, and one can learn how an artist during the Great Depression felt and their perspective of the FAP. His journal talked about his experiences while working for the FAP and one can understand more about the FAP by learning about an artist’s emotion and applying it to how most artists could have felt working for the FAP. “Art for America” talked about how the FAP was created, why it was created, who created it, and what it did for all of the unemployed artists all across the

There’s only one figure in this painting and it’s a lady sitting on her chair crossed legged at the left side near the door, she is the main subject matter. There is half painted window on the right side; the window has red Curtin’s. Secondary colours and a bit of primary have been used, the wall of the house is mixed colours greyish and pinkish, the door is blue, and the boxes one is red and the other green.

Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary and Thesaurus defines the word adapt as a verb and its meaning is “to make suitable or fit (as in for new use or different conditions)” (14). Most people in the United States would say that the ability to adapt is simply a part of the American way of life. Americans have always relied on this trait from the early days of British colonization to present times. It can be demonstrated in all facets of life. Adaptability was the reason the old frontier was populated; people adjusted to the unfamiliar climates, conditions, and lands. Immigrants were able to and continue to be adapt to the American culture and thrive in the United States. Americans adapted to the threat of the enemy during World War II and had to acclimate to a life full of restrictions in their day to day activities. In the military, soldiers must adapt to a new way of thinking to allow themselves to become warriors. Now Americans must adapt to a life lived in view of everyone with the use social media and camera ready cell phones. Throughout the course of American history and into our present times American citizens have depended on their ability to adapt; whether it be mentally, physically, and/or emotionally. It was imperative that citizens were adaptable in the past and it continues to be so today, not only to survive but to prosper.

Known to many as one of the most significant and dreadful time periods in American history, the Great Depression was an extreme economical crisis that occurred throughout the 1930’s. The predicament spread nation-wide and affected millions of people. Although it is a common topic, many people are oblivious to key details that took part at this point in time. The Great Depression was caused by an economic crash, which resulted in many social issues such as unemployment, and an increased crime rate.

Doss, E. (2002, April). Oxford History of Art: Twentieth-Century American Art. Cary, NC, USA: OUP Oxford. Retrieved from ebrary, 289

The exhibit contained upwards of 20 photographs and at least 60 paintings. One of the most agreeable things about the works of art that I witnessed is that collectively, they assisted in recounting the sentiment that gripped the country during the war that threatened to sunder it. One could almost feel the initial enthusiasm as the war broke out, that was swiftly prolonged by numerous clashes over a period of years. There were works that alluded to an impending war, ones that depicted that war, and numerous ones that hinted at a hoped for ending in which the mightiness of the country would someday be restored.

Tremendous technological advance and tremendous slaughter leave an artistic waste land of atrocity, emasculation and pointing posters used to manipulate the public into recruiting men to join the military around the globe. Skilled illustrators in America, less inventive but artistic allegory’s in Canada and France and plain typography in Britain leave many artists busy with supporting the war effort. On the outskirts of war were a contingency of international peoples with little means and a negative view of European culture and war that chose to defect to Switzerland where they created the art movement known as Dada.

Around the world art is being stolen and recovered. In 1942, with world war 2 raging the Library of Congress took the precaution of sending some of its national treasures to a guarded facility in the Midwest. In this was a collection of Walt Whitman's papers, which where sealed in cases prior to shipping. when it was returned in 1944, 10 of the notebooks where missing. more than 5 decades later in 1995 four of the notebooks where recovered when they turned up for sale at a shop. but 6 of the artifacts are still unaccounted for.