Robert Benton Back From The Fields Summary

He took his imagery from both the everyday rituals of African American rural life in the south and urban life in the north, melding those American experiences with his personal experiences and with the themes of classical literature, religion, myth, music and daily human ritual” (Ruth Fine).

In “Ways of Seeing”, John Berger, an English art critic, argues that images are important for the present-day by saying, “No other kind of relic or text from the past can offer such direct testimony about the world which surrounded other people at other times. In this respect images are more precise and richer literature” (10). John Berger allowed others to see the true meaning behind certain art pieces in “Ways of Seeing”. Images and art show what people experienced in the past allowing others to see for themselves rather than be told how an event occurred. There are two images that represent the above claim, Arnold Eagle and David Robbins’ photo of a little boy in New York City, and Dorothea Lange’s image of a migratory family from Texas; both were taken during the Great Depression.

Throughout the 1900’s, America has grown exponentially in its values, struggles, and art. The Best American Essays of the Century, written by Robert Atwan, showcases the progress this country has made through a series of essays ordered chronologically. Although many underlying topics existed in these pieces, three common themes particularly stood out. In “How It Feels to Be Colored Me” by Zora Neale Hurston, “The Old Stone House” by Edmund Wilson, and “The Handicapped” by Randolph Bourne, identity is an important subject. Injustice is a clearly shared theme in “Coatesville” by John Jay Chapman, “The Devil Baby at Hull-House” by Jane Addams, and “Of the Coming of John” by W.E.B. Du Bois. Finally, in “Corn-pone Opinions” by Mark Twain, “Tradition and the Individual Talent” by T.S. Eliot, and “What Are Masterpieces and Why Are There So Few of Them” by Gertrude Stein, the aspect of non-personality and the removal of one’s self seems to be commonly spoken of in terms of creation.

The Wreck of the Ole ’97 –by: Thomas Benton Art Analysis Born on April 15, 1889, in Neosho, Missouri, Thomas Hart Benton, the oldest son in a family of lawyers and politicians, greatly wished to become an artist (Trout, Carolyn). Although Benton's affinity was for art, he still appreciated politics, as he recalls, “Politics was the core of our family life” ("Thomas Hart Benton Biography, Art, and Analysis of Works"). After all, Benton lived in Washington during his father's term as a Missouri. In Washington’s Library of Congress, he admired murals, cartoons, and other forms of art, which influenced him later in life to become a muralist (“Thomas Hart Benton Biography”). His mother understood his talent and encouraged him to pursue art despite

John Steinbeck’s novel, The Grapes of Wrath, takes place during the Great Depression, a time when troubled and distressed American men and women lived; a time of poverty and an economic crisis. When change is thought upon, it is to be thought of new life and new experiences. The Great Depression is the kind of change that replaces a part of American living with “ Somepin’s happening. I went up an’ I looked, an’ the houses is all empty, an’ the lan’ is empty, an’ this whole country is empty” ( Steinbeck 94). In his work, Steinbeck presents the hardships that Americans had to go through by being mindful of particular aspects which makes the reader understand the characters’ distress. For example, the landscape of the farm lands. Even though the land has its brutality, it grows to be the scenery for humans to be able to recognize and consider their troubles about work and life in general. With these concerns, there are differences between the people who are accustomed to the landscape and admire it, and those who do not agree with it. In the novel, Steinbeck uses attributes of class conflict and injustice as a way of presenting and socially commenting that the Great Depression brought attention to more problems beyond the idea of poverty.

One might say that the Great Depression was a time of despair and feeling vulnerable from those who lived through it. However, writings have shown that some Americans during this era did not give up and had an optimistic view as opposed to a pessimistic view. In “Anacostia Flats” by John Dos Passos, it shows that the ex- service men during the Great Depression had a sense of determination for getting their bonus. The film 42nd Street demonstrated the tenacious spirit of Americans who worked on a play during The Great Depression. Meridel Le Seur’s “Women in the Breadlines” depicted the reality of struggling without employment but having the will to keep trying. During these times, society had not surrendered as several of them stood up for

The 1920’s was the era of not only mass consumerism, social changes, and profound cultural conflicts but that of the Lost Generation and the effects of World War I during this time period. World War I had a significant impact on the lives and the writing styles of the Lost Generation, changing their perspectives on both the government and their lives.

(2005). In D. Bjelajac, American Art: A Cultural History (pp. 37-129). Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, Inc.

It consists of an array of artworks, pictures, and photographs along with verbal description of the various conditions of the working class during the great depression starting from the events which led to various riots and violent acts by the working class and a clash between the capitalist class, government, and the working class (M. Elizabeth Boone, 2006). It depicts the California Labor School’s establishment; workers’ disenfranchisement from the service economy; movement of farm workers; and the demographics of the workers changing. The photographs depicted are of Tina Modotti, Otto Hagel, Dorothea Lange, and Emmanuel Joseph while paintings are of Hung Liu and Diego Rivera. The book consists of five chapters taking the audience through the journey of the working class during the great depression (M. Elizabeth Boone,

In an exhibit along the wall to the left of a house-like exhibit, behind a small, white picket fence, shows the furniture that the patron would commonly see in the great depression era home that consist of a 1930s sewing machine table and a well-worn vintage 1930s record player. On the wall above this exhibit has some vintage black and white photos taken throughout the great depression era that capture the hardships that most people encountered with the difficulties with farming and breathing, the dark cloud of the loose earth rolling in, and the aftermath once the dirt finally settled and shows how everything laid buried in a deep mound of dirt, like the large piles of snow seen after a winter blizzard. The house-like exhibit consists of a characteristic 1930s living room that contain items like family heirlooms and old photographs. The museum patron can walk up on the porch and walk in the front door as if walking into an actual home. Upon stepping inside, the patron will see stuff like old vintage photos, a rocking chair, a couch, and a desk. He will also see an antique 1930’s radio on a small table by a chair and listen to it play the 1930s era radio programs, songs, and news

Art by its nature is a subject of the philosophical, social, economic, political or religious context surrounding its creator. More often than not, a work of art addresses a specific topic or somewhat revolves around a particular person. Therefore, it is impossible to separate the context of a piece of painting, either historical or cultural, to its intrinsic value or the artwork's meaning. On the other hand, different cultures and time utilized specific conventions that govern the representation of objects of creativity. This essay highlights various pieces of art and their relationship to particular cultural, political, economic, or social settings. Moreover, it pinpoints how different times influence art presentation.

In Dianne Harris’s Little White Houses, she uses many images to help strengthen her argument of privacy, and what is referred to many times, “the American Style” during the 1950’s. On page 137, the image significantly provides a clear picture of what she is talking about.

I the reading Benton explains each sin and how it relates from the concept of it to the student’s actions in school. The sins can be used to make an ethical statement, because as students we try to take the easiest way out without thinking about if is it right or wrong. Benton choice the order of how to explain the sins of students by getting worst as you read. Helping him increase his argument by giving the audience the feeling of this sin is bad and this one worse and by the time you get to the end you are like wow students are horrible. For prides the father of all sins is the last and it is believed to be the deadliest. While the first one sloth tends to be least because it doesn’t cause so much damage. His use of pathos to make us feel

Life in the 1800s has taken on an almost idealistic quality in the minds of many Americans. The images linked to this era of our history are, on the surface, pleasurable to recall: one room school houses; severe self-reliance; steam-powered railroads and individual freedom.

Thomas Hart Benton was a muralist and an American painter. He had focus on the Regionalist movement art along with Grant and John Curry. Thomas Benton has had a great impact on the color, the resonant ideas and exuberance. Benton identified different diverse ideas of contradiction: the rituals and the urban, freedom, oppression, the poor, rich labor and entertainment (Marling, 1982). As Mural developed the ideas, he span two epochs on the excess of “Jazz Age” and bitter side of depression in the country. This was expressed in the art work that he presented in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.