MODULE 12: American Scene Painting: Chapt. 28

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 Modules: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16

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American Art as with American culture reflects the values of the cultures of origin of the American people. The earliest expression of culture in America was dominated by European values, in particular, those of England and France. Despite a revolutionary break with England, the culture and values of American were intimately tied to the English. By the mid-1800’s the United States population was more varied and began to reflect a greater cultural diversity. By the beginning of the 20th century, American culture was increasingly defined by the forces of economics and popular culture. This phenomenon had begun in Europe, but the United States embraced these forces more definitively and fed an appetite for the ‘new.’

Early American artists portrayed the personal lives of the men and women who struggled to gain a foothold in America. Portraits functioned as family records more than aesthetic statements. The artists were generally untrained, itinerant “face painters.” By the early 19th century, American Landscape Painting recorded the unique character of American ‘wilderness’ geography.

American Scene Painting may be divided into two categories- Social Realism and American Regionalism. Social Realism may be traced back to a European rejection of the idealism of the Romantic era. By the mid-19th century, the Industrial Revolution was producing slums, labor unrest and a greater discrepancy of wealth and poverty. Social Realism in the early 20th century focused on the hardships of urban, working class life and tended to be associated with ‘leftist’ social commentary. American Regionalism may be seen as the work of rural Mid-Western artists who shared an anti-Modernist style. Their rural conservatism was often in direct conflict with urban and leftist sympathies of the Social Realists.

It may be said that after World War II the culture of the United States expressed a unique characteristic. Primary among the forces that created this atmosphere was economic and Popular Culture. These phenomena had begun in Europe, but the United States embraced the dynamics of 20th century democratic economy and popular culture completely.

American Regionalism grew from a variety of influences. Early American artists found sources for their art in the wild landscape of the vast untouched regions of wilderness. Some found their inspiration in the hustling pulse of burgeoning city life. While respect was granted to the formal traditions of Europe, the eager individualism of ‘turn-of-the-century’ America fed an appetite for the ‘new.’

Formally, the term ‘American Regionalism’ derives from the period of the economic disaster of the Great Depression in the 1930’s. Unemployment, hunger and natural disasters (the Dust Bowl) took whatever financial support had been available to support a ‘new’ American culture. Artists along with the rest of the country were in dire circumstances. Government subsidies helped many of these artists survive, their survival granting them a kind of pride of place. Many of these artists explored the themes of the ‘working man,’ in particular themes related to the Mid-West. Along with government support, there seemed a need to focus on ‘American values,’ a kind of national ‘isolationism’ developed, until it was thrust into international politics with the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941 and its participation in World War II.

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EARLY AMERICAN

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American Scene Painting -

SLIDE:
O’Keeffe “City Night” (1926) Pl. 28-71

Georgia O’Keeffe’s artistic vision began as urban abstraction and ended with images of wilderness and organic, perhaps feminist, symbolism. Her painting “City Night” captures the dramatic power of New York, the phallic shapes of skyscrapers dominating the view, perhaps the artist too.

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SLIDE:
Wood “American Gothic” (1930) Pl. 28-73

Grant Wood produced a number of works in his life, but “American Gothic” became such a Regionalist icon that he was always singularly identified with it. The characters are his sister and his dentist, yet their dour expressions, the pitchfork and the Gothic window give the image a timeless quality, a feeling of solid, conservative middle America.

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SLIDE:
Hopper “Nighthawks” (1942) Pl. 28-75

Edward Hopper’s “Nighthawks” is another Regionalist icon of the 1930’s and 40’s. His thesis of urban isolation and ennui tapped a shared sensibility for many in his audience. In addition, the compositional devices he used prefigured the abstract geometry of subsequent Modern Art movements.

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SLIDE:
Rockwell “Freedom from Want” (1943) Pl. 28-76

Norman Rockwell occupied that difficult position of both commercial art and fine art sensibilities. As with Wood and Hopper, Rockwell’s imagery became as much social icon as aesthetic statement. Co-opted by merchandising and publication, his work was defined by the constraints of a commercial agenda.

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