Museum Exhibit: 1934 A New Deal for Artists

If you are traveling to Washington, D.C. in the near future I encourage you to visit the exhibit "1934: A New Deal For Artists" at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, open through January 3rd. Ann Prentice Wagner, a member of Create Culture, was a curatorial associate for the exhibit and the exhibition catalogue co-author.

In most cases Create Culture encourages you to visit places, countries, and/or cultures to experience artistic travel. However, in this case, I'm encouraging you to travel back in time and view art work from a period that remains very relevant considering the current economic environment.

In 1934 the U.S. was in the midst of the "Great Depression." Artists, like millions of others in the world, could not find work to support themselves. In response, the United States government launched a stimulus package for artists - the Public Works of Art Project. Through this project 3,749 artists created 15,663 paintings, murals, sculptures, prints, drawings, and craft works focused on "the American Scene." Some of this art is what makes up the current exhibit at the American Art Museum.

One of my favorite paintings was Ivan Albright's "The Farmer's Kitchen" (top of the page). You can see the pain of the depression manifested in gnarled hands and cracked skin. In fact, I think I recognized the wall paper from my great Aunt's place in Sandusky, Ohio (she also had a farmer's kitchen and lived through the Great Depression). I also loved Lily Furedi's "Subway." Maybe, because it reminded me of my own ride everyday to my day job (though the car looks much cleaner than the ones I ride).

Now, I wasn't blown away with every piece in the exhibit. But, that is part of the point with art isn't it. Not everyone has the same aesthetic (no stimulus money for Jeff Koons please). What was very important about this exhibit was that it demonstrated a time when the government was willing to support individual artists during an economic crisis. In addressing the current economic disaster the U.S. government provided a stimulus package worth billions of dollars to bail out large banks. Is anyone aware of any package that was offered to artists, similar to what was offered in 1934? I would argue that art and artists were the "asset backed security" that were truly undervalued this time around. My hope is that in 80 years people would have the opportunity to view works of art (without a backdrop of economic turmoil) that exist because the U.S. government was proactive in supporting artists during this time.

So, am I missing something? Someone tells me there is a government stimulus package available to artists today in the U.S. Have any other countries put forth a stimulus package for artists?.

-John