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Social Realism Lecture
Social Realism was an art movement that began in the 1930s in America and depicted the hardships of life such as economic problems and racial injustices. Major American artists of the movement included Dorothea Lange, Walker Evans, Ben Shahn, and Thomas Hart Benton. Lange and Evans became famous during the Great Depression for their photographs documenting the difficulties people faced. While the movement declined after the 1950s, elements of Social Realism can still be seen in some contemporary films and art.
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Social Realism Lecture
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- 2. What Is SocialRealism? • Art movement which kicked off in America in the 1930’s. • Depicted the hardships of life. ▫ i.e. racial injustices, economic problems, working conditions. ▫ In paintings, satire was often used. • Existed largely in America, Britain, France, and the Soviet Union. • Originated as early as the 1850’s in Europe, and slowly made its way to America. • While the movement declined over the years, the movement officially “died” when the Soviet Union fell in 1991.
- 3. Influences of SocialRealism • Social Realism was most heavily influenced by the Regionalism art movement. • Gustave Courbet is also credited as being one of the biggest influences of Social Realism.
- 4. Major Artists ofthe American Movement • Dorothea Lange • Walker Evans • Ben Shahn • Thomas Hart Benton
- 5. Dorothea Lange • Becamea big artist during the Great Depression. • Photographer • Didn’t generally name her art pieces. • Assigned to go around the country and take pictures of the hardships of life.
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- 9. Walker Evans • LikeLange, he became very big during the Great Depression. • Also like Lange, he was a photographer. • He had a lot of assignments during the Great Depression to take specific photos of areas or events.
- 10. Allie Mae Burroughs Portrait
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- 12. Ben Shahn • Didn’thave a single art style he liked best. He did photography, drawing, and painting. • Expressed his political views through his art. • Very big on creating pieces that showed racial injustices.
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- 14. Cotton Pickers, Arkansas
- 15. Thomas Hart Benton •American Painter. • Encouraged by his father to go into law. • He was the first artist ever to be on the cover of Time Magazine. • Later in his life, he became a teacher at the Kansas City Art Institute.
- 16. Plowing it Under
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- 19. In Today’s Culture •Even though Social Realism is considered a dead movement, films are still being released that can be considered Social Realism, although this is mostly in Britain. • Some artists are saying that the movement is being reborn, in the form of Contemporary Social Realism. • A lot of the original pieces from this movement are parodied in popular culture today.
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