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| Title: | The artist as social critic : John Sloan and Thomas Hart Benton |
| Authors: | Tarantino, Andrea. |
| Thesis Advisor: | Sievers, Rodney M. |
| Issue Date: | May-2005 |
| Publisher: | Humboldt State University |
| Abstract: | Artistic expression reflects and influences the time, place and culture from which it springs. Many artists were inspired by the revolutionary optimism prevalent in the early twentieth century and viewed their art as a tool for changing society.
In this study I plan to show how some artists have been politically active, chronicling their times and presenting a vision for a better, reformed America. This project focuses on two artists who represented the American experience during the first half of the twentieth century. Both had long careers and all were concerned with the social and economic issues of their day.
John Sloan was a member of the so called Ashcan school of art. He portrayed the life of the common worker at the turn of the century. Sloan’s illustrations for the radical journal The Masses were among the most expressive pieces of political propaganda ever made in this country.
Thomas Hart Benton was primarily concerned with the social and economic struggles of the working class person, especially during the Great Depression and New Deal era. He was also known for his championing of regional themes in art, such as that of Missouri.
Drawing upon biographies such as Thomas Hart Benton: An American Original by Henry Adams and John Loughery’s John Sloan: Painter and Rebel, I plan to explore how both artists exhibited a sense of social awareness. Was their political expression subtle or overt? How did the artists’ observations change over time? What personal experiences shaped the artists’ outlooks? From where did the support for their art come? And, to what degree is their work a mirror of society at large? Many of these questions have been addressed in broader texts emphasizing the complex relationship between art and politics including Frances Pohl’s ambitious survey of American history, Framing America: A Social History of American Art . By understanding the political expression of these two artists, students will gain an appreciation for the power and drama social conditions have on an artist and the powerful influence an artist can have on the era in which he or she lives.
Lesson Plans:
1) Create overhead transparencies of select works of art from each of the three artists. Use them with students for their daily journal writes. Write up a brief biographical sketch on each artist to present to the class as background information. Develop questions for each work of art that refer to technique, style and subject matter. (These transparencies and journal questions will provide students with a model for what I expect in the next lesson.)
2) Art Museum Curator Project: This research project will place students in the role of art curators who must write up a biographical sketch on an artist, describe that artist’s technique, and present five of their most influential works to the class in the form of a museum exhibit. |
| Description: | Thesis/Project (M.S.S.)--Humboldt State University, Emphasis in American History, 2005. |
| URI: | http://hdl.handle.net/2148/18 |
| Appears in Collections: | HSU Masters Theses
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