Art has always been the reflection of any society, its core values and tendencies, developed and moved forward by it and sometimes transforming the society itself. In any case, it has always felt even slight changes in the world views of separate personalities and the whole world in general. From the numerous artworks of different historical periods the world has a chance to see and discover the way people lived centuries ago, how they perceived and viewed the world, all its elements and how their mind changed and evolved throughout the years. The same concerns the art space of the United States of America, it has and always will be regardless to its society, permanently changing and developing.
America often presented not only its creativity to the world in art but also its strength and modernity. The example of it was Chicago World’s Fair, 1893. It was devoted to the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World and discovery of America, however, in fact its main purpose was to carve the new image of the USA as a country of a grand industry. Visited by 25 million of people, it showed people the achievements of American manufacturers, their aptitude to innovation and creativity. It was a sophisticated marketing step of creating a great event that will focus everyone’s attention to the USA, shock and strike people all over the world, underline its power and authority. Thousands of souvenirs and postcards were sold to the participants of the fair for them to keep it in mind, recalling the pomposity of the exposition (Amendola, 1997, p.151).
This exhibition was indeed a great piece of art itself: more than 200 new neoclassical buildings that purposed to show the world an ideal Chicago, the so-called “White City”, which stood in contrast to a usual black industrial town in the past. Each building represented new findings of the Americans in different spheres of life: in the monumental Manufacturers and Liberal Arts Building attendants had a chance to encounter with new brands and products, in the Electricity Building they could see the power of the new invention that would change the world – electricity. Apart from the conception of newness of the city, American idea was to show their intellectual and physical superiority of the white race over others, their exceptionalism. Rebuilding Chicago was one of the key points of performance which aimed at creating new American imaginary – new and modern city, the first of its kind, the one that rose from the ashes (McQuire, 2008, p.46). And that was how the so-called Gilded era explicated by art.
After this grand event the American art began to change its orientation, from pomposity to simplicity, from crowning industrialization to its sharp critic. The previous age was ironically named “gilded” as the main features of it was to glorify the big of the world: manufacturers, millionaires and their vanity, in pretentious portraits. This world got separated far from the ordinary population that was drowning in the demanding era and from the increasing influx of poor immigrants coming to America for some piece of bread.
A new era of art could not stand apart from the reality, the so-called modernists tried to depict as much of it as they could. The first to do it were the members of the Ashcan School, the impressionist that strived for catching every moment, every instant or impression, of the changing and unpredictable reality. This group of painters was inspired by Robert Henry, a master of gritty and dark palette New York landscapes (Weinberg, 2000, p.56-57). They did not want to create something beautiful; they tried to depict life just as it is, pretty or ugly, but natural. That is why they often put hasty and lively episodes from life of New York workers onto the canvas. Their works covered the reality with all its drawbacks and beautiful sides: how the workers walk in the park, tired but happy, their exhausted faces when they go to work and return home, and city streets with beggars and salesmen, artificial lights, films and vaudeville posters.
They depicted also the uncertainty of the era with forced and unstopped industrialization and new challenges of the society: poverty, hard work of the ordinary people and how the rich make fortune, countless immigrants seeking for jobs and the transformation of the urban life, not safe and tranquil any more.
These are not the only examples of interconnection between art and society. On the wave of modernism, American artists had also felt a fresh look from the Europe upon the art. However, they refused to follow the canons set in France and Great Britain strictly and decided to get back to their own traditions. Such was a ground for Regional art affected by one of the saddest pages on the American society – the Great Depression. Inspite of the growing industrialization they focused on the renaissance of the American heartland – rural territories, its customs and people. The most recognizable artwork of this period belongs to Grant Wood and is called “American Gothic”. In this and many other pieces of art, painters and poets claimed that the lure of the City was gone and Americans should turn to their roots – small towns and villages.
For instance, after the World War II in the 60s there appeared an artistic movement which was called pop art, or popular art. Its grounder, Andy Warhol, contributed much and at the same time simply marked the new stage of advertising and the bloom of celebrity culture. By picturing famous people, like Marylyn Monroe, pop artists discarded the traditions of the fine art symbolizing the attitude of the society to classical paintings in general. It was the time of Hollywood Golden age, stars and glamour, of ordinary people to go mad with what they see on their blue screens and be affected by it. Andy Warhol often depicted logos and product labels in his artworks. The bright example of it is called “Campbell's Soup Cans” that in a way proved both nuisance and strong power of advertising within the society.
References
Amendola, G. 1997. La città postmoderna: Magie e paure della metropoli contemporanea. Roma: Laterza.
Weinberg, H. Barbara. (2000). The Ashcan School. In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved from http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/ashc/hd_ashc.htm (April 2010)
McQuire, S. (2008). The media city: Media, architecture and urban space. Los Angeles: Sage.
