America today: city activities with dance hall by Thomas hart benton

art 3

benton was born to (social class) in (state) in (yr)

prominent political family; Missouri in 1889

benton studied at (school) and then in (city) between (yr-yr) where he met fellow artists concluding (name)

school of the art institute of Chicago; Paris; 1908-1911; diego rivera

diego rivera

leader of the Mexican muralist movement

in (yr), Benton moved to (state) where he worked as a (blank) and (blank)

1913; new york; set designer and painter of movie backdrops

who photgrpahed Thomas hart benton

carl van vechten

he did mural projects in what decades

1920s and 1930s

benton studied abroad and took inspo from European works but his approach was resolutley

americanist

benton’s goal

foster a “national” art that would focus on themes, stories, and characters from a pluralistic American history

his family was politically

conservative

what relative of Benton was a senator and known for his nativist policies

great uncle

in the 1920s, benton was affiliated with what movement which he would disavow in the (decade) to embrace more

socialist; 1930s; moderate policies

from (yr) to (yr), he taught at (school) in (state) where his students included (name)

1926-1935; art students league; NYC; Jackson pollock

benton is considered an artist from what region

midwestern artist

benton often I chose to paint (blank) or (blank) subjects at a time when most artists focused on

rural or regional; major cities on the east or west coasts

benton spent the later part of his career in

missouri

where did he teach at in missouri

art institute of kansas city

benton passed away in

1975

city activities is a dramatic rep of

prohibtiion era seen thru the lens of urban popular entertainments

in (yr), Benton had completed a (#) long project comprising # paintings on (material) panels, known as (name) (yrs) which was one of the first artworks by a European American artist to look critically at histories of (blank) and (blank)

1928; decade; 14; aluminum; American historical epic (1919-28); colonialism against native Americans and enslavement of black americans

who described american historical epic as “extermely shocking”

boardman Robinson

was American hsitriocial epic sold in benton’s lifetime

no but it set off his career

benton representated narratives through the lens of what he called

social history

in (yr), Benton recieved his first major mural commission from the (blank) in (state)

1930; new school for social research in new york

city activities made when

1930-31

how many panels showing what for city activities

10 panels showings contemporary life, tech, agriculture, industry around the country

school’s director

economist Alvin johnson

what happens in the lower right corner of city actviities

alvin Johnson and Benton clink glasses as they share a celebratory moment

when was new school founded

1919

who else were the founders of new school

educator John Dewey and sociologist Thorstein veblen

the school focused on

left-wing

how was Benton paid for the commission

dozens and dozens of eggs needed to prepare the egg yolk-based tempera paint for the america today murals

how long did it take Benton to complete America today

9 months

the murals were made to enwrap the walls of

third floor boardroom in school’s new building

school opened in

1931

in (yr), facing economic pressures, the new school did what

1982; sold the murals but with the agreement that the collection would never be broken up

since (yr), the murals have been installed in a specially designed space in (museum)

2014; met

how tall is the piece

7 ft 8 inches

the pictures depict American Life in the (part-decade)

early 1930s

who designed the frame

joseph urban

what material are the frames coated with

aluminum

city activities with dance hall was placed

right side of the room’s doorway and is about 9 ft 9 inches

was aethsteic important to benton

no

what is in the upper right

circus performers, clowns, aerlist in a red leotard

traveling circuses were an artistic subject to who (4)

charles demuth, Walt kuhn, kuniyoshi, Reginald marsh

below circus is what

young woman in red hat seated at a soda fountain surrounded by ads

soda fountains

emerged around the turn of 20th century as appropriate places for women to take refreshment while shopping and were “safe” alternatives to saloons or bars

what ads surround the woman (4)

soap, mystery novels, cigarettes, political candidate

use billboards, lights, posters

what is at the center of the scene

women watching a movie in an elaborate theater of the era

below movie is

reference to new school’s mission: scene of mother and child visiting pediatrician, pointing to profressive-era gains in childhood nutrition and vaccination programs

most eye catching part

left side: traffic in illegal liquor that fueled dance halls and bars

new York City (position) (name) watches agents pour liquor into a sewer following a raid around (yr)

deputy police commissioner; John a leach; 1921

top of compsoiton left side

ticker tape machine that provides real-time updates on stock market → refers to atmosphere of wild speculation and investment

next to ticker tape

outstretched hands reaching for bottles of liquor

bottom left

flapper in red dress and her partner dancing to music from live band

below flapper feet

table with bottles and still

still

apparatus used to ferment hard liquor

18th amendment to constitution was proposed in

1917

volstead act went into effect in

early 1920

anti-alcohol temperance activities point

drinking caused violence → destroying family life, compromising industrial safety, decaying working class communtiies

how long was prohibtiion

14 yrs

crime bosses imported mass quanities of liquor from (3)

canada, Mexico, caribbean

who said “prohibtiion is business”

chicago gangster al capone

(name) and (name) say that prohibition pushed criminals to business tech like

howard chudacoff and Judith Smith; payrolls, modern communications, coordinated managemnet

chudacoff and smith estimate that in 1929, Capone made over ($) which is equivalent to $ today

100 mill a yr; 2 bill

bootlegging crimes appeared more explicitly in benton’s earlier painting

bootleggers (1927)

artsist described his life’s work as representation of

history, which became history with the passage of time

other panels in America today focused on

agricultural and industrial labor in diverse regions around the country

benton’s biographer (name) claims that the murals’ greatest accomplishment is their blending of “a critical analysis of labor throughout American history and a celebration of pop culture”

justin wolff