From the back cover of the book, quoted in part:"The America Karal Ann Marling (the author) refers to is small-town America during the depression era; in particular those communities that were portrayed in the 1000-odd murals that appeared in post offices around the country under the auspices of the Treasury Department Section of Fine Arts. She goes far beyond an investigation of the murals as art, and 'Wall to Wall America' becomes an intelligent, often irreverent, discussion of popular taste and culture during the depression decade. "
As the people and economy of the United States struggled to recover during the Great Depression, 42 towns in North Carolina would benefit directly from the $83 million the federal government allocated for public art as part of the New Deal. The result was some of the state's most memorable murals, sculptures, reliefs, paintings, oils, and frescoes, most of which were installed in post offices and courthouses. This book is the only record of all of the North Carolina public art works under the program. It provides in-depth accounts of the works themselves and the artists who created them. Photographs of all of the buildings that originally received the art, the works themselves, and almost all of the 41 artists are provided. An appendix describes federal art projects, 1933-1943. There are detailed footnotes, an extensive bibliography, and an index.
As the United States struggled to recover from the Great Depression, 24 towns in Alabama would directly benefit from some of the $83 million allocated by the Federal Government for public art works under the New Deal. In the words of Harold Lloyd Hopkins, administrator of the Federal Emergency Relief Act, "artists had to eat, too," and these funds aided people who needed employment during this difficult period in American history. This book examines some of the New Deal art--murals, reliefs, sculptures, frescoes and paintings--of Alabama and offers biographical sketches of the artists who created them. An appendix describes federal art programs and projects of the period (1933-1943).
Profound changes were taking place in American society during the period of the 1960s and 1970s when legislation for the National Foundation for the Arts and the Humanities was enacted and the agencies went into operation. It was a period of soul-searching by the American public when the cherished prejudices and civil inequities of the past decades were wiped out and old wounds began to heal; at the same time, however, the Vietnam War was creating new fissures and antagonisms. Into this newly healing, newly questioning society, congressional action thrust the National Council on the Arts in 1964, and the National Endowment for the Arts in 1965. Their mission was to encourage and support the arts, and the men and women charged with this responsibility went about their work with the zeal and enthusiasm of religious converts. The idea of even a minute amount of federal financial assistance to the country's chronically beleaguered and often impoverished artists and arts organi zations seemed strange to a segment of the population that had existed in forgot ten independence from government intervention. Many of the nation's artists and arts leaders were wary, partly because of the uncertainties and constraints of previous patterns of governmental support.
What is the role of the arts in American culture? Is art an essential element? If so, how should we support it? Today, as in the past, artists need the funding, approval, and friendship of patrons whether they are individuals, corporations, governments, or nonprofit foundations. But as Patronizing the Arts shows, these relationships can be problematic, leaving artists "patronized"--both supported with funds and personal interest, while being condescended to for vocations misperceived as play rather than serious work. In this provocative book, Marjorie Garber looks at the history of patronage, explains how patronage has elevated and damaged the arts in modern culture, and argues for the university as a serious patron of the arts. With clarity and wit, Garber supports rethinking prejudices that oppose art's role in higher education, rejects assumptions of inequality between the sciences and humanities, and points to similarities between the making of fine art and the making of good science. She examines issues of artistic and monetary value, and transactions between high and popular culture. She even asks how college sports could provide a new way of thinking about arts funding. Using vivid anecdotes and telling details, Garber calls passionately for an increased attention to the arts, not just through government and private support, but as a core aspect of higher education. Compulsively readable, Patronizing the Arts challenges all who value the survival of artistic creation both in the present and future.
This book is the only record of federally-funded art projects in Virginia post offices during the Great Depression. It provides an historical overview of each city or town that is home to the artwork, information on federal structures housing the artwork, a photograph and description of the artwork itself, and a biographical sketch of the artist. Features 148 photographs.
