Tuesday, July 27, 2021 – REALISM AND SURREALISM ALONG WITH POLITICAL THOUGHTS IN HER ART

By admin

TUESDAY, JULY  27, 2021

The

426th Edition

From the Archives

Greetings from
 Manhattan Artist

IDA ABELMAN

SMITHSONIAN AMERICAN ART MUSEUM
WORDPRESS

Ida Abelman, Greetings from a Manhattan Artist, ca. 1939, color lithograph on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from D.C. Public Library, 1967.72.1

Ida Abelman is well known for her combination of different styles of art, including surrealism, constructivism, and social realism. It is important to define the themes in her artwork because only then can it be framed in the context of social commentary appropriate for the time period. Art themes that convey important social, economic, and political messages of the time transform the function of works from “for viewing purposes” to “for learning purposes”

• Surrealism: the goal of surrealism was to release the creative unconscious through the juxtaposition of irrational images.
• Constructivism: Constructivism is a form of art that supports the use of architecture, graphic design, illustration, theater, film, dance, music, and other forms of art as a practice having social impact, that is, created with a message.
• Social realism: Social realism describes the work of artists that draw attention to the struggles and realistic conditions of the poor and working class. These paintings, photographs, and/or films criticize the social structure that cause or maintain these conditions.

Ida Abelman, Machine + “El” Patterns, 1935-1943, color lithograph on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the Internal Revenue Service through the General Services Administration , 1962.8.76

Ida Abelman, A Manhattan Landscape with Figures, 1936, lithograph on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1976.90.2

Ida Abelman, My Father Reminisces, 1937, lithograph, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from D.C. Public Library, 1967.72.4

Publisher: Published by WPA
Date: 1935–43
Medium: Lithograph
Dimensions: image: 10 x 12 in. (25.4 x 30.5 cm) sheet: 11 1/2 x 16 in. (29.2 x 40.6 cm)
Classification: Prints
Credit Line: Gift of New York City WPA, 1943

This painting most obviously demonstrates social realism by illustrating how machines encompassed men at the time. The Great Depression was characterized by a heavy emphasis in the machine industry. The Industrial Revolution, the transition to new manufacturing processes, had occurred almost 100 years ago. The most accessible job market was that of manufacturing. In this way the painting shows the struggles of the working class to find positions that paid enough to uphold themselves or their families and not physically injure themselves in the process.

Publisher: Published by WPA
Date: 1937
Medium: Lithograph
Dimensions: image: 14 x 10 in. (35.6 x 25.4 cm) sheet: 15 3/4 x 11 1/2 in. (40 x 29.2 cm)
Classification: Prints
Credit Line: Gift of the Work Projects Administration, New York, 1943

“Street Patterns” was painted by Ida Abelman in 1937, and represents an abstract depiction of the New York City Skyline from a rooftop. There is integration of skyscrapers, and the shadow made from the viewpoint seems to resemble a guitar neck. The usage of dark shades of grey, black, and white are consistent with her depressive themes. Indeed, the city seems still, which reflects the aura of the Great Depression.

Publisher:Published by Federal Art Project, WPA, New York.
Date: 1937
Medium: Lithograph
Dimensions: 29.5 x 38.4 cm. (11.6 x 15.1 in.)
Classification: Prints

“Wonders of Our Time” was painted by Ida Abelman in 1937 and can be found in the Whitney Museum of Art. It is consistent with the social changes of New York City at the time, as the city had begun construction on the subway system only 30 years prior, and it was rapidly spreading. It varies in its black, white, and grey shades to create a somber mood regarding the city. This can be connected to using  the subway as a work commute, path to interviews, or other events that are associated with the Great Depression. The odd angles of the train and exaggerated facial expressions uphold Abelman’s constant themes of Surrealism. “Some of the figures look back at the viewer as if, in an act of desperation, to ask for help. The scene reveals an unnerving parallel between competition for seats among subway riders and Dawin’s theory of natural selection. As Abelman’s passengers squeeze their way into the war, the fittest, or the most aggressive, get seats while the weakest are left behind. Crowding was always a problem in the subway, but after World War I it became unbearable.”

TUESDAY PHOTO OF THE DAY SEND TO ROOSEVELTISLANDHISTORY@GMAIL.COM

MONDAY PHOTO OF THE DAY

RENDERINGS OF THE OCTAGON FROM
“THE ISLAND NOBODY KNOWS” UDC 1969
THOM HEYER, NANCY BROWN, HARA REISER, JOAN BROOKS,
ALEXIS VILLAFANE, ARLENE BESSENOFF
ALL GOT IT RIGHT

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