http://jessicadoeshistory.com/cnd/items/show/173
http://jessicadoeshistory.com/cnd/exhibits/show/nathan-brostoff-milk-for-the-n
For my image I selected a poster for a welfare program in New York City that was published some time between 1936 and 1939. I chose this image because it popped out at me when scrolling through photographs from the Federal Art Project as something that could really emphasize the struggles that many Americans were going through during the Great Depression. The dominating milk bottle immediately grabs the viewer’s attention who then reads, “Give to the needy, join the Mayor’s welfare fund!” while at the bottom it advertises a play that will be put on at the Laurel Theater. This suggests that there were people wealthy enough in New York at the time to spend money on leisure activities but they weren’t as willing to donate to those in need. Welfare programs such as this one not only gave aid to the needy but allowed the government to employ artists through the Works Progress Administration, Morris Dickstein writes in his article, Facing the Music, ” The government projects were serious and instructive but also uplifting and, significantly, they provided an economic stimulus in the form of jobs for artists.” 1 This poster made me wonder why certain members of society had to be coerced into helping the needy, they were more willing to spend money on a show than going out to buy milk for a starving child. I believe this question is partially answered by Morris Dickstein’s article in the Los Angeles Times How song, dance and movies bailed us out of the Depression ” The most durable cliche about the arts in the 1930s is that despite the surge of social consciousness among writers, photographers and painters (some of it supported by federal dollars), the arts offered Depression audiences little more than fluffy escapism, which was just what they needed.” 2 But I don’t believe that is the whole story. These methods helped me analyze this poster in pieces, taking each part of the poster to have its own meaning and purpose, contributing to the whole product. When viewed this way I was able to get a deeper understanding for the meaning behind its creation. I was able to delve deeper into my historical thinking and not just see this poster as a way to persuade people with money to help the poor, but as a method for their own healing as well as making sure the arts didn’t die in America.
- Dickstein, Morris. “Facing the Music.” The American Scholar, December 11, 2014. https://theamericanscholar.org/facing-the-music/#.XZ1SSkZKiUm.
- Dickstein, Morris. “How Song, Dance and Movies Bailed Us out of the Depression.” Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, April 1, 2009. https://www.latimes.com/la-oe-dickstein1-2009apr01-story.html.
