making friends out of Federal Project #1 and the mammon of inequity
July 7, 2022 8:50 AM Subscribe
The Living New Deal project is mapping WPA projects across the US. Primarily featuring work created under the Works Progress Administration Federal Art Project, which were rarely marked and many have fallen into obscurity.
The Arts Project was part of a USA government project established to support writers, theater people, painters, sculptors, and photographers during the Great Depression. President Roosevelt's New Deal aimed bolster economic output and provide for minimum living conditions, but it also controversially significantly funded public art.
A recently re-released documentary, New Deal for Artists, voiced by Orson Welles, covers the history of this golden era of American art. The central argument is that many major artists of that era got their start with WPA funding. This includes writers like Saul Bellow, Zora Neale Hurston, John Cheever, Ralph Ellison, Studs Terkel, and painters like Pollock or Rothko and de Kooning.
Welles notes that this funding included his production of Macbeth, when he was just 20 years old. Set in Haiti and centered on Henry Christophe, the 150 person cast was all black, and a direct response to the era of Jim Crow. Orson later said that the "great success in my life was that play."
The ongoing pandemic has raised questions about the government’s role in funding artists. Unlike WPA director Harry Hopkins response: “Hell! They’ve got to eat just like other people” in 2022 this question has largely gone unanswered.
The Arts Project was part of a USA government project established to support writers, theater people, painters, sculptors, and photographers during the Great Depression. President Roosevelt's New Deal aimed bolster economic output and provide for minimum living conditions, but it also controversially significantly funded public art.
A recently re-released documentary, New Deal for Artists, voiced by Orson Welles, covers the history of this golden era of American art. The central argument is that many major artists of that era got their start with WPA funding. This includes writers like Saul Bellow, Zora Neale Hurston, John Cheever, Ralph Ellison, Studs Terkel, and painters like Pollock or Rothko and de Kooning.
Welles notes that this funding included his production of Macbeth, when he was just 20 years old. Set in Haiti and centered on Henry Christophe, the 150 person cast was all black, and a direct response to the era of Jim Crow. Orson later said that the "great success in my life was that play."
The ongoing pandemic has raised questions about the government’s role in funding artists. Unlike WPA director Harry Hopkins response: “Hell! They’ve got to eat just like other people” in 2022 this question has largely gone unanswered.
Very cool! Thanks for posting!
posted by I_Love_Bananas at 9:16 AM on July 7, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by I_Love_Bananas at 9:16 AM on July 7, 2022 [1 favorite]
Was very pleased to see that City Park in New Orleans is on there. I remember noticing all the concrete sculpture by Enrique Alferez lining the boulevards and that many of them were in bad repair. Deco-style eagles, very cool.
posted by Lawn Beaver at 9:26 AM on July 7, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by Lawn Beaver at 9:26 AM on July 7, 2022 [3 favorites]
Pretty interesting list. I was surprised how small (but still very important) some of the projects were. Like this one - OUTHOUSE AT ROBERTSON FARM – FERNDALE WA.
posted by Ashwagandha at 9:33 AM on July 7, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by Ashwagandha at 9:33 AM on July 7, 2022 [2 favorites]
This is so, so cool.
I lived in California all my life. I call all of the towns along State Highway 99 WPA towns as this was where the migrant worker ala "Grapes of Wrath" settles. This post gives me the desire to actually do a WPA road trip through the state.
And the mural in the St. Helena post office is jaw-dropping in terms of beauty and homo-eroticism.
Have taken a deep dive yet. I hope they show the public works programs also. In Lodi, there is a Department of Agriculture field office downtown. The simplicity of building design and the fonts used to mark the building is fantastic
Great, great post
posted by goalyeehah at 10:25 AM on July 7, 2022 [2 favorites]
I lived in California all my life. I call all of the towns along State Highway 99 WPA towns as this was where the migrant worker ala "Grapes of Wrath" settles. This post gives me the desire to actually do a WPA road trip through the state.
And the mural in the St. Helena post office is jaw-dropping in terms of beauty and homo-eroticism.
Have taken a deep dive yet. I hope they show the public works programs also. In Lodi, there is a Department of Agriculture field office downtown. The simplicity of building design and the fonts used to mark the building is fantastic
Great, great post
posted by goalyeehah at 10:25 AM on July 7, 2022 [2 favorites]
....and there was a cement canal that ran by our farm. The term "W.P.A - 1941" was etched in the side
posted by goalyeehah at 10:27 AM on July 7, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by goalyeehah at 10:27 AM on July 7, 2022 [1 favorite]
It's almost impossible to fully comprehend how much good the WPA did... and it actually is impossible, for me at least, to imagine something like it happening ever again.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 10:53 AM on July 7, 2022 [6 favorites]
posted by DirtyOldTown at 10:53 AM on July 7, 2022 [6 favorites]
Neat!
posted by eotvos at 10:57 AM on July 7, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by eotvos at 10:57 AM on July 7, 2022 [1 favorite]
→
The WPA built millions of "Roosevelt Outhouses" which likely improved the sanitation and health of more rural Americans than any federal program. There are very few contemporary pictures of them, likely because of moral coyness prevalent at the time. I hope that the agency responsible for most of them - the Relief Administration - had at least a vague hint at the humour in their name.
I am also loving the font that the site uses. It reminds me of the signage at the Hall of Waters - Excelsior Springs MO, one of my favourite WPA sites.
posted by scruss at 11:11 AM on July 7, 2022 [9 favorites]
OUTHOUSE AT ROBERTSON FARM – FERNDALE WA.
The WPA built millions of "Roosevelt Outhouses" which likely improved the sanitation and health of more rural Americans than any federal program. There are very few contemporary pictures of them, likely because of moral coyness prevalent at the time. I hope that the agency responsible for most of them - the Relief Administration - had at least a vague hint at the humour in their name.
I am also loving the font that the site uses. It reminds me of the signage at the Hall of Waters - Excelsior Springs MO, one of my favourite WPA sites.
posted by scruss at 11:11 AM on July 7, 2022 [9 favorites]
Huh, I didn't realize that the central park in the town I grew up in was largely funded by the WPA, and the bathrooms there entirely funded by it. As well as many of the sidewalks nearby, apparently. Thank you for sharing this.
posted by wesleyac at 4:12 PM on July 7, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by wesleyac at 4:12 PM on July 7, 2022 [2 favorites]
The WPA is a longstanding personal and professional interest of mine. It really is fascinating how deep and extensive New Deal projects went, especially among things like library services and surveying historical records. The New Deal is such a beacon of inspiration because of the actual precedent it set for massive investments in things that had real life material improvements for people's lives. It's mindblowing to think of what we invested in less than 100 years ago!
For those who want to learn more, the book that planted the seed of fascination for me was Nick Taylor's American Made.
Also - if you've ever thought about trying to find a fairly accessible entry into rare book collecting, the American Guide series (put out by the WPA Writer's Project) is a really fun set of books to collect. Even the ones in pristine condition don't cost that much by book collecting standards, and a great used book store in every city usually has at least a small selection of them.
posted by mostly vowels at 4:46 PM on July 7, 2022 [5 favorites]
For those who want to learn more, the book that planted the seed of fascination for me was Nick Taylor's American Made.
Also - if you've ever thought about trying to find a fairly accessible entry into rare book collecting, the American Guide series (put out by the WPA Writer's Project) is a really fun set of books to collect. Even the ones in pristine condition don't cost that much by book collecting standards, and a great used book store in every city usually has at least a small selection of them.
posted by mostly vowels at 4:46 PM on July 7, 2022 [5 favorites]
What a great site! I have seen and loved many of the projects on this list and am happy to see them cataloged with some background info. Thank you.
posted by evilmomlady at 6:07 PM on July 7, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by evilmomlady at 6:07 PM on July 7, 2022 [2 favorites]
So glad this is still around and kept up to date and looking good. I heard a talk from the creator, Gray Brechin, on a boat in the middle of San Francisco Bay during Labor Fest in 2009. He was mostly discussing points of labor history as we cruised around important sites in the Bay, including the Port of San Francisco and the Bay Bridge.
Labor Fest is still happening, and if you're in the Bay Area this Saturday, July 9th there is a walking tour of WPA sites in Berkeley with author Harvey Smith.
posted by oneirodynia at 8:36 PM on July 7, 2022 [1 favorite]
Labor Fest is still happening, and if you're in the Bay Area this Saturday, July 9th there is a walking tour of WPA sites in Berkeley with author Harvey Smith.
posted by oneirodynia at 8:36 PM on July 7, 2022 [1 favorite]
Meant to add that the boat tour still happens! Highly recommended, though you still pay for tickets by mailing a check :)
posted by oneirodynia at 8:40 PM on July 7, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by oneirodynia at 8:40 PM on July 7, 2022 [1 favorite]
One of the weird joys of now living in the bay area is getting to see how many post offices feature really lovely murals -- they're everywhere! I grew up in places where the New Deal=the TVA, where you might conceivably (until 9/11 anyway) drive an hour to visit a hydroelectric dam. That's definitely the sort of New Deal project that features heavily in my mind, so it's wild to look at the map and realize how few dams were built nationally.
Very cool map and project.
posted by grandiloquiet at 8:45 AM on July 8, 2022 [1 favorite]
Very cool map and project.
posted by grandiloquiet at 8:45 AM on July 8, 2022 [1 favorite]
« Older Brittney Griner Pleads Guilty | "with this sign for beautiful, there is no... Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
posted by zenon at 8:55 AM on July 7, 2022 [1 favorite]