Questions about the exhibit:
1. What is the title of the exhibit?
Full Color Depression: First Kodachromes from America's Heartland
2. What is the theme of the exhibition?
Depression, images of people /places during the depression. Team from FSA took over 175,000 black and white photos. Some of those were taken in kodachrome (we don't know exactly how many), but only 1,615 of the kodachrome photos taken survived.
Step 2: The Gallery
Questions about the physical space:
1. What type of lighting is used?
Spot lighting to illuminate all the artwork on the walls and banners hanging from the ceiling.
2. What colors are used on the walls?
White
3. What materials are used in the interior artchitecture of the space?
Invisible string to hang the banners with the artwork in the center of the room. Neutral grey/brown marbeled floor. Walls-crowning and baseboards all same shade of white. Security camera, spot light encasing and speakers all white as well.
4. How is the movement of the viewer through the gallery space?
First thing you notice is the banners hanging from the ceiling in the center of the room. Then the slideshow on the television mounted on the wall and around the room from there.
Step 3: The Artwork
Questions about the artwork:
1. How are the artworks organized?
Some single column, some doubled up. The TV with the slideshow playing on it was on its own wall with the description/information about the exhibit on its own wall.
2. How are the artrworks similar?
All were photos of older buildings/people in the early 40's.
3. How are the artworks different?
Some look bleak and dreary, others the colors in them just pop.
4. How are the artworks framed?
All have same matte black 1/4 inch frame (except banners-no frames). Even the TV is black, giving the impression of a thin black frame around the photos on the slideshow.
5. How are the artworks identified and labeled?
Small white cards next to the piece (the group of cards on the wall next to doorway identified the banners).
6. What is the proximity of the artwork to each other?
About 16 inches apart horizontally, or 6 inches apart for the ones that are stacked 2 in a vertical row.
Step 4: Art Criticism Exercise
Select three of the artworks from the show and use the Art Criticism worksheet to desribe, analyze, bracket and interpret the work using the 5-step Art Criticism Process described.
Description: Photo by Marian Post Wolcott. Shacks Condemned by Board of Health, formerly (?) occupied by migrant workers and pickers, 1941. Digital file from original slide.
Old rundown shacks that were used to house migrant workers. Probably lived in deplorable conditions (since they were condemned). This (living in sub-standard living conditions) was probably something you saw every day during the depression. This is very realistic because individuals actually lived in these shacks.
The photograph is very striking. I was drawn to it at first because the color of the sky was such a vibrant blue and it just popped and caught my eye. When I looked at the photograph and read the title of it, the contrast of the bright cheery blue sky against the rundown shacks is striking, casting eachother in shadow making them look gloomy and uninviting.
(Next two steps same for all 3 pieces) This actually was everyday life. The artist was documenting how people lived during the Depression. It reminds me of when my grandfather would tell me stories of "back in the day". You think some of the things they exaggerate (walking to school up hill barefoot in snow both ways), but seeing this made me think about how most of these "stories" were their everyday norm.
I think the artist intended for this piece of art to be a true account/documentation of the lives of people during the Depression. My reaction was probably exactly what they intended: a mixture of shock, horror, sorrow, sadness and incredulity that people were expected to live like this. No matter how long ago these photos were taken, I think anyone who would have looked at them whether it be from back then or fifty years from now would have some of those emotions, but they probably get stronger and stronger as time passes because most people (especially people going to art galleries to view this art work) don't know or will never know the hardships these people lived thru.
The top photograph is by Jack Delano. It is a photograph in the roundhouse at a chicago and Northwetern Railroad yard in Chicago, Ill., December 1942 (Digital file from original transparency).
The bottom photograph is two employees at the roundhouse at Proviso yard, C & NW RR, Chicago, Ill., December 1942 (Digital file from original transparency).
Both works are realistic. The artist's goal is to portray the realities of the Depression and both photographs do a great job doing so. The darkness of both photographs definitely makes them appear gloomy and, well, kind of depressing, which was probably the goal of the artist in the first place. The darkness and shadows casted in both photographs helps make the photos appear realistic like the artist intended.
Step 5: Document Your Visit
See photos above
Answer this question: What did you think of visiting the Gallery and purposefully looking at the exhibition from a different perspective - the physical space, the architecture, theme, etc.?
I never really paid any attention to the physical space, architecture, theme, etc. but looking at these aspects made me see that it appears that the objective of the gallery is to not distract the viewers by using any ornate decorations or anything that might distract the attention away from the artwork that is being displayed. They want all the attention of the viewer to be on the artwork and keeping everything the same color and using simple architecture within the room the exhibit was shown in helps do that very well. I have been to other galleries such as the MFA in Boston when I lived there and I recall some of the rooms were elaborately decorated as works of art themselves, and I feel like there was just so much to look at at once that it kind of distracted the viewer from focusing on one artwork at a time.
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