Rachel
While America experienced a growing prosperity, the majority of Europe was thrown into social and political turmoil during the beginning of the 18th century which caused an enormous increase in immigration to the United States. Up to the 1880s, immigrants mostly came from Western Europe, boasting of high literacy rates and a type of equality in government, but a recent explosion of population in Southern and Eastern Europe along with unstable conditions caused many to leave in search of a better life. Due to the influx of American food goods, many peasants were uprooted from their habitual and often generation-long lifestyles and were forced to seek work elsewhere. These “New Immigrants” were often exploited by industrialists seeking low-wage labor, subjecting them to less-than-humane factory conditions. “Native” Americans for the most part reacted harshly to immigration, causing a new trend of antiforeignism or nativism to develop. With harsh laws enacted to slow immigration and growing nativism, immigrants were herded into segregated sections of cities or “ghettos” while attempting to assimilate into American culture.
During the colonial era, Western Europeans journeyed to the New World, bringing with them the classical artistic styles and traditional portraiture; but the sudden influx from Europe facilitated a dramatic shift from the familiar customs of America. One of the new art forms that emerged during this period was photography and the public responded, clamoring for images which captured a moment in time. The nation’s first photojournalist, Denmark-born Jacob Riis immigrated to America in 1870, bringing with him a new perspective on daily life. “Riis captured the material conditions of the poor and the homeless with a sympathetic eye, and his photographs … provided dramatic visual commentary on the tenements, sweatshops, and street life of the city's poor and homeless, especially in immigrant neighborhoods” (Rediscovering Jacob Riis) when most patrons preferred to focus their attention on the more pleasing aspects of life. Riis had experienced gut-wrenching poverty before he became a photojournalist, and his most famous photograph, “Five Cents a Spot”, accurately explains why he focused on exposing the terrible conditions of the poor. His work was the foundation for “a sort of progressive sensibility. ... Riis believed that it was important, that it was crucial, to try to rouse the conscience of the public, to appeal to the conscience. This belief that if we could simply expose conditions, if people simply knew how bad things were, they would rise up and change them” (Siegel), and for the most part, that is exactly what happened. The gist of his philosophy, that people deserve to be treated as human and not as livestock, maintained significance and was eventually adopted as part of the American identity, that the necessity for independence and equality were key factors in the structure of the United States.
As immigrants endeavored to adapt themselves to an alien land, their cultures intermingled with the norm, producing a distinct era in art. The development of painting has always relied on European influence as many American-born artists traveled to distant countries to learn techniques and shape them to fit a different culture. Oscar Bluemner, an immigrant from Germany, was a prominent figure in American Modernism, often drawing inspiration from Cubism. In a sharp rejection of the gritty and dismal slums of America, “Bluemner was interested in how pure color carried emotional and psychological impact … and was [later] concerned with simplifying reality rather than employing pure abstraction” (Oscar Bluemner Bio). His style differed radically from the contemporary and traditional paintings in both Europe and America as many artists only explored color through Romanticism and utilized Realism as a foundation for basic art. His painting, Morning Light, emphasizes his focus on “the primacy of color as a source of power and energy in his images” (Phillips) which was so uncommon during the early twentieth century. As an immigrant, Bluemner transformed the archaic idealism of painting into a true expression of the mind, one full of color and adventure rather than stiff poses and simple explorations of landscape.
The influence of these “New Immigrants” greatly affected the United States, often arousing interest in societal issues as only the Progressives in America would shed light on the impoverished and their horrendous living conditions. The shift in in art during the late 19th and early 20th centuries mirrored the barreling speed of a Modern America as it approached its pinnacle of existence, and art was one of the devices used to promote the advancement toward social and political equality in America.
Works Cited
"Oscar Bluemner - Bio." Oscar Bluemner - Bio. 2012. Web. 6 Mar. 2013. <http://www.phillipscollection.org/research/american_art/bios/bluemner-bio.htm>.
"Rediscovering Jacob Riis: Photographer, Journalist, Social Reformer." Rediscovering Jacob Riis: Photographer, Journalist, Social Reformer. 15 Feb. 2001. Web. 6 Mar. 2013. <https://www.mtholyoke.edu/offices/comm/csj/020901/riis.shtml>.
Siegel, Robert, Bonnie Yochelson, Daniel Czitrom, and Tom Buk-Swienty. "Jacob Riis: Shedding Light On NYC's 'Other Half'" NPR. NPR, 30 June 2008. Web. 6 Mar. 2013. <http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91981589>.
Images Cited
Bluemner, Oscar. Morning Light. 1912-16. Oil on canvas. Hirshhorn Museum, Washington, D.C.
Riis, Jacob. Five Cents a Spot. 1888-89. Photograph. Jacob A. Riis Collection, Museum of the City of New York, New York. NPR. 30 June 2008. Web. 6 Mar. 2013. <http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91981589>.
While America experienced a growing prosperity, the majority of Europe was thrown into social and political turmoil during the beginning of the 18th century which caused an enormous increase in immigration to the United States. Up to the 1880s, immigrants mostly came from Western Europe, boasting of high literacy rates and a type of equality in government, but a recent explosion of population in Southern and Eastern Europe along with unstable conditions caused many to leave in search of a better life. Due to the influx of American food goods, many peasants were uprooted from their habitual and often generation-long lifestyles and were forced to seek work elsewhere. These “New Immigrants” were often exploited by industrialists seeking low-wage labor, subjecting them to less-than-humane factory conditions. “Native” Americans for the most part reacted harshly to immigration, causing a new trend of antiforeignism or nativism to develop. With harsh laws enacted to slow immigration and growing nativism, immigrants were herded into segregated sections of cities or “ghettos” while attempting to assimilate into American culture.
During the colonial era, Western Europeans journeyed to the New World, bringing with them the classical artistic styles and traditional portraiture; but the sudden influx from Europe facilitated a dramatic shift from the familiar customs of America. One of the new art forms that emerged during this period was photography and the public responded, clamoring for images which captured a moment in time. The nation’s first photojournalist, Denmark-born Jacob Riis immigrated to America in 1870, bringing with him a new perspective on daily life. “Riis captured the material conditions of the poor and the homeless with a sympathetic eye, and his photographs … provided dramatic visual commentary on the tenements, sweatshops, and street life of the city's poor and homeless, especially in immigrant neighborhoods” (Rediscovering Jacob Riis) when most patrons preferred to focus their attention on the more pleasing aspects of life. Riis had experienced gut-wrenching poverty before he became a photojournalist, and his most famous photograph, “Five Cents a Spot”, accurately explains why he focused on exposing the terrible conditions of the poor. His work was the foundation for “a sort of progressive sensibility. ... Riis believed that it was important, that it was crucial, to try to rouse the conscience of the public, to appeal to the conscience. This belief that if we could simply expose conditions, if people simply knew how bad things were, they would rise up and change them” (Siegel), and for the most part, that is exactly what happened. The gist of his philosophy, that people deserve to be treated as human and not as livestock, maintained significance and was eventually adopted as part of the American identity, that the necessity for independence and equality were key factors in the structure of the United States.
As immigrants endeavored to adapt themselves to an alien land, their cultures intermingled with the norm, producing a distinct era in art. The development of painting has always relied on European influence as many American-born artists traveled to distant countries to learn techniques and shape them to fit a different culture. Oscar Bluemner, an immigrant from Germany, was a prominent figure in American Modernism, often drawing inspiration from Cubism. In a sharp rejection of the gritty and dismal slums of America, “Bluemner was interested in how pure color carried emotional and psychological impact … and was [later] concerned with simplifying reality rather than employing pure abstraction” (Oscar Bluemner Bio). His style differed radically from the contemporary and traditional paintings in both Europe and America as many artists only explored color through Romanticism and utilized Realism as a foundation for basic art. His painting, Morning Light, emphasizes his focus on “the primacy of color as a source of power and energy in his images” (Phillips) which was so uncommon during the early twentieth century. As an immigrant, Bluemner transformed the archaic idealism of painting into a true expression of the mind, one full of color and adventure rather than stiff poses and simple explorations of landscape.
The influence of these “New Immigrants” greatly affected the United States, often arousing interest in societal issues as only the Progressives in America would shed light on the impoverished and their horrendous living conditions. The shift in in art during the late 19th and early 20th centuries mirrored the barreling speed of a Modern America as it approached its pinnacle of existence, and art was one of the devices used to promote the advancement toward social and political equality in America.
Works Cited
"Oscar Bluemner - Bio." Oscar Bluemner - Bio. 2012. Web. 6 Mar. 2013. <http://www.phillipscollection.org/research/american_art/bios/bluemner-bio.htm>.
"Rediscovering Jacob Riis: Photographer, Journalist, Social Reformer." Rediscovering Jacob Riis: Photographer, Journalist, Social Reformer. 15 Feb. 2001. Web. 6 Mar. 2013. <https://www.mtholyoke.edu/offices/comm/csj/020901/riis.shtml>.
Siegel, Robert, Bonnie Yochelson, Daniel Czitrom, and Tom Buk-Swienty. "Jacob Riis: Shedding Light On NYC's 'Other Half'" NPR. NPR, 30 June 2008. Web. 6 Mar. 2013. <http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91981589>.
Images Cited
Bluemner, Oscar. Morning Light. 1912-16. Oil on canvas. Hirshhorn Museum, Washington, D.C.
Riis, Jacob. Five Cents a Spot. 1888-89. Photograph. Jacob A. Riis Collection, Museum of the City of New York, New York. NPR. 30 June 2008. Web. 6 Mar. 2013. <http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91981589>.