The Social And the Real

During the 1930s, American artists such as Ben Shahn developed a mode of representation generally known as Social Realism. This term is given broad new meaning in the anthology brought together by Alejandro Anreus, Diana Linden, and Jonathan Weinberg. They and their collaborators argue that artists of the Depression era believed that their art became "real" by engaging the great economic and political issues of society. Through fresh investigation of the visual culture of the 1930s--"painting, sculpture, photography, and the graphic arts--"the anthology illuminates the struggle for social justice that led artists to embrace leftist ideologies and devise an art aimed at revealing the harsh realities of contemporary life. In sharp contrast to earlier studies,

Alejandro Anreus is Associate Professor of Art History and Latin American Studies at William Paterson University. Diana L. Linden is a visiting Assistant Professor, Pitzer College, Claremont, CA. Jonathan Weinberg is an artist and Fellow, Vera List Center for Art and Politics, New School University.