This is a review of a new book about the role of art production during the new deal; would be interesting to think about such a project for environmental sustainability; i think this is a neglected aspect in sustainability dicussions: the new for visual renderings and depictions of sustainable economic activities (gardening, green energy) but in ways that resonate with people culturally, including in terms of popculture, not just public-national culture.
When Art Worked
A stunning new book shows how New Deal art helped remake democratic culture.
Posted by David Bollier
A portion of “Ranchers of the Panhandle,” by Frank Mechau, 1940, a mural in the Brownfield, Texas, post office.
At a time when our national (and global) predicaments are seen mostly as a matter for economists and policy wonks to solve, historian Roger Kennedy comes forward to remind us of the critical role of art. Art is not just an aesthetic pleasure or indulgence, he insists; it is a way in which people makes sense of their problems. It is a way of re-imagining the common good.
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