(:)(:)(:)(:)(:) art for the people: wpa-era paintings from the dijkstra collection through may 7 at the crocker art museum in sacramento.
lured by the lee alexander mcqueen & ann ray fashion exhibit which a trusted friend had said was “amazing,” my husband and i walked the 6 blocks over from our home to the crocker art museum this morning to check it out. we’ve been members for years and bill goes often but shamefully i often don’t create the time or space for it.
after breezing through (and having trouble seeing what was so special about) the mcqueen exhibit on the third floor, we walked down to the 2nd floor to check out the wpa art exhibit (took a minute to find it–tucked around a corner where you think you’ve run out of the modern wing of the museum).
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i can’t say enough about how enlivening and inspiring i found this collection (i think we both did, but sadly i don’t speak for bill). notwithstanding its subsidy of orson welles, i had always imagined the arts program of the famous works progress administration (wpa) of the roosevelt administration as predominantly funding art that could more properly be termed propaganda for america.* this collection demonstrates otherwise. from the extreme lack of safety in coal mining, to the fierce isolation and poverty of the great depression (when most of them were made), most of these works are gripping and memorable, some show the seamy underbelly of american life.
even so every artist and painting in this collection was previously unknown to us. many of the artists were jewish immigrants from europe. it’s worth remembering at this time when so many americans struggle again for housing and food that part of the roosevelt administration’s recipe for recovery from the depression was public investment in jobs in multiple sectors including art at the level of jobs for the artists themselves who did not have to take time out of doing their art to fill out a grant application or have “technical support” to money. they simply reported to the art hiring hall and if there was a spot they went to work. after that maybe more.
for decades, starting with the reagan administration, we have been schooled to view funding for the arts as “elite” and a waste of taxpayer money. california, while filled with “elite” arts lovers, is no exception. After encouraging us last year when he worked with the legislature to allocate $30 million to state designated cultural districts (which, among other things, fund art and artists), governor gavin newsom began 2023 by clawing back lots of money for lots of things including removing $20 million for cultural districts. at the same time he allocated $400 million of new funding for a tax incentive for the film industry to film in california. In my opinion transferring $400 million from working families to incentivize the behavior of hollywood producers is not funding for the arts. directly funding working artists is.
two other things about my trip to the crocker:
- i always forget how much just seeing a wonderful art exhibit inspires me to my own creativity–witness, i’m actually writing this!
- the second thursday of every month at 6pm the crocker has music, dancing, sometimes food trucks and more going on. last month’s theme was mardi gras. in december it was festivus. this week, march 9th it just says artmix:movements but lists djs and dance performances. tickets are free for members and $25 for non. if you’re getting to the point where you’re much more likely to dance at 6pm than at 10pm, this event is for you but you should understand that this is a very lively crowd that skews young. both recent times we went there were 100s of people there, mostly looking under 40 and almost no one wears masks (but if not raining they have a bunch of activity outside in the courtyard). check it out: https://my.crockerart.org/artmix/668
*in fact, i recently read (and did not get around to reviewing) the novel the muralist by b.a. shapiro in which a fictional starving artist threatens the wpa mission by her venture into abstract expressionism (as she hangs out with lee krasner, jackson pollock, bill de kooning and mark rothko). i do recommend it.
