Ben Shahn
Ben Shahn | |
---|---|
graphic art, photography, writing | |
Notable work | Nicola Sacco & Bartolomeo series and Jersey Homesteads Mural |
Movement | Social realism |
Spouse(s) | Tillie Goldstein (m. 1924; divorced) Bernarda Bryson (m. 1935) |
Children | 5 |
Ben Shahn (September 12, 1898 – March 14, 1969) was an American artist. He is best known for his works of social realism, his left-wing political views, and his series of lectures published as The Shape of Content.
Biography
Shahn was born in Kaunas,
Although Shahn attended New York University as a biology student in 1919, he went on to pursue art at City College in 1921 and then at the National Academy of Design. After his marriage to Tillie Goldstein in 1924, the two traveled through North Africa and then to Europe, where he made "the traditional artist pilgrimage."[3] There he studied great European artists such as Henri Matisse, Raoul Dufy, Georges Rouault, Pablo Picasso and Paul Klee. Contemporaries who would make a profound impact on Shahn's work and career include artists Walker Evans, Diego Rivera and Jean Charlot.[3]
Shahn was dissatisfied with the work inspired by his travels, claiming that the pieces were unoriginal.[3] He eventually outgrew his pursuit of European modern art, and redirected his efforts toward a realist style which he used to contribute to social dialogue.[4]
The 23 gouache paintings of the trials of Sacco and Vanzetti communicated the political concerns of his time, rejecting academic prescriptions for subject matter. The Passion of Sacco and Vanzetti was exhibited in 1932 and received acclaim from both the public and critics. This series gave Shahn the confidence to cultivate his personal style, regardless of society’s art standards.[5]
Work during the Great Depression
Shahn's subsequent series of California labor leader
World War II and beyond
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c1/Poster_RegtoVote.jpg/220px-Poster_RegtoVote.jpg)
During the war years of 1942–43, Shahn worked for the
In 1947 he directed a summer session of the
Edward Steichen selected Shahn's work, including his October 1935 photograph The family of a Resettlement Administration client in the doorway of their home, Boone County, Arkansas, for MoMA's world-touring The Family of Man which was seen by 9 million visitors.[13] Only the huddled figure of the woman on the right hand half of Shahn's 35mm frame was blown up for the display.[14][15]
From 1961 to 1967, Shahn worked on the stained glass at Temple Beth Zion, a Buffalo, NY synagogue designed by Harrison & Abramovitz.
Shahn also began to act as a commercial artist for CBS, Time, Fortune and
The artist was especially active as an academic in the last two decades of his life. He received honorary doctorates from Princeton University and Harvard University, and joined Harvard as a Charles Eliot Norton professor in 1956. His published writings, including The Biography of Painting (1956) and The Shape of Content (1957), became influential works in the art world.[3]
After his death, William Schuman composed "In Praise of Shahn", a modern canticle for orchestra, first performed January 29, 1970, by the New York Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein conducting.[19]
Themes
Ben Shahn’s social-realist vision informed his approach to art. Shahn’s examination of the status quo inspired his creative process.[3] Although he often explored polemic themes of modern urban life, organized labor, immigration and injustice, he did so while maintaining a compassionate tone. Shahn identified himself as a communicative artist. He challenged the esoteric pretensions of art, which he believed disconnect artists and their work from the public.[20] As an alternative, he proposed an intimate and mutually beneficial relationship between artist and audience.
Shahn defended his choice to employ pictorial realities, rather than abstract forms. According to Shahn, known forms allow the artist "to discover new truths about man and to reaffirm that his life is significant."
Style
Shahn mixed different genres of art. His body of art is distinctive for its lack of traditional landscapes, still lifes, and portraits.[5] Shahn used both expressive and precise visual languages, which he united through the consistency of his authoritative line. His background in lithography contributed to his devotion to detail.[20] Shahn is also noted for his use of unique symbolism, which is often compared to the imagery in Paul Klee's drawings.[20] While Shahn's "love for exactitude"[22] is apparent in his graphics, so too is his creativity. In fact, many of his paintings are inventive adaptations of his photography.[22]
Evocative juxtapositions characterize his aesthetic. He intentionally paired contrasting scales, colors, and images together to create tension.
Shahn's art is striking but also introspective. He often captured figures engrossed in their own worlds.[4] Many of his photographs were taken spontaneously, without the subject's notice. To achieve these candid shots Shahn often used a right-angle viewfinder on his 35mm Leica; he can be seen using it in a window reflection in an untitled picture from his 1938 series made in Circleville, Ohio.[24] Although he used many mediums, his pieces are consistently thoughtful and playful.[5]
Jersey Homesteads mural
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/72/Jersey_Homesteads_Mural_Rothstein.jpg/220px-Jersey_Homesteads_Mural_Rothstein.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/24/Jersey_Homesteads_Sinopia_Ben_Shahn_1.jpg/220px-Jersey_Homesteads_Sinopia_Ben_Shahn_1.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1e/Sinopia_for_the_Roosevelt_mural_at_Mitchell_H._Cohen_U.S._Courthouse_Annex%2C_Camden%2C_New_Jersey_LCCN2010719893.tif/lossy-page1-220px-Sinopia_for_the_Roosevelt_mural_at_Mitchell_H._Cohen_U.S._Courthouse_Annex%2C_Camden%2C_New_Jersey_LCCN2010719893.tif.jpg)
The Resettlement Administration employed Shahn to paint a mural for the school of Jersey Homesteads (later renamed Roosevelt), a New Jersey town initially planned to be a community for Jewish garment workers. Shahn's move to the settlement demonstrates his dedication to the project as does his mural's compelling depiction of the town's founding.
Three panels compose the mural. According to art historian Diana L. Linden, the panels' sequence relates to that of the
The first panel shows the antisemitic and xenophobic obstacles American immigrants faced. During the global Depression, citizens of the United States struggled for their livelihoods. Because foreigners represented competition for employment, they were especially unwelcome. National immigration quotas also reflected the strained foreign relations of the United States at a time when fascism, Nazism, and communism were on the rise. To illustrate the political and social adversary, Shahn incorporated loaded iconography: Nazi soldiers, anti-Jewish signs and the executed Italian anarchists, Sacco and Vanzetti. Below, Shahn's mother and Albert Einstein lead immigrants on a gangplank situated by the Ellis Island registry center and the Statue of Liberty. This section demonstrates the immigrants' heroic emergence in the United States.
The middle panel describes the poor living conditions awaiting immigrants after their arrival. On the right, Shahn depicts the inhuman labor situation in the form of "lightless sweatshops ... tedious and backbreaking work with outmoded tools."
In the last panel, the unions and the New Deal unite to create the blueprint for the town of the Jersey Homesteads. Various figures of social progress such as Sidney Hillman and Heywood Broun gather around the drafting table. Above them are images of the purposed cooperative farm and factory along with a campaign poster of Roosevelt, after whom the town was eventually named.
Shahn’s biographer Soby notes "the composition of the mural at Roosevelt follows the undulant principle Shahn had learned from Diego Rivera: deep recession of space alternating with human and architectural details projected forward."[22] Moreover, the montage effectively intimates the amalgamation of peoples and cultures populating the urban landscape in the early 20th century. Multiple layers and perspectives fuse together to portray a complex industrialized system. Still, the mural maintains a sense of humanity; Shahn gives his figures a monumental quality through volume and scale. The urban architecture does not dwarf the people; instead, they work with the surroundings to build their own structure. Shahn captured the urgency for activism and reform, by showing gestures and mid-steps and freezing all the subjects in motion. This pictorial incorporation of "athletic pose and evocative asymmetry of architectural detail" is a Shahn trademark.[22] While exemplifying his visual and social concerns, the mural characterizes the general issues of Shahn's milieu.
The
Selected artworks
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/82/Sacco-Vanzetti-01.jpg/220px-Sacco-Vanzetti-01.jpg)
- Bartolomeo Vanzetti and Nicola Sacco Their Guards, 1932, Collection of Miss Patricia Healey Yale University
- The Passion of Sacco and Vanzetti, 1931–33, Whitney Museum
- Untitled (Houston Street Playground, New York City), 1932, Fogg Art Museum
- W.C.T.U Parade, 1933–34, Museum of the City of New York
- Jersey Homesteads Mural, 1937–38, Community Center of the Federal Housing Development, Roosevelt, New Jersey
- Still Music, 1938, Philips Collection Archived 2017-06-03 at the Wayback Machine, Washington DC and in Black/White
- Handball, 1939, The Museum of Modern Art, New York (Mrs. John D. Rockefeller, Jr., Fund) [3]
- The Meaning of Social Security mural, 1940–42, Federal Security Building, Washington, DC
- For Full Employment after the War, Register-Vote, 1944, The Museum of Modern Art, New York
- Allegory, 1948, Bill Bomar Collection at The Modern
- Age of Anxiety, 1953, The Joseph H. Hirschhorn Foundation, Inc.
Exhibitions
- "Ben Shahn: Paintings and Drawings," 1930, Edith Halpert's Downtown Galleryin New York, New York
- "57th Annual American Exhibition: Water Colors and Drawings," 1946, Tate Galleryin London, England
- "Ben Shahn: A Retrospective," 1947, Museum of Modern Art in New York, New York
- "Esposizione Biennale internationale D’Arte XXVII," 1954 in Venice, Italy
- "Ben Shahn," 1962, Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, Belgium; Galleria Nazionale D'arte Moderna in Rome, Italy; and Albertinain Vienna, Austria.
- "The Collected Prints of Ben Shahn," 1969, Philadelphia Museum of Art in Pennsylvania.
- "Ben Shahn: A Retrospective Exhibition," 1969, New Jersey State Museum, Trenton, New Jersey.
- "Ben Shahn's New York: The Photography of Modern Times," 2000–01, Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Further reading
- Ben Shahn's New Deal Murals: Jewish Identity in the American Scene by Diana L. Linden, 2015, Wayne State University Press [ISBN missing]
See also
References
Notes
- ^ a b "New York, County Naturalization Records, 1791–1980". familysearch.org. Intellectual Reserve, Inc. (LDS Church). Retrieved 12 March 2020.
- Jewish Museum (New York), 2004.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Morse, John (1972). Ben Shahn. New York: Praeger Publishers Inc.
- ^ Harvard University Art Museums, February 2000.
- ^ a b c d Prescott, Kenneth (1973). The Complete Graphic Works of Ben Shahn. New York: Quadrangle.
- ^ a b "Wilbur J. Cohen Federal Building: Where's the Art?". GSA. 2019-02-26. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
- ^ "John Ormai, 72, Artist, Muralist". The Morning Call. March 4, 1992. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
- ^ Donald J. Framberger; Joan R. Olshansky & Elizabeth Spencer-Ralph (September 1979). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: Bronx Central Annex-U.S. Post Office". New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Archived from the original on 2012-10-15. Retrieved 2010-10-01.
- ^ Edwards, Susan (September 1999). Ben Shahn's New Deal: The Resettlement Administration (RA) and the Farm Security Administration (FSA). Harvard University Art Museums. Archived from the original on 2008-05-09.
- ^ a b "Ben Shahn: Passion for Justice". PBS. 2002. Archived from the original on 17 March 2008. Retrieved 18 March 2008.
- ^ Mainichi Daily News. Archived from the originalon 2012-01-26. Retrieved 2012-01-28.
- ISBN 978-1558493643.
- ^ Steichen, Edward (1955), Mason, Jerry (ed.), The family of man : the photographic exhibition, Published for the Museum of Modern Art by Simon and Schuster in collaboration with the Maco Magazine Corporation
- ^ United States Resettlement Administration, Shahn, B., photographer. (1935). Arkansas Boone County Boone County. United States, 1935. Oct. [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, [1].
- ISBN 978-0-521-88242-2
- ^ "Timeline". njn.net. 2002. Archived from the original on 17 March 2008. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
- ^ "Time Vault Year: 1965". Time. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
- ^ "1988 Hall of Fame: Ben Shahn". The Art Directors Club. 2007. Retrieved 18 March 2008.
- ^ Elliot Carter/Concerto for Orchestra, William Schuman/In Praise of Shahn, Leonard Bernstein, conductor. Columbia Records Masterworks M30112
- ^ a b c d e f Soby, James Thrall (1947). The Penguin Modern Painters: Ben Shahn. West Drayton: Penguin Books Limited.
- ^ Shahn, Ben (1966). The Biography of Painting. New York. Paragraphic Books.
- ^ George Braziller Inc.
- ^ from description on MoMA collection website
- United States Resettlement Administration, Shahn, B., photographer. (1938). Circleville Circleville. Ohio United States, 1938. [Summer] [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, [2].
Bibliography
- "1988 Hall of Fame: Ben Shahn". The Art Directors Club. 2007. Retrieved 18 March 2008.
- "Ben Shahn: Passion for Justice". PBS. 2002. Archived from the original on 17 March 2008. Retrieved 18 March 2008.
- Chevlowe, Susan (1998). Common Man Mythic Vision: The Paintings of Ben Shahn. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
- Edwards, Susan (September 1999). Ben Shahn's New Deal: The Resettlement Administration (RA) and the Farm Security Administration (FSA). Harvard University Art Museums. Archived from the original on 2008-05-09.
- Morse, John (1972). Ben Shahn. New York: Praeger Publishers Inc.
- Pohl, Frances (1993). Ben Shanh. Chesterfield: Chameleon Books Inc.
- Prescott, Kenneth (1973). The Complete Graphic Works of Ben Shahn. New York: Quadrangle.
- Shahn, Ben (1966). The Biography of Painting. New York. Paragraphic Books.
- Shahn, Ben (1957). The Shape of Content. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
- Soby, James Thrall (1963). Ben Shahn Paintings. New York: George Braziller Inc.
- Soby, James Thrall (1957). Ben Shahn: His Graphic Art. New York, G. Braziller.
- Soby, James Thrall (1947). The Penguin Modern Painters: Ben Shahn. West Drayton: Penguin Books Limited.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Wikiquote-logo.svg/34px-Wikiquote-logo.svg.png)
- Ben Shahn papers, 1879–1990, bulk 1933–1970, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution
- Ben Shahn archive, Harvard University
- Ben Shahn in the National Gallery of Australia's Kenneth Tyler Collection
- Columbus Museum of Art More on Father Coughlin
- Shahn poster
- Ben Shahn and the Great Depression by Michigan State University
- Ben Shahn works in the collection of the Jewish Museum
- "Ben Shahn: Passion for Justice". YouTube. StateoftheArtsNJ. 24 February 2018. Archived from the original on 2021-12-12.