Social Realism Movement
Social Realism is an amazing trend in art, as it is a way for artists to describe their emotions and feelings about real life events. Artists who paint under this theme typically choose to depict real life events and alter them to show how they feel about the paintings. It is described to be, “While there was a variety of styles and subjects within Social Realism, the artists were united in their attack on the status quo and social power structure.” (The Art Story 3). The painters were consistently trying to change people’s views on certain topics and describe their emotions of how they felt about these events. The events that people painted during this time period varied from war time events, political actions, and even events that happened that changed the artists life in a certain way.
The movement started around the 1930’s, near the time of the great depression. So many people were affected during this time period that painting the suffering seemed to be a good idea since so many people could relate to it (Visual Arts). A lot of the artists started joining in on the movement because they felt a need for awareness, “Social Realists, however, felt the need for a more socially conscious art” (Visual Arts 2). They felt that there was a need for people to know what was going on during this time period both publicly in the world and privately in their lives.
Examples from the Social Realism movement that can be described in different ways include, Nighthawks by Edward Hopper, El Autobus by Frida Kahlo, and Migrant Mother by Dorothea Lange. The three of these paintings/pictures show the different parts of the movement. Despite their different intentions, they all have similar meanings and can be fit under the same movement.