The U.S. Government Paid Artists to Paint the Truth — Then Covered It Up скачать в хорошем качестве

The U.S. Government Paid Artists to Paint the Truth — Then Covered It Up

In 1935, the U.S. government hired thousands of artists and told them to paint American life — honestly, specifically, without idealization. Post offices. Hospitals. Courthouses. Libraries. Across 48 states. What the artists painted was often uncomfortable. Because the America they were looking at was uncomfortable. At Harlem Hospital in 1936, the hospital superintendent rejected four murals by Black artists — stating in writing that the sketches contained "too much Negro subject matter." He added that Black Americans "may not form the greater part of the community in years to come." This was written at a hospital in Harlem. Across the South, murals showing integrated scenes were rejected before installation. In Aiken, South Carolina, a mural was blocked because the figure of Justice appeared racially ambiguous. In 1934, Diego Rivera's mural at Rockefeller Center — which showed Lenin — was destroyed. Rockefeller paid Rivera his full fee and demolished the wall. By 1943, the Federal Art Project was shut down. It had produced roughly 4,000 murals. What survived were overwhelmingly the ones that showed what the people in power were comfortable with the public seeing. In 2004, renovation workers at Harlem Hospital broke through a wall and found Charles Alston's murals — hidden behind plaster for 68 years. Still intact. 🔍 Sources & Further Reading: — Living New Deal database: livingnewdeal.org — National Postal Museum — Section of Fine Arts: postalmuseum.si.edu — Harlem Hospital Mural Pavilion: nychealthandhospitals.org — FDR Presidential Library art collection: fdrlibrary.org In the 1930s, a remarkable chapter of american history unfolded as the U.S. government commissioned thousands of artists to document the nation's everyday life. This initiative, deeply tied to the era of the great depression, saw the creation of countless artworks in public spaces under programs like the wpa. The video explores these pieces, including ongoing efforts in painting restoration and art conservation, offering a glimpse into the past through historical photographs. #ForgottenHistory #SuppressedHistory #RedactedHistory 0:00 The Government Hired Artists to Paint the Truth 1:30 What the New Deal Art Program Actually Was 3:30 Harlem Hospital 1936 — "Too Much Negro Subject Matter" 6:00 The Cases Across the Country 8:30 Diego Rivera and Rockefeller Center — The Most Famous Destruction 10:30 The Federal Art Project Is Shut Down 12:00 What Survived — And Why It Isn't Random 13:30 The Murals Found Behind the Plaster — 68 Years Later