The Shabbiness of Today’s Art Criticism

As a longtime art critic, and as the Senior Curator for the Riverside Art Museum, one would assume Peter Frank would know the difference between “Social Realism” and “Socialist Realism,” they may sound alike to those unfamiliar with art history, but Frank should know better. In his June 28th LA Weekly review of an exhibit of paintings by Armenian artist, Hagop Hagopian, Frank wrote:

“Born in Egypt, Hagop Hagopian returned to Armenia, his ancestral home, while it was still a Soviet republic. His decision to eschew Social Realist bombast for brittle, tender renditions of the local countryside cost him prominence, but endeared him to his countrymen.”

Frank has done a great disservice to the readers of the LA Weekly with his imprecise and erroneous use of the term, “Social Realist.” His inaccurate comment not only reveals an ignorance of art history, it also provides a perfect example of the shabbiness of today’s art criticism.

Social Realism in general refers to any realistic artwork that brings attention to the plight of the poor, the disenfranchised, or the working class—so in actuality Hagopian’s paintings, with their poetic references to the suffering of the Armenian people, could easily fall within the genre of Social Realism.

“Farmers.” Ben Shahn 1943, Gouache on composition board. “Social Realist” bombast?

The modern American school of Social Realism got its start in early 20th Century New York, when painters like John French Sloan, George Bellows, and Robert Henri focused on painting canvases that depicted the lives of working people living in poor urban neighborhoods. Elite art critics of the day pejoratively referred to these painters as the Ashcan School, both for their mute color schemes and their insistence on painting the poor.

During the Great Depression of the 1930’s, a new crop of painters arrived on the scene who called themselves, Social Realists. Led by the likes of Ben Shahn, Reginald Marsh, and Raphael Soyer, the Social Realists were inspired by the Ashcan painters who preceded them, being devoted to portraying the real life experiences of working people. Motivated by a profound belief in art as a facilitator of social reform, Social Realism was actually an international style, with its most passionate adherents being the artists of the Mexican Muralist Movement.

“Fight for Freedom.” Charles White 1945, Tempera on board. Social Realism or Socialist Realism? Peter Frank can’t tell the difference.

The genre Peter Frank meant to assail is the now defunct Socialist Realism of the former Soviet Union. In 1932 Joseph Stalin decreed Socialist Realism as the official art of the USSR, a diktat that led to Stalinist control over all artistic production.

The aim of Socialist Realism was to produce realistic works that not only extolled workers and the glories of communism, but called attention to the wisdom of the Communist Party and its leadership. Today, Socialist Realism is practiced nowhere outside of the People’s Republic of China (arguably) and North Korea.

“Roses for Stalin.” Boris Vladimir 1949, Oil on canvas. Quintessential Socialist Realism.

Social Realism fell out of favor in the U.S. when abstract art became the in thing during the post-war period. Realism in general was viewed as passé by critics, curators and collectors, who all rushed to support avant-garde nonfigurative artists like Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, and Mark Rothko. The anti-communism of 1950s America also diminished support for the Social Realists, who fell under suspicion for their social concerns.

However, figurative realists with social consciousness never entirely disappeared from the art scene, and today there is a resurgence in this type of work. As an art student I was inspired by the great Social Realists, Charles White, Diego Rivera, and Dorothea Lange, and as a painter who lives and works in the city of Los Angeles, I’m proud to carry the banner of Social Realism into the 21st Century.

I’m currently a participating artist in At Work: The Art of California Labor, an exhibit that presents the history of California’s workers through the eyes of artists. The show offers artworks created by Social Realists past and present, and if Peter Frank cares to visit… I’d be more than happy to walk him through the show to explain the differences between Social and Socialist Realism.

Similar Posts

  • The Best Picture in the World

    In 1925 the famed English author Aldous Huxley wrote “The Best Picture in the World,” an essay about a fresco mural by one of the great masters of the early Italian Renaissance, Piero della Francesca (1412-1492). Piero’s mural titled The Resurrection, is recognized as one of the finest religious paintings in all of Christendom. With careful examination it becomes clear that…

  • Dorothea Lange: Artist/Observer

    Throughout her long working life as a photographer, Dorothea Lange produced some of the most riveting photographic images in history. She documented the great depression in the US, the internment of Japanese Americans, strikes and workers on relief, the armies of unemployed and displaced farmers who left the dustbowl states for California. An extraordinary woman with enormous talent and a…

  • iDon’t! iCan’t! iWon’t!

    The posters on the street instantly caught my eye with their bright colors and arresting visuals of zombies, sheep and robots. As I drove by the corner where the broadsides were posted, I could just make out the stabbing headline on the red poster portraying a forlorn looking simian… “Are You A Chimp?” The stomach-turning green poster depicting zombies had…

  • Abstract Art & The Cultural Cold War

    For those who still regard art as being above politics consider the following. The Central Intelligence Agency financed, organized, and assured the success of the American abstract expressionist movement, using artists like Jackson Pollock, Sam Francis, Willem de Kooning, Barnett Newman, Robert Motherwell, and Mark Rothko, as weapons in the struggle against the Soviet Union. Frances Stonor Saunders has presented…

  • |

    Art In America: 300 Years Of Innovation

    Art In America: 300 Years Of Innovation, is a massive exhibition of American painting from the Colonial period to the present, now on display in the communist People’s Republic of China. Billed as the first survey of American art ever displayed in the “People’s Republic,” the exhibit is drawn from major U.S. and European collections, and presents 130 significant works…

  • Nude Statues Liberated!

    In January of 2002, then Attorney General of the United States, John Ashcroft, censored a pair of classic Art Deco statues located in the Great Hall of the Justice Department. I wrote about this ridiculous act of Taliban-like extremism at the time it happened. Ashcroft, a Christian fundamentalist, was made terribly uncomfortable by the statues. In order to protect western…