America after the Fall
Various Artists
Royal Academy of Arts
25 FEBRUARY - 4 JUNE 2017
£12
The Great Depression was a period of melancholic uncertainty for many. The period of the 1930s saw rapid social change and an economic instability following the Wall Street Crash. The 45 works in this exhibition seek to document life at the time, and what it meant to be both American, and on a deeper level, a survivor. Surroundings are depicted as barren: nature is destroyed, in her place garish and industrial machinery decorates the landscape.
A number of works stood out to me within the exhibition, firstly it was the contrast between Paul Sample's Church Supper and Doris Lee's Thanksgiving. Both paintings show a group of people joined together through the act of eating - evoking imagery of gluttony and greed. Whilst Lee's painting shows this event to be a joyous occasion, Sample's supper looks filled with doom and gloom. The colour schemes are starkly different on the paintings too, Lee opting for soft and colourful pastels, whilst Sample sticks to darker, more sombre tones.
Most of the paintings in the exhibition emit this strong feeling of loneliness and isolation. In Sample's Church Dinner, only few seem to interact - the rest appear as though they do not know each other. In this case, these people are surrounded by others in a social atmosphere, yet still appear entirely alone. This resonates with Edward Hopper's New York Movie (pictured above) which shows a movie theatre Usher standing alone whilst the other people in the room enjoy the movie on screen. The theme of loneliness is entirely prevalent here also, not just with the Usher - wishing she was anywhere else but there, but also the film's audience: much like Sample's dinner, they are surrounded by people but are ultimately alone.
The location of a movie theatre is interesting, as it leads to discussions of escapism - this being one of the main reasons people go to the cinema today, and must have been a massive factor during this depressing period. The audience go to the cinema in order to escape, whilst the Usher who is there every day wishes only to escape the cinema. Again - misery and isolation for all those involved.
Grant Wood's Death on the Ridge Road (above) doesn't scream isolation or loneliness, but instead a sense of impending doom. The empty fields on either side of the traffic resonate with other images in the exhibition of a barren and infertile landscape: destruction of land and a desire to return to nature. The impending doom and inescapability of death introduces the dystopian theme at the end of the exhibition - such as Federico Castellon's The Dark Figure (below).
The exhibition kind of takes you on a dark, dismal journey through a distressing and disheartening period. However, the beginning and end aren't entirely clear - neither is the middle. Whilst the imagery is predominantly negative and downcast, there are a few joyous paintings, making the message seem confused. Overall, the exhibition is insightful and memorable, however, could be a bit clearer and more linear with conveying its goals and purpose.
OVERALL RATING: ***
https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibition/america-after-the-fall
