Chemistry Reference
In-Depth Information
pictured, metaphorically and literally, with his sleeves rolled up and get-
ting down to work.
13
7.
The Artistic Style of the Illustrations
Söderston's choice of style was well suited to this new presentation of
the scientist. Broadly speaking, the illustrations are in the American
realism tradition, which had developed through the 1920s and become
popular during the Depression era. Many of the public murals and friezes
commissioned by the federal government as part of the Federal Art Pro-
ject (a division of the larger Works Progress Administration) were in this
style. American realism frequently celebrated the struggle of humanity
overcoming adversity, but there was also a darker side to the presentation
and subject matter. American realist subjects tended to be urban, often
focusing on work and industry. Paintings like Victor Arnautoff's 'City
Life' (1934) or Thomas Hart Benton's series on different types of
dangerous work such 'Coal' and 'Steel' (1930) looked at their epony-
mous subjects with an eye for detail, but were not romantic. Life was
hard and dangerous, and even a stroll on a city street exposed people to
potential peril.
These works also represent a strong interest in art as social commen-
tary, and this often meant the juxtaposition of elements such as poverty
and wealth. One of the best and most powerful of these juxtapositions
can be seen in Lucienne Bloch's 'Land of Plenty' (1935) that shows a
poor family fenced out of a lush farm field growing under electrical
power pylons.
14
Söderston was also influenced by futurism. In the era
when Flash Gordon was playing on movie screens, futurism's interest in
machines, fantastic architecture, and motion made it a logical choice to
link chemistry to a bright future. This is particularly true of the cityscape
in the chapter 'The Crystal Reveals' (Figure 3) which shows fantastic
13
Rolled up sleeves continue to be a symbol of getting down to work. During the 2005
Katrina hurricane disaster, Michael Brown, the head of the Federal Emergency Man-
agement Agency, was advised to roll up his sleeves before appearing on camera. For
the email exchange, see Anonymous 2006.
14
These images are available from various sources including Lucie-Smith 1994. The
Lucienne Bloch image is available at www.library.georgetown.edu/dept/speccoll/
prints/jpg/03.jpg.
