Susan Wheeler's blog

Hallway Exhibition: Scenes of city life

In a new hallway exhibition, Scenes from the Great Depression and its aftermath are presented in the works of recent immigrants and others for the Federal Art Project and the Works Progress Administration. Works include: The Relief Station, 1938, Lithograph by Oscar Van Young b. Viena 1906 d. U.S.A.1991, "The Relief Station," a realistic and not uncommon scene in art of the period, reflects the despair and patience of families who could no longer feed themselves without assistance. After coming of age in Russia during the civil war, Oscar was sponsored by influential American diplomats to settle in the United States. In the U.S. Oscar studied painting and became well known. His works were widely exhibited. Gladys, 1936, Lithograph by Will Barnet "Gladys" was published by the U.S. government's Works Progress Administration, soon after the program's creation. Its purpose was to create government jobs for the nation's many unemployed in all types of work including the arts. Barnet enjoyed a long career of painting, teaching, and exhibiting his art. He was awarded a National Medal of Arts in 2011 presented by President Obama in a White House ceremony. Charlie Parker Going to Wash Dishes, 1984, Photo-etching on Rives paper by Sue Coe, born 1951 England, active in the U.S.A. 1972 --present To pursue music, Charles Parker left his home in Kansas City and hitched to New York where he looked for opportunities to play his alto saxophone. To make ends meet, Parker washed dishes at Jimmies Chicken Shack in Harlem. He would become a major innovator in jazz when, with Dizzy Gillespie, he created "bebop."

We've Still Got A Job To Do!

Howard Scott U.S.A. 1902-1983 We Still Have a Big Job to Do! 1943 U.S. Government Printing Office for the U.S. Navy, Industrial Incentive Division Purchased through the John F. Fulton Fund 2012 During World War II, the Industrial Incentive Division of the U.S. Navy sought to improve morale among workers in U.S. industrial plants by emphasizing the importance of the plant’s products in the overall war effort. The morale initiative, begun in May of 1943, employed audio interviews and other messages piped in through speaker systems in the workplace; exhibited combat action photographs, specially commissioned posters and combat motion pictures in the workplace; and arranged for returned combat personnel to visit the plants engaged in war production. This recently acquired poster, created to boost the morale of defense industry workers during World War II, is on view through April 12, 2013

Exhibit: War

On view in the Library CorridorWarSelections from the Collection of Prints and Drawings and the Historical Medical Poster CollectionEyewitness renderings of medicine in the field during World War I and World War II, together with posters from various wartime agencies, show part of the war experience and its effect on individuals.

Exhibit: Food and Nutrition Posters

On view June 22through September 17 in the Medical Library Foyer. Avoid Fatigue: Eat a Lunch that Packs a Punch! 1943 Published by the War Food Administration United States Department of Agriculture Gift of George M. Smith 1943 During World War II, responsible food habits were promoted as a contribution to the war effort by the U.S. government. The Eat to Beat the Devil series published in 1942 by Servel, Inc., makers of the gas refrigerator, fostered the idea of “eating for victory” and promoted good nutrition as an expression of patriotism. Eat to Beat the Devil 1942 Published by Servel, Inc. Purchased through the John F. Fulton Fund 2007

Exhibit: Grant Wood's "Family Doctor" and More

"Family Doctor" by Grant Wood and Works by Other Mid 20th Century American Artistson view June 22-September 17 in the library hallwayGrant Wood's iconic lithograph "Family Doctor," for which he used his personal physician as a model, is currently on view with twelve other prints and drawings by American artists. "Family Doctor" by Grant Wood, 1940Lithograph"Children's Ward" by Robert Riggs, c.1940Lithograph

U.S. Food Administration Posters from World War I

On View in the Library Corridor through January 6Selections from the Historical CollectionsL.C. Clinker and M.J. DwyerDon’t Waste Food While Others Starve! c.1918Lithograph printed by Heywood Strasser and Voight Lithograph Company, New York, for the U.S. Food AdministrationPurchased through the Lucia P. Fulton Fund 2010Harvey T. Dunn U.S.A. 1884-1952Victory is a Question of Stamina, 1917Lithograph printed by Latham Lithograph and Printing Company, Brooklyn, New York for the U. S. Food AdministrationPurchased through the Lucia P. Fulton Fund 2010

Anti-Drug and AIDS Awareness Posters

Anti-Drug and AIDS Awareness Posters from the 1980’s and 1990’sOn View in the Library Foyer through January 6Selections from the Historical CollectionsAndrej PagowskiPolish b. 1953 Narkotyki to gówno [Drugs are Shit] Published for Fundacja Wspierania Tworzcosci, Kultury i Sztuke ARS [Foundation for Supportof Culture, Art, and Creativity] Purchased through the Madeline E. Stanton Fund 2008 GANG (a New York art collective)after Leo Burnett (creator of the Marlboro Man, 1954)AIDS CrisisWarning: While Bush spends billions playing cowboy, 37 million North Americans don’t have health insurance. A North American dies of AIDS every eight minutes.Published by ACT UP 1990Purchased through the John F. Fulton Fund 2005