Musical Imagination

Gyula Zilzer, The Postman (1937)

Frederick G. Becker, Monsters (1935)

Arthur G. Murphy, Ballet Dancer No. 4 (1937)

Lillian Richter, Children's Theatre (c. 1935)

New Deal artwork is often associated with depictions of workers in agricultural or industrial settings. But work was just one facet of life during the Great Depression, and despite economic stress people still found time for creative pursuits, such as music and theater. These callings were depicted in WPA artwork and represented highly immersive worlds by connecting the visual and performing arts. Pieces featuring musicians, such as Gyula Zilzer's The Postman (1937) and Frederick G. Becker's Monsters (1935) might lead us to ponder what kind of music is being played, adding an imagined auditory element to the visual. In The Postman, a man sits alone in a cozy room playing his euphonium, having changed into slippers after a long day's circuit. Just like we make inferences about the postman’s story, we might also wonder the music that he’s playing on his instrument. In Monsters, a humanoid figure plays a string instrument while another vibrates drums. The peculiar elements around the figures suggest an eerie, otherworldly tune being played. In fact, as we look at the specifics of each print, it seems that music informs their style and lines, whether that of stolid brass band or hipster jazz trio. Arthur Murphy's Ballet Dancer No. 4 (1937) takes the confluence to an extreme, with a stretched string (presumably synchronized to music) melding into the line of the dancer's body.

Free musical and theatrical performances for both children and adults were not impossible to find during the 1930s, thanks to the Federal Theatre Project. This program was like the Federal Arts Project in funding all kinds of performing artists to exhibit their talents. Lillian Richter’s print Children’s Theatre (1935) is notable for being an FAP piece which likely references the FTP. Her print illustrates an audience of lively children, watching a performance that’s up to us to imagine, perhaps a puppet show or a play version of Alice in Wonderland. By inviting us to make our own unique interpretations, these visual depictions of the performing arts can offer us playgrounds for our minds to explore.