Microbial Others in the 1930s
Then-governor of New York, Franklin Roosevelt, had a mission in his last few months in office: open more state-sponsored tuberculosis sanatoriums. By the early 1930s, institutions for those suffering from tuberculosis were common; studies from the period suggest tuberculosis killed 90 young adults annually, making it deadlier than heart disease and pneumonia. Roosevelt’s wife, Eleanor, visited Murray Hill in 1931, and recommended it become a sanatorium for its hilltop location. The state began construction in April 1932, and began admitting patients in 1936. Both Roosevelts recognized the necessity of sanatoriums as means of cutting mortality rates in half and providing residents with government-backed comfort.
There was a rhetoric surrounding tuberculosis in the 1930s propagated by doctors in newspapers and spread by readers; uncertainty and unpredictability bred helpless headlines, such as “Ambush Begins Early” by Dr. Livingston Farrand, who continued to claim tuberculosis has a “secret hiding place in the body, where it behaves innocently… until the strain and stress adolescence wear down resistance and expose the body to aggressive, active attack.” It was true, though: children and young adults alike faced cases of tuberculosis in high numbers. Newspaper headlines and treatment both evoked surrealist sentiments and images, the likes of which resemble bio-elements.
Our modern understanding of biological concepts does, in a way, affirm the notion of life present where we least expect it. Microbes are the small, compiled, active organisms with defensive and offensive properties. These do include diseases—bacteria, fungi, viruses—with evolutionary qualities; in other words, microbes can adapt, find new ways to survive, and ensure their survival. Tuberculosis lying dormant in children until the immune system weakens is an example of this. Dust Pneumonia, too, infected Great Plains residents; loose particles would enter the body through inhalation and prevent the lungs from being able to clear themselves.
However, the extent of microbial life does not stop at disease and infection—rather, it is merely a stepping stone to understanding its boundless nature. Below, Ernst Haeckel’s “Pedigree of Man” shows the extent of scientific understanding in the late 1890s, while a revised “Tree of Life” from over a century later offers context as to what we now know about life on Earth. Microbes control regrowth in plant life, aid in seasonal changes, photosynthesis, and disease prevention in forest life. There are further connections to how drought affects microbial function, shedding light on the Dust Bowl era of the 1930s. Current researchers claim function often decreases, while crucial regrowth abilities and nutrient replenishing likewise slows to a near halt. Human interference in the environment can influence this deceleration; alteration of biomes can lead to a breakdown of microbes, triggering a chain of digression and plant death. Therefore, it is valid to cite poor agricultural practices as a cause of the Dust Bowl era: where farmers over-plowed fields to the point of vegetation loss and a lack of regrowth possibilities. Other manmade innovations, such as state-spanning roadways, also marred microbial life. This natural cause-and-effect relationship underscored a recognized conflict between man and nature through both tuberculosis treatment and mass-drought during the 1930s.
New Deal Gallery Biosurrealists focused on the outcomes of said conflict; James Guy’s 100 Years Passfeatures the imagery of a tall, gangly tree with wispy branches reaching over the piece’s focal point: a house lit by the sunset. In its shadow walks a woman carrying an axe; her back arched, she appears defeated in her trudging away from the tree; it seems to serve as a humbling reminder of the looming impact of a temperamental nature, growing taller with its mistreatment. Guy inserts an axe to suggest intended harm to the tree, but shows us the aftermath of the act: a futile attempt on the part of man, now left to suffer with the effects of their choices. This is emblematic of the conflict stemming from rhetoric in papers and media ascribing nature with sinister motives and vengeful tactics, especially considering both the Dust Bowl and tuberculosis crises facing the United States. It is a biosurrealist message at heart, with notes of a road marker sign, house disrupting what might have been a once-wooded land, and airplane flying overhead; these symbolic additions speak to a manmade root cause of said conflict.
Dorian Varian portrays a similar image in her painting Deserted House, yet, per the title, excludes human bodies entirely. The actual house does not share the canvas with nature, as it did in Guy’s—rather, it hides behind a dominating tree, as nature surrounds it as to suggest its interruption in the scene. In Varian’s piece, the back-half of the house rests in the shadow of the tree, whose leaves are a dying green: one of the thicker branches has been cut off. This piece does too show an aftermath of the same conflict, but Varian shows man had more of a significant impact on nature and microbial life, unlike Guy. Nonetheless, the desertion of this home, as hinted in the title, points towards a victory on the part of nature, which also appears to flourish without the direct presence of man.
Works Consulted
—Farrand, Livingston. “Tuberculosis Foe of Youth, Says Dr. Farrand; Open Christmas Seal Campaign.” The Ithaca Journal, 8 Dec. 1930, p. 9.
—Lambie, Suzanne. “Microbes and Drought.” Manaaki Whenua - Landcare Research, Web version available here.
—Murray, John F, et al. “Treatment of Tuberculosis: A Historical Perspective.” Treatment of Tuberculosis , vol. 12, ser. 12, Dec. 2015. 12, doi:10.1513/AnnalsATS.201509-632PS.
—Sydenstricker, Edgar. “Health in the New Deal.” The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, vol. 176, no. Social Welfare in the National Recovery Program, 1 Nov. 1934, pp. 131–137.
—Willis, Jasmine, and Genesee Country Express. “Forgotten History on Murray Hill.” The Dansville Online, The Dansville Online, 25 Aug. 2016, 12:30, Web version available here.
—Yong, Ed, and The Royal Institution. The Microbes Within Us. YouTube, YouTube, 13 Oct. 2016, Web version available here.