Growing up, my grandpa was, and still is, extremely interested in labor art. If you don't know what that is (I didn't until about two years ago), it is simply the genre of art which shows people working; simple as that. A few years ago, my grandpa and grandpa began their own collection of labor art held at the University of Missouri- St. Louis Art Museum, also known as the Mercantile. Their collection is filled with images of the working class doing every labor-intensive job under the sun. When I started reading my choice book "Working Class Hollywood" by Steven J. Ross, I began to realize that forms of media which illustrate the working class have become few and far between. Before World War I, the world of media was filled with images of regular, working class people forming unions, having families, and facing the same struggles that everybody else faces. However, once audiences wanted to see more of the fantasies portrayed in Disney films, production companies stopped making movies featuring working class protagonists. I like my grandparents' collection of art because it shines light on the people who do construction work, clean hotels, work at fast-food restaraunts, and plunge toilets; People who are highly underrated and under-represented in mainstream media. For my performance task, I decided to find my favorite pieces of art in my grandparents' gallery and discuss what they mean to me. I will have a link to the website for their collection below if you are interested.
This 1980 photograph of a main leaning against a building next to a sign that says "Danger Employees Only" implies the idea that the man in the image is skilled in his area of work more than the average person. At first when I saw this image I wondered why they were forcing employees to go into an area that was obviously dangerous, but after further thought I realized that the man in the image is allowed in the "danger zone" because he, different than most people, knows how to handle it. This image illustrates the "skilled worker" in a way that many forms of media fail to show today. While some people may look at this image and see a man looking tired and wearing dirty clothes, I see a man standing in an area where people like you and me would not have the skills and training to navigate and/or survive. Creator: Ken Light
This painting, titled "Hattie Baking Biscuits" gives the audience a look into how food gets on their plates in restaraunts. In the midst of conversations, excitement, and hunger, it is easy to get distracted in restaurants and forget that there is a person in the kitchen slaving over a hot stove, or in this case, baking biscuits, so that you can have a nice meal with family and/or friends. I like this image because it exposes the workers who so many people, including myself, take for granted almost daily. Creator: Barbara Savan
One of my favorite parts of looking through this collection of art is seeing jobs that I never even knew existed. This painting, titled "Steel Worker" illustrates one of them. I feel very vulnerable and slightly embarassed admitting I had no idea there were people who made steel for a living, and I can't help but feel that a part of that is simply because people in these sorts of jobs are rarely ever shown in movies, TV shows, and other forms of media. The message I get from this painting is that behind everything, even steel, is a hardworking person who doesn't have the privilege of not knowing that their job exists. Creator: Unknown
This painting, "The Marble Quarry", is different from the other images I looked at because this one shows multiple people working in the same frame. A common theme throughout labor art is the illustration of people working by themselves. This could just be a stylistic choice, but I see it as something deeper. I think the working class can be an extremely isolating place for those who inhabit it. If you think about the lady who cleans your house, the woman at the drive-through window, or the plumber coming to unclog your sink, there is a common theme: they are working alone. This makes me feel sad because I think the working class is a unique group of people who need support as much as, and maybe even more than, the average person. They work tirelessly everyday and I think having a person to talk to while handling their duties would make working far more tolerable. Creator: Joseph Paul Vorst
Works Cited: “The Bruce & Barbara Feldacker Labor Art Collection.” Resolute | University of Missouri Digital Libraries, dl.mospace.umsystem.edu// umsl/islandora/object/umsl:199842?display=grid.