A Story of the Great Society
Many works of art from the eighteenth and nineteenth century have influenced the styles which artists use in the twentieth century. The expressions produced by twentieth century artists range from abstract to realistic. In the painting, Thirteen Americans which hangs in the LBJ Library in Austin, TX, the artist, Alfred Leslie, uses artistic styles such as size, materials used, techniques used, color, line, space, lighting, composition, and the meaning of the title to improve the expressive content of the work of art and tell the story of President Lyndon Johnson. The size of the painting and the materials and techniques used to create Thirteen Americans contribute to the overall effect of the painting. The large scale of the painting creates a more realistic view of the work. With the painting being nine feet by eleven feet, the figures obviously are life size and the size gives the artist room to work with the line up of the characters. The viewer of the painting can relate to the figures better by seeing them in life size rather than dwarfed on a typical small canvas. The materials and technique used also add to the overall effect of the painting. The medium used for the painting is oil on canvas so the fast drying pai
lors used for their clothing adds to the crispness and the irony of the painting. Thirteen Americans, also known as The Great Society, displays its attitude and emotion most prominently through the composition and the title or titles of the painting. Leslie uses humans as his basic composition, which relate to each other in a nonchalant way by each representing parts of social legislation pushed for in the sixties (info from Allan Frumkin Gallery Newsletter, Fall 1982, #15, page3). Leslie simply arranges the characters in a random order since they are related to each other in unique ways. Programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, and Head Start were among the programs represented by some of the friends and family members who act as models. The style of the painting is static and subtle. Accessories such as the child's toy dog tie the group together in a symbolic way with the red string which attaches the dog to the boy. The title of the painting also says much for the meaning and expression of the work. Leslie uses a simple name for the painting, putting! President Lyndon Johnson strongly believed that societal injustices and inequality could be eliminated by the right kind of laws. He felt that racial minorities, women, the very young and the very old could be strengthened by his program which was called "The Great Society." President Johnson's wife, Lady Bird Johnson, commissioned Thirteen Americans and had it placed in the lobby of the LBJ Library at the University of Texas. The ar
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Approximate Word count = 1014
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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