Was early America as drab as it appears in prints of stoic figures or black-and-white photographs? This exhibit illuminates the brighter side of history, spotlighting all the color and vibrancy that are often concealed by the gray and sepia tones of pre-1900 American imagery. Come see the garish fabric colors, busy wallpaper patterns, and rainbow hues of books that just might challenge you to think of the past beyond black-and-white.
Political satire is not a gentle art—it is meant to leave a mark. Since the heyday of James Gillray and William Hogarth in 18th-century England, visual satirists have been able to “say” things about political leaders in their illustrations that would get writers censored (or worse). As such, it has played an important role in American political culture for over two centuries. Many of the qualities that we most readily associate with political leaders in our past come to us from satirical illustrations, not from things those leaders actually did. This exhibit invites you to think about how visual satire has shaped the way you think about political life in America. What can visual artists say about politics that writers can’t? What role does visual satire play in American political life in an age when most of what we read (and see) is online, rather than in a newspaper?
Twenty-three students enrolled in Matthew Solomon’s Winter 2024 section of FTVM 352 (Film History: Origins to the New Wave) were tasked with exploring these collections and creating this exhibition, which also serves as the capstone assignment for the course. Produced by a class dedicated to “hands-on” approaches to film history, we hope that visitors feel encouraged to watch, listen, touch facsimiles, move at a comfortable pace, pause, and revisit in whatever way makes the exhibit come most alive for you.
