Natalie Montaner/Contributing Writer
FIU’s Wolfsonian museum at Miami Beach never falls short with the exhibits it puts on display to willing patrons and art enthusiasts. Among the various exhibitions there are two that encompass the work and labor that historically propelled the United States forward.
Shining light onto the hard work of those who currently are, and have always been, this nation’s understated backbone, “Describing Labor” exhibits the talents, ambitions, and determination of laborers throughout history.
This exhibit, which reminisces on the industrialized success of the USA, is one of the many ways to adequately show appreciation and give thanks to those who dedicated their life towards their careers.
In a Wolfsonian press release, Esther Shalev-Gerz, the artist behind this exhibit, is quoted saying, “I realized that this was more or less the last time in our recent history that images of workers conveyed a sense of heroism. Since the end of the period represented in the collection [1885–1945], the image of the worker fell out of favor as a subject for the arts.”
She added, “It made me think about how we do not know the faces of the people who create the things that surround us. We know other faces—politicians, celebrities, criminals—but not the worker, the one who makes. The lines, curves, shapes, and volumes of the items in the collection give image to the interests, passions, and quests of an epoch and those who produced it.”
Shalev-Gerz chose to portray the labors of these unsung Americans through many different forms. In order to properly encapsulate the diversity of the workers and the wide range of goods and services they produced for this country, it only seems logical to include anything and everything that can adequately exhibit these labors.
She collected 41 objects, ranging from sculptures to photographs to paintings, as well as others objects from The Wolfsonian, The Martin Z. Margulies Collection and The Mitchell Wolfson, Jr. Private Collection, in order to do so. “Describing Labor” made its debut on Nov. 29 and will run until April 21.
One of the exhibits “Back to Work: FDR and Labor’s New Deal” depicts the visions and programs proposed by Franklin Delano Roosevelt that ultimately helped the nation overcome the Great Depression of the 1930s. This exhibit showcases the various propaganda – pamphlets, periodicals, and other prints – that highlighted FDR’s plan to restore the failing economy and put Americans back to work.
