Is There a Relation Between Art and Class Essay

Is There a Relation Between Art and Class - Essay Example Let us consider the facts. The United States of America has long been a part of the caste system of the world. But unlike other cases, the American caste is easy to discern and determine. There are only 3 classes of Americans in our society which are identified as the â€Å"lower, middle and upper† classes of society. For each type of class, there is a specific lifestyle and social portrayal that becomes imprinted in the minds of the people because of the way mainstream media subconsciously plants these ideas and images in our heads. Although the social classes in the United States are not openly discussed nor widely tacked in mass media, it is still covered by the artists such as painters and photographers who have a keen eye not only for the composition of a photograph but also for its deeper meaning. That is why the discussion of social class occasionally comes up at art shows and the like. Photos such as Dorothea Lange's Migrant Mother, which depicts a migrant worker at re st at a migrant camp in Nipomo, California, has often been used to depict the struggle of the middle and lower class in the country. It is described by many as the embodiment of the aftermath of World War 2 in the United States. It is viewed as depicting â€Å"... both social documentary and the populist politics of the great depression† (Stein, 345). With the image of the Migrant Mother in mind, get a clearer example of how art serves to be an indirect commentary of the times that we live in and the existing social classes.