January 2020 Exhibit:
Audubon’s Birds of America

John James Audubon's Birds of America is a portal into the natural world. Printed between 1827 and 1838, it contains hundreds of life-size watercolors of North American birds (Havell edition), all reproduced from hand-engraved plates, and is considered to be the archetype of wildlife illustration. Nearly 200 years later, the Audubon prints are coming to life once again, thanks to the generosity of the National Audubon Society.

The images are provided courtesy of the John James Audubon Center at Mill Grove in Audubon, Pennsylvania, and the Montgomery County Audubon Collection.

-Audubon Society

Seventeen of the eighteen free posters include native California birds. The entire collection of free high-resolution downloadable prints are available at the Audubon Society.

John James Audubon

John James Audubon was a naturalist, ornithologist, and artist most known for his major work Birds of America, a collection of 435 life-size prints. The book, finished in 1839, contained illustrations depicting birds in their natural habitat and is still considered one of the greatest ornithological works ever made.

Audubon was the first known person to use the process of bird-banding in the Americas. He tied silver string to the legs of Eastern Phoebes and discovered that the birds returned to the same nesting spot the next year. The presence of the bands confirmed that the species’ had nesting fidelity and provided early insight into migratory patterns. Bird-banding is still a valuable tool in the study & conservation of many bird species and has been instrumental in the research of declining bird populations globally.

Our birds are vanishing

Several species of birds that Audubon painted may have since become extinct including Bachman’s Warbler, Ivory-billed Woodpecker, Carolina Parakeet, Passenger Pigeon, Labrador Duck, Great Auk, Eskimo Curlew, and Pinnated Grouse. And more than that, the total bird population in the United States and Canada has fallen by 29 percent since 1970 (a decline of over 3 billion birds). This decline is attributed to habitat loss/fragmentation, the proliferation of neonicotinoid pesticides, window collisions, domestic cats, and poaching.

Kevin Gaston, a conservation biologist at the University of Exeter, said that new findings signal something larger at work: “This is the loss of nature.”

Birds have long been known as a “canary in the coalmine”, their sensitivity to changes in their environment serve as an early alert to changes that will eventually affect humans. The implication of these population declines could be far-reaching and signal the potential crash of global ecosystems, similar to honeybee colony collapses and melting glaciers. In addition, the presence of common bird species is vital to ecosystems, as they are responsible for “controlling pests, pollinating flowers, spreading seeds and regenerating forests. When these birds disappear, their former habitats often are not the same.”

“Declines in your common sparrow or other little brown bird may not receive the same attention as historic losses of bald eagles or sandhill cranes, but they are going to have much more of an impact.”
— Hillary Young, a conservation biologist at the University of California, Santa Barbara

About the printing

Each of the 435 39x26 inch double elephant folio prints were made utilizing labor-intensive intaglio print processes, and individually watercolored by hand. These methods of printing require considerably more time and skill than modern techniques, and so there were only 200 total Audubon books ever completed.

The cost of printing Birds of America was over $115,000 (two million in present day) and the entire process took over 11 years (1827-1838). Recently a complete Havell first edition sold for 11 million dollars in London.

In the Intaglio printing process, copper plates are incised by etching, engraving, and aquatint. The lines to be printed are cut into the metal, either by hand (engraving) or through the corrosive action of an acid (etching). Then inks are painted into the recessed lines of the plate and the surface is wiped to remove excess ink. Paper is then placed against the plate, covered by a blanket, and with the application of even pressure, the ink transfers from the grooves of the plate to the paper. This method is the opposite of relief printing, where the ink transfers from the surface, not the grooves.

Featured

Barn Owl

American Crow

Red Shafted Woodpecker

Northern Flicker

Western Bluebird

Steller's Jay

Columbian Hummingbird

California Partridge

Brown Creeper & California Nuthatch

Stanley Hawk

American Robin

Little Tyrant Flycatcher

Band-tailed Pigeon

Purple Grackle

American Gull

Red Shouldered Hawk

March 2019 Exhibit:
revolutionarIES

Throughout history, people have used the arts as a way to spread ideas and discuss complex problems. Revolutionaries have often used posters and political cartoons to spread their messages quickly to a large audience. Frequently, the messages have involved fighting corruption in government, poverty, and a lack of personal freedoms & representation.

Not all protests end in revolutions. Some social problems can be resolved with civil resistance and negotiations, such apartheid or farmworkers strikes, or Vietnam/the draft. Sometimes the powers that be may buckle to social pressure and coercion. Demonstrations, petitions and vigils, strikes, boycotts, sit-ins, and occupations are alternatives to violence. But they all share revolutionary ideas or a paradigm shift in thought.

Violent revolution seems to depend on how much a government is willing to truly listen and negotiate with the demands of its people, and on whether the military sides with citizens or those in power during conflict. If there is a large amount of resistance and none of it is resolved in a peaceful way, if that discontentment and anger grows unchecked (and the institutions holding the country together are weak), then violence and civil war tends to be the result.

This exhibit covers revolutionary and protest artwork from the United States, Russia, France, South Africa, Cuba, Syria, and Egypt.

Old Soldiers Never Die; Young Ones Do poster, unknown artist, United States, 1965-1970Opposition to US involvement in Vietnam began with mass demonstrations in 1964 that grew into a broad social movement. Opposition came from students, artists, wome… — **Old Soldiers Never Die; Young Ones Do**
poster, unknown artist, United States, 1965-1970
Opposition to US involvement in Vietnam began with mass demonstrations in 1964 that grew into a broad social movement. Opposition came from students, artists, women’s liberation, Chicano and African American civil rights groups, and sectors of organized labor. Educators, clergy members, journalists, and military veterans also joined the movement. The demonstrations were primarily peaceful and nonviolent, though protests were often met with police violence. The social movement eventually resulted in a termination of the draft, a lowering of the voting age from 21 to 18, and a withdrawal of US troops in Vietnam after an almost 20 year military entanglement.

¡Venceremos! (We Shall Overcome!) poster, unknown artist, Cuba, 1970The Cuban Revolution was an uprising conducted by the 26th of July Movement and allies against the authoritarian government of U.S.-backed president Fulgencio Batista. Batista was a… — **¡Venceremos! (We Shall Overcome!)**
poster, unknown artist, Cuba, 1970
The Cuban Revolution was an uprising conducted by the 26th of July Movement and allies against the authoritarian government of U.S.-backed president Fulgencio Batista. Batista was a widely unpopular politician who, with financial, military, and logistical support from the United States, staged a coup, and then proceeded to suspend the Cuban Constitution and revoke political liberties from civilians, including the right to strike. He censored the media and utilized secret police to torture and execute communists, killing an estimated 20,000 people.
From 1953-58 the rebels, assisted by Che Guevara and unified under Fidel Castro, fought to overthrow Batista until they succeeded in December 1958. Che Guevara became an icon of rebellion throughout the world.

The Role of Women During the Arab Spring poster, Vanessa Vérillon, France, 2011The Arab spring was a series of protests, armed rebellions, and civil wars against authoritarian regimes in much of the Arab world. A long history of human rights violati… — **The Role of Women During the Arab Spring**
poster, Vanessa Vérillon, France, 2011
The Arab spring was a series of protests, armed rebellions, and civil wars against authoritarian regimes in much of the Arab world. A long history of human rights violations, corruption, extreme poverty, unemployment, and general economic decline created the ideal conditions for revolution. Leaders of Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Yemen were overthrown; the protests in Syria have become a multi-year civil war; and Bahrain has been in a lasting state of civil disorder.
The involvement of women during the Arab Spring was in every level of activism: anti-government demonstrations, trade unions, social media, journalism. Women were vital to the movement, but the impact of their activism and participation has not met expectations as they were excluded from greater political participation.

Voter c'est mourir un peu (Voting is dying a little) poster, Atelier Populaire, France, 1968In 1968, young French students, disillusioned with the conservative Catholic government of Charles de Gaulle, held mass demonstrations and strikes across Fra… — **Voter c'est mourir un peu (Voting is dying a little)**
poster, Atelier Populaire, France, 1968
In 1968, young French students, disillusioned with the conservative Catholic government of Charles de Gaulle, held mass demonstrations and strikes across France. These strikes challenged de Gaulle’s legitimacy and he fled the country. He returned to negotiate with students and workers in an attempt to assuage resistance. Then in 1969, when his nationwide referendum vote failed to pass, he resigned, lacking sufficient support to stay in power.
The poster represents the students’ disillusionment with the electoral process and is a call to action, referencing the long history of French civil disobedience and revolutionary thought. The ballot box is depicted as a coffin and the Lorrraine Cross, a symbol of hope during WWII, is subverted, meant to represent the failures of de Gaulle’s government.

Workers of the World, Unite! poster, Dmitrii Stakhievich Moor, Russia, 1941The Russian Revolution was the dismantling of the Tsarist autocratic government and the creation of the Soviet Union between 1917 and 1922. During the First World War, millio… — **Workers of the World, Unite!**
poster, Dmitrii Stakhievich Moor, Russia, 1941
The Russian Revolution was the dismantling of the Tsarist autocratic government and the creation of the Soviet Union between 1917 and 1922. During the First World War, millions of Russian soldiers were dying and the civilian population wanted an end to Russian participation in the war. The soldiers and urban working class united as one and a period of mutinies, protests, and worker strikes ensued.
The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, campaigned for Peace, Bread, and Land: an end to the war, bread for workers, and land for peasants. They were able to topple the Tsarist government, which resulted in a power struggle between loyalists and Bolsheviks, and a five year civil war that didn’t end until 1922. It was during this period of war that most of the revolutionary art was produced by Bolshevik supporters.

Boycott Grapes; Support the United Farmworkers Union poster, Xavier Viramontes, United States, 1973The United Farmworkers grape boycott began in 1967 in protest against unsafe working conditions and low pay. Public awareness of the plight of farmwor… — **Boycott Grapes; Support the United Farmworkers Union**
poster, Xavier Viramontes, United States, 1973
The United Farmworkers grape boycott began in 1967 in protest against unsafe working conditions and low pay. Public awareness of the plight of farmworkers was made possible by efforts of Cesar Chavez, the UFW, and civil rights activists so that at its height an estimated 17 million Americans participated in the grape boycott. It went on until 1975 when the UFW won the passage of the Agricultural Labor Relations Act. To this day the UFW continues utilizing boycotts, pickets, and strikes to improve the lives of all agricultural workers.

Pyramid of Capitalist System cartoon, Nedeljkovich, Brashich, & Kuharich, Industrial Worker, United States, 1911The graphic was produced in 1911 by Industrial Worker, a newspaper of the U.S.-based Industrial Workers of the World. It is derived f… — **Pyramid of Capitalist System**
cartoon, Nedeljkovich, Brashich, & Kuharich, Industrial Worker, United States, 1911
The graphic was produced in 1911 by Industrial Worker, a newspaper of the U.S.-based Industrial Workers of the World. It is derived from an anonymous 1900 cartoon by the Union of Russian Socialists. The original drawing included the stanza:
“*The time will come when the people in their fury will straighten their bent backs and bring down the structure with one mighty push of their shoulders.*"
The message of both cartoons is a critique of capitalism as a system that results in class stratification and a concentration of wealth. It is meant to illustrate that the working class supports all other classes, and if they withdrew their support from the system they could literally topple the existing order.

Mubarak must go! poster, Nick Bygon, Egypt, 2011The Egyptian Revolution in 2011, part of the greater Arab Spring, was a large-scale movement organized as a demonstration against violence and corruption that had grown drastically over Hosni Mubarak’s… — **Mubarak must go!**
poster, Nick Bygon, Egypt, 2011
The Egyptian Revolution in 2011, part of the greater Arab Spring, was a large-scale movement organized as a demonstration against violence and corruption that had grown drastically over Hosni Mubarak’s presidency. Millions of civilians from a broad spectrum of religious and socio-economic backgrounds united to protest high unemployment, state sanctioned violence, corruption, inflation, and low wages.
The clash of protesters and security forces resulted in almost 900 civilian casualties and over 6,000 injuries. Protesters burned police stations in retaliation to the violence, and defied a government imposed curfew. Labor unions organized strikes, and the public kept pressure on the government. As a result of the sustained civil resistance, Mubarak resigned in February 2011.

Ty zapisalsia dobrovol’tsem? (Did you volunteer?) poster, Dmitrii Stakhievich Moor, Russia, 1920The Russian Revolution was the dismantling of the Tsarist autocratic government and the creation of the Soviet Union between 1917 and 1922. During the Fi… — **Ty zapisalsia dobrovol’tsem? (Did you volunteer?)**
poster, Dmitrii Stakhievich Moor, Russia, 1920
The Russian Revolution was the dismantling of the Tsarist autocratic government and the creation of the Soviet Union between 1917 and 1922. During the First World War, millions of Russian soldiers were dying and the civilian population wanted an end to Russian participation in the war. The soldiers and urban working class united as one and a period of mutinies, protests, and worker strikes ensued.
The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, campaigned for Peace, Bread, and Land: an end to the war, bread for workers, and land for peasants. They were able to topple the Tsarist government, which resulted in a power struggle between loyalists and Bolsheviks, and a five year civil war that didn’t end until 1922. It was during this period of war that most of the revolutionary art was produced by Bolshevik supporters.

Silence is Death poster, Avram Finkelstein, Brian Howard, Oliver Johnston, Charles Kreloff, Chris Lione, and Jorge Soccarás, United States, 1987The pink triangle, which became a gay pride symbol in the 1970’s, was reclaimed by the gay community from… — **Silence is Death**
poster, Avram Finkelstein, Brian Howard, Oliver Johnston, Charles Kreloff, Chris Lione, and Jorge Soccarás, United States, 1987
The pink triangle, which became a gay pride symbol in the 1970’s, was reclaimed by the gay community from its origination in Nazi Germany. Known homosexuals were forced to wear inverted pink triangle badges as identifiers, and as a result, were subjected to persecution and degradation. The appropriation of the triangle, turned upright instead of inverted, was an attempt to transform the symbol into one of solidarity instead of humiliation.
The Silence=Death movement began during the AIDs crisis in the 1980’s. The founders of the project began wheat-pasting posters all around New York City, declaring that “silence about the oppression and annihilation of gay people, then and now, must be broken as a matter of our survival”.
AIDs activists fought for acknowledgement and treatment of the disease, but they were met with prejudice and homophobia at every level of government. The slow response to the crisis by the Reagan administration had a profoundly negative affect on controlling the spread of the disease across the world, and is widely considered a black mark on Reagan’s legacy. By the end of his presidency in 1989, over 89,000 Americans had died of AIDs.

The Bloody Massacre in King Street cartoon, Paul Revere and Henry Pelham, United States, 1770In 1770, in an effort to enforce unpopular legislation and protect colonial officials, the British Crown sent approximately 4,000 soldiers to occupy Boston,… — **The Bloody Massacre in King Street**
cartoon, Paul Revere and Henry Pelham, United States, 1770
In 1770, in an effort to enforce unpopular legislation and protect colonial officials, the British Crown sent approximately 4,000 soldiers to occupy Boston, a town of 15,000. The occupation caused a great amount of tension, eventually culminating in a confrontation between the soldiers and a mob of civilians on March 5, 1770. Bostonians hurled rocks and snowballs and beat the soldiers with clubs; soldiers responded by firing into the crowd, killing five civilians.
The event was heavily publicized by revolutionaries in an effort to encourage rebellion against the British. It was one of the first escalations in protests and violence in the lead up to the American Revolutionary War in 1775.

You Have Struck a Rock poster, Judy Seidman, Medu Art Ensemble, Botswana, 1981The apartheid in South Africa was a period of systematic, often violent, institutional racial segregation from 1948 until the early 1990's. Apartheid policies were a combi… — **You Have Struck a Rock**
poster, Judy Seidman, Medu Art Ensemble, Botswana, 1981
The apartheid in South Africa was a period of systematic, often violent, institutional racial segregation from 1948 until the early 1990's. Apartheid policies were a combination of the segregation of public facilities and social events, as well as the control of housing and employment opportunities based on race. Apartheid was met with significant domestic and international opposition, igniting one of the most influential social movements of the twentieth century.
Arms and trade embargos, global condemnation, and the strong organization of the domestic anti-apartheid movement (African National Congress) finally brought an end to segregation through bilateral negotiations.

Anniversary of the Rebellion poster, Felix René Mederos Pazos, Cuba, 1969The Cuban Revolution was an uprising conducted by the 26th of July Movement and allies against the authoritarian government of U.S.-backed president Fulgencio Batista. Batista … — **Anniversary of the Rebellion**
poster, Felix René Mederos Pazos, Cuba, 1969
The Cuban Revolution was an uprising conducted by the 26th of July Movement and allies against the authoritarian government of U.S.-backed president Fulgencio Batista. Batista was a widely unpopular politician who, with financial, military, and logistical support from the United States, staged a coup, and then proceeded to suspend the Cuban Constitution and revoke political liberties from civilians, including the right to strike. He censored the media and utilized secret police to torture and execute communists, killing an estimated 20,000 people.
From 1953 through 1958 the rebels, assisted by Che Guevara and unified under Fidel Castro, fought to overthrow Batista until they succeeded in December 1958.

Syria Day of Rage poster, Michael Thompson, Syria, 2011The Arab Spring affected much of the Arab world, including Syria. In March 2011 the government of Bashar al-Assad faced an extreme challenge to its authority when pro-democracy protests spread t… — **Syria Day of Rage**
poster, Michael Thompson, Syria, 2011
The Arab Spring affected much of the Arab world, including Syria. In March 2011 the government of Bashar al-Assad faced an extreme challenge to its authority when pro-democracy protests spread throughout the country. Protesters demanded an end to the authoritarian regime and the long history of human rights violations, corruption, and extreme poverty.
The Syrian government responded to the demonstrations with police, military, and paramilitary violence against civilians. Organized opposition began to form in 2011 and the conflict has expanded into a civil war affecting the entire country, lasting into the present day.

OCTOBER 2018 Exhibit:
DOCUMERICA Photography Series

by Lissie Rydz

From 1972 through 1977 the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) hired photographers and writers to document the degradation of our shared environments. Over 80,000 photographs were produced and now 15,000 have been made publicly available in the National Archives.

For weeks we’ve spent time sorting through the archives to find images that we feel capture not only the vast extent of pollution at that time, but the bold, creative ways that Americans were able to innovate and repair their land.

Caption: A city farmer tends to his vegetables in the Fenway Gardens administered by the Fenway Civic Association. An outgrowth of the victory gardens of WWII, the association has 600 members who cultuvate a total of 425 garden plots in these five a… — **Caption:** A city farmer tends to his vegetables in the Fenway Gardens administered by the Fenway Civic Association. An outgrowth of the victory gardens of WWII, the association has 600 members who cultuvate a total of 425 garden plots in these five acres of metropolitan Boston.
**Photographer:** Ernst Halberstadt
**Date Created:** 1973 August

When the EPA was first created it was not considered a political project. Unchecked land development, urban decay, and persistent air, water, and noise pollution were all so incredibly apparent that there was strong bipartisan support for the creation of the agency.

The DOCUMERICA photography series was one of the very first EPA projects. It began in the early 1970’s to document the state of the environment at the time and the way that citizens interacted with their local environments, for better or worse.

More than 100 professional photographers were paid $150 a day, given as much film as they could use, and sent around the country to document specific instances of pollution as well as the overall effects of unregulated industrialization on actual people.

This unique approach went beyond simply documenting problems— it attempted to take a holistic view of the complicated relationships between the people and their land. This allowed photographers to examine where and how we live, and the role of urban planning and public spaces because, as was the project’s motto, “everything is connected to everything else.”

Featured

Caption: Abandoned automobiles and other debris clutter an acid water-and-oil-filled five acre pond. It was cleaned up under EPA supervision to prevent contamination of Great Salt Lake and a wildlife refuge nearby.
Photographer: Bruce McAllister
Date Created: 1974 June

Caption: Children play in yard of Ruston home, while Tacoma smelter stack showers area with arsenic and lead residue.
Photographer: Gene Daniels
Date Created: 1972 August

Caption: Interior of graffiti marked subway car.
Photographer: Erik Calonius
Date Created: 1973 May

Caption: Burning discarded automobile batteries.
Photographer: Marc St. Gil
Date Created: 1972 July

Caption: One of several highrise apartments whose construction was stopped by city ordinance to preserve the Breezy Point peninsula for public recreational use.
Photographer: Arthur Tress
Date Created: 1973 May

Caption: Earth, as seen by astronauts Eugene Cernan, Ronald Evans and Harrison Schmitt from Apollo 17.
Photographer: NASA
Date Created: 1972 December

Caption: Mary Workman holds a jar of undrinkable water that comes from her well and has filed a damage suit against the Hanna Coal Company. She now has to transport water from a well many miles away.
Photographer: Erik Calonius
Date Created: 1973 October

Caption: The Atlas Chemical Company belches smoke across pasture land in foreground. It is referred to disparagingly in the community because black soot from the plant covers everything nearby.
Photographer: Marc St. Gil
Date Created: 1973 May

Caption: In 1972 a pipeline burst releasing 285,000 gallons of crude oil into the San Juan River. Flooding then caused the river to overflow into Lake Powell. The jars shown here contain water samples taken by EPA workers at the site for lab analysis.
Photographer: David Hiser
Date Created: 1972 October

Caption: Children in Fort Smith, Arkansas are learning that protecting the environment will take more than awareness.
Photographer: Jim Olive
Date Created: 1972 June

Caption: Closeup of an old coal company mining town of Red Ash Virginia. This is a classic picture of a company town with a railroad in the valley flanked by miners homes. These houses are two family dwellings; the road is made of red dog, a mining byproduct.
Photographer: Jack Corn
Date Created: 1974 April

Caption: Exhibit at the first symposium on low pollution power systems development. Vehicles and hardware were assembled at the EPA Ann Arbor Laboratory. Photo shows participants looking over the ESB "Sundancers", an experimental electric car.
Photographer: Frank Lodge
Date Created: 1973 October

Caption: Barge loaded with ashes from the Gravesend Bay incineration plant. Ashes will be taken to ocean for dumping.
Photographer: Arthur Tress
Date Created: 1973 May

Caption: Empty steel beer and soft drink cans are being used to build experimental housing near Taos, New Mexico. Some 70,000 cans are needed to build a house which can be built as much as 20% cheaper than conventional homes.
Photographer: David Hiser
Date Created: 1974 June

Caption: There is some local opposition to stripping the land in southeastern Ohio. Most people, however, are employed by the coal companies and are afraid any demands for reform will cost them their jobs.
Photographer: Erik Calonius
Date Created: 1973 October

Caption: One of a series of portraits of miners waiting to go to work on the 4 P.M. to midnight shift at the Virginia-Pocahontas coal company mine.
Photographer: Jack Corn
Date Created: 1974 April

Caption: Clark Avenue Bridge, Columbus, Ohio. Looking east from West 13th Street, it is obscured by smoke from heavy industry.
Photographer: Frank Aleksandrowicz
Date Created: 1973 July

January 2017 Exhibit:
Great Depression Photographers

by Lissie Rydz

Featured

Title: Poor whites, Georgetown, D.C.
Photographer: Carl Mydans
Date Created/Published: 1935 November

Title: Toward Los Angeles, California
Photographer: Dorothea Lange
Date Created/Published: 1937 March

Title: Floyd Burroughs, cotton sharecropper. Hale County, Alabama
Photographer: Walker Evans
Date Created/Published: 1936 Summer

Title: Washington, D.C. Government charwoman
Photographer: Gordon Parks
Date Created/Published: 1942 August

Title: Power farming displaces tenants from the land in the western dry cotton area. Childress County, Texas Panhandle
Photographer: Dorothea Lange
Date Created/Published: 1938 June

Title: Eighteen year-old mother from Oklahoma, now a California migrant
Photographer: Dorothea Lange
Date Created/Published: 1937 March

Title: Destitute pea pickers in California. Mother of seven children. Age thirty-two. Nipomo, California
Other Title: Migrant mother
Photographer: Dorothea Lange
Date Created/Published: 1936 February

Title: [Untitled]
Photographer: Carl Mydans
Date Created/Published: 1935 September

Title: Filipinos cutting lettuce. Salinas, California
Photographer: Dorothea Lange
Date Created/Published: 1935 June

Title: Jitterbugging, Saturday evening, outside Clarksdale, Mississippi
Photographer: Marion Post Wolcott
Date Created/Published: 1939 November

Title: Washstand in the dog run and kitchen of Floyd Burroughs’ cabin. Hale County, Alabama
Photographer: Walker Evans
Date Created/Published: 1936 Summer

Title: Crossroads store. Sprott, Alabama
Photographer: Walker Evans
Date Created/Published: 1935-36

From 1935-44, the Farm Security Administration hired photographers and writers to document the hardships of rural farming communities. The goal of the FSA photography project was "introducing America to Americans." Over 175,000 black and white negatives now reside in the FSA/OWI collection.

“Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children. This is not a way of life at all in any true sense. Under the clouds of war, it is humanity hanging on a cross of iron.”

- Dwight D. Eisenhower

A BRIEF HISTORY OF POVERTY AND INEQUALITY:

ANCIENT Egypt

Egyptian society was deeply stratified, with about 80% of all wealth held by only 20% of the population. Social inequality acted as a catalyst for worker specialization. As some rise in power and wealth, it creates a need for symbols of wealth and luxury. This demand encouraged the creation of specialized labor groups (the makers of luxury goods, for example). Interactions between classes then perpetuate, and often increase, the division of wealth.

ANCIENT Greece and ROME

“Poverty is the parent of revolution and crime.”

- Aristotle

In Greek culture Philanthropia, "loving what it is to be human", was treated as an obligation to your community and was encouraged through heavy societal pressure. After the Romans conquered the Greeks they emulated many Greek customs, among them a more regulated version philanthropy.

"These responsibilities obligated wealthy citizens to subsidize personally the cost of temples, city walls, armories, granaries, and other municipal amenities promoting inhabitants’ common identity and welfare."

But the tendency of many wealthy donors was to use these legal philanthropies for self-glorification, tax deductions, and political maneuvering so that it "...did little to help larger numbers of the destitute in growing Roman imperial cities."

United States - great depression

In the years leading up to the Great Depression there was a dramatic increase in inequality between the wealthy, who accounted for a third of all wealth, and the poor with no savings at all. The unemployment rate climbed from 3% to 25%, with over 13 million jobs lost and incomes reduced by 40%. The wealthiest felt very little of this change.

United States - Present Day

Today, income inequality is at a high not seen since the 1920's. And, globally, it is at an all time high. As of 2017, eight billionaires own as much wealth as 3.6 billion people, the bottom half of the world's population. With stagnating wages and rising healthcare, education, and housing costs, poverty rates are still climbing.

“Throughout history, poverty is the normal condition of man. Advances which permit this norm to be exceeded—here and there, now and then— are the work of an extremely small minority, frequently despised, often condemned, and almost always opposed by all right-thinking people. Whenever this tiny minority is kept from creating, or (as sometimes happens) is driven out of a society, the people then slip back into abject poverty.

This is known as 'bad luck.'”

- Robert A. Heinlein

Resources in Humboldt County:

Food for People: Humboldt County's food bank, operating 14 community food projects locally. 707-445-3166

CalFresh Humboldt: The California Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program assists low income families with funds for food budget needs. 877-410-8809

The Betty Kwan Chinn Day Center: Family services, employment services, transitional residency programs. 707-407-3833

Housing Humboldt: Local nonprofit focused on providing safe housing for low to middle income residents. 707-826-7312

Redwood Community Action Agency: Nonprofit agency with various community service programs including the RAVEN Project (youth-led outreach program), and Launch Pad (transitional living program). 707-269-2001

March and April exhibit Richard Duning

For March and April, we are featuring fourteen photographs from Richard Duning's new book, Succumb to the Images. Three different pieces will be available weekly as free 12x18" posters. To see the posters, click here.