Human Condition

Larry Clark (American, born 1943), Tulsa (Gun), 1971; Gelatin silver print, 14 x 11 inches; University of Pennsylvania Art Collection; Gift of Arthur Goldberg

This photograph is from a series of intimate black and white images chronicling a period of photographer Larry Clark's teenage years in the mid 1960's, living what he refers to as "the outlaw life". Set in his hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma, Clark photographed his friends shooting up speed, having sex, and playing with guns. This was considered ground-breaking work, offering viewers a glimpse into the secret youth culture of suburban America.

Judy Gelles (American, born 1944), Girl (USA, Inner City Public School), 2014; Archival pigment print, 51-3/10 x 40 inches; University of Pennsylvania Art Collection; Gift of the artist
Judy Gelles (American, born 1944), Get Shot (USA, Inner City Public School), 2014; Archival pigment print, 51-3/10 x 40 inches; University of Pennsylvania Art Collection; Gift of the artist

Judy Gelles was a multimedia artist whose work often examined the interchange between sociology, psychology, and art.

This photograph is part of Judy Gelles' Fourth Grade Project. Gelles spent over a decade interviewing and photographing more than 300 fourth grade students in locations all over the world including China, Dubai, England, India, Israel, Italy, Nicaragua, St. Lucia, South Africa, South Korea and the United States asking each student the same three questions: Who do you live with? What do you wish for? What do you worry about?

William Hogarth (British, 1697 – 1764), A Rake's Progress: Arrested for Debts, 1735; Engraving, 7-1/4 x 8-3/4 inches; University of Pennsylvania Art Collection; Anonymous gift
Leon Levinstein (American, 1910 – 1988), Woman with Shopping Bags, NYC, c.1970; Gelatin silver print, 14 x 11 inches; University of Pennsylvania Art Collection; Gift of Stuart E. Karu
John de Martelly (American, 1889 – 1975), Economic Discussion, 1937; Lithograph, 16 x 11-3/4 inches; University of Pennsylvania Art Collection; Gift of Martha Herpst
Robert Rauschenberg (American, 1925 – 2008), Watermark, 1973; Color photo-screenprint with varnish, 35-1/2 x 24-1/4 inches; University of Pennsylvania Art Collection; Gift of Myron A. Portenar, M.D. and Anne Jaffe Portenar (C'49)
Edward Steichen (American, 1879 – 1973), Homeless Women, The Depression, 1932; Gelatin silver print, 20 x 16 inches ; University of Pennsylvania Art Collection; Gift of Martin Oppenheimer

Edward Steichen began his career as a painter but later moved to photography, becoming a key figure in the history of the medium.

This publicity photograph from 1932, published for the Traveler's Aid Society in New York, shows the faces of the so-called "New Poor", white, middle-class women, forced into homelessness by the effects of the Great Depression. In the 1930's over ten million women worked outside of the home and lost jobs at a higher rate than men did.

Homelessness also increased among other ethnic groups, including African American women during this time, but they are noticeably absent in this image. Many Black women working as waitresses or domestics found themselves out of work, replaced by white women willing to work for lower wages.

Marion Post Wolcott (American, 1910 – 1990), Borrower, NC (Two Men), 1939; Gelatin silver print, 10 x 13 inches; University of Pennsylvania Art Collection; Gift of Myron A. Portenar, M.D. and Anne Jaffe Portenar (C'49)
Thomas Hart Benton (American, 1889 – 1975), Goin' Home, 1937; Lithograph, 10 x 12 inches; University of Pennsylvania Art Collection; Gift of Martha Herpst
Leon Levinstein (American, 1910 – 1988), Elderly Woman in Window, New York, c. 1952; Gelatin silver print, 14 x 11 inches; University of Pennsylvania Art Collection; Gift of Stuart E. Karu
Edward Steichen (American, 1879 – 1973), Paul Robeson as "The Emperor Jones", 1933; Gelatin silver print, 13 x 10-1/4 inches; University of Pennsylvania Art Collection; Gift of Martin Oppenheimer
Larry Fink (American, born 1941), Blue Horizon Gym, Philadelphia, PA, December 1994, 1994; Archival pigment print, 22 x 17 inches; University of Pennsylvania Art Collection; Gift of Mr. Felix Kravets
Robert Gray (Mexican), Woodcut Portrait (Mexican Woman in Kitchen),; Woodcut, 6-1/4 x 8 -1/4 inches; University of Pennsylvania Art Collection; Gift of Myron A. Portenar, M.D. and Anne Jaffe Portenar (C'49)
Louis Hine (American, 1874 – 1940), Oyster Shuckers in Louisiana, 1911; Gelatin silver print , 5 x 7 inches; University of Pennsylvania Art Collection; Gift of Myron A. Portenar, M.D. and Anne Jaffe Portenar (C'49)
Francisco Mora (Mexican, 1922 – 2002), Minero (Silver Miner), 1946; Lithograph, 15-3/4 x 11 inches; University of Pennsylvania Art Collection; Gift of Myron A. Portenar, M.D. and Anne Jaffe Portenar (C'49)

This print showing a silver miner at work, was produced as part of a portfolio of twelve lithographs entitled Mexican People published by the communal workshop Taller de Gráfica Popular in Mexico City in conjunction with the New York-based firm Associated American Artists. Each print depicted the reality of the labor behind Mexican products being exported to the United States, in this case, those made of silver.

Artist Francisco Mora studied under Diego Rivera at La Esmeralda and was active in the Taller de Gráfica Popular, producing political prints to further social causes including supporting government literacy campaigns and trade unions.

Fletcher Martin (American, 1904 – 1979), The Man Trip, 1947; Oil on canvas, 46 x 36 inches; University of Pennsylvania Art Collection; Gift of the Gimbel Collection
Cindy Sherman (American, born 1954), Untitled Film Still #32, 1979; Gelatin silver print, 8 x 10 inches; University of Pennsylvania Art Collection; Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Howard Ganek in honor of Rodney White

Cindy Sherman's Untitled Film Still #32 depicts the artist posed in the role of a vamp as she lights up a cigarette. Untitled Film Stills includes seventy black-and-white photographs in which Sherman posed as various female film characters, such as the vamp, working girl, wife, or ingénue in films from the 1940s and 50s. The images mimic the format and style of vintage movie star photos that promoted the films.

In this series Sherman questions the portrayal of women and gender roles at a time when the Women's Liberation Movement was fighting for choice, access, and equity.

Themes

Compassion
Environment
Governance
Human Condition
Time of Change