Hobos to Street People: Artists' Responses to Homelessness from the New Deal to the Present
February 19- August 15, 2009

Christine Hanlon, (1954 - )
Third Street Corridor, 1998
Oil on canvas
Courtesy of the artist

The California Historical Society in collaboration with the California Exhibition Resources Alliance presents the premiere showing of the traveling exhibition Hobos to Street People: Artists’ Responses to Homelessness from the New Deal to the Present. This timely exhibition features the works of more than 30 artists working over the last 75 years to document the tragedy of homelessness and the government’s role in the crisis. Through painting, printmaking, photography, and mixed media, Depression-era and contemporary artists offer glimpses of life on the street and show many similarities between the eras.

Hobos to Street People: Artists’ Responses to Homelessness from the New Deal to the Present features works by New Deal-era artists such as Dorothea Lange, Rockwell Kent, and Giacomo Patri along with contemporary artists such as Sandow Birk, David Bacon, and Christine Hanlon. “Some of the artists in this exhibition personally experienced homelessness and poverty, and some worked directly with organizations to combat poverty, but all of them felt that art could be used to focus attention on homelessness,” explains curator Art Hazelwood. “The idea that art can have a function in society by engaging in a struggle for a better world, and that everyone should take an interest in the well-being of less fortunate people are the twin beliefs of the artists in this show.”

During the Great Depression, New Deal programs such as the Works Progress Administration funded artists to document what was happening in the country. Artists focused their attention on issues of human rights, and due to the large number of poor and displaced people, homelessness became a central focus of their work. Following World War II, artists shifted their energies elsewhere, but by the late 1970s a period of increased poverty and economic inequality once again stimulated artists to focus their attention on the issue of homelessness. Contemporary artists are continuing to witness, document, and comment on today’s poverty. This unique collection explores the evolution of work by artists who have sought to bring attention to the issue of homelessness and have actively found ways to influence society through exhibition and distribution of their artwork.

Ed Gould, (1932 - )
Kindred Spirits, 1997
Linocut
Courtesy of the artist

Hobos to Street People is a California Exhibition Resources Alliance traveling exhibition funded by the James Irvine Foundation, LEF Foundation, and Fleishhacker Foundation. The exhibition premieres at the California Historical Society with additional pieces of original artwork from CHS and private collections. These additional works will not be part of the traveling exhibition.

An audio tour featuring the exhibition curator Art Hazelwood, historian Dr. Charles Wollenberg, advisor Paul Boden, and several of the artists is available and adds additional insights into the issue of homelessness and the work of the artists.

Articles on the Exhibition
San Francisco Arts Monthly

Street Spirit