Can the energy and scale of the masses be contained in an image? In the early-20th century, photographs, films, and prints often presented cities as sites of movement and collective actions, such as labor marches and street protests. Depending on who framed or published a picture, a crowd could be a stately procession, an organized demonstration, a celebratory throng, or an unruly mob.
By the mid-1930s, fascist and authoritarian regimes had taken power across Europe and economic crises had intensified worldwide struggles over class, race, and colonialism. These conditions made representations of crowds and groups ever more urgent. Images of political rallies and conflicts, from US labor strikes to Spanish anarchist demonstrations and Soviet parades, circulated widely in publications and exhibitions, advancing—or contesting—visions of working-class solidarity. Many socially engaged artists moved beyond merely picturing the masses and formed new collectives to make works emphasizing connections between local movements and international anti-fascist, anti-imperial, and communist causes.
Organized by Caitlin Ryan, Assistant Curator, The Robert B. Menschel Department of Photography, with Rachel Remick, Curatorial Associate, Department of Curatorial Affairs and Department of Painting and Sculpture.