All of the talk about the economy tanking is depressing, so I prefer to look at greatness instead. One of the most fantastic things to come out of the first Great Depression (as Jon Stewart likes to call it) were the Works Progress Administration (WPA) posters that were designed to keep the public’s spirits high in the midst of our country’s lowest depths. Roosevelt created the posters through the Federal Art Project, and ReadyMade magazine did a fantastic tribute to them in their Dec./Jan. issue, asking contemporary artists to create their own posters based on the original designs.

From the magazine:

American art has never been so liberally supported by government as it was during the critical years between 1933 and 1943. The FAP served a dual purpose: It gave unemployed artists work while demonstratively branding the virtues of the nation through rousing mass communication. The WPA Poster Division was mandated to promote the cultural and social programs that FDR’s administration took great pains to foster. The posters supported hygiene, education, sports, vacations, conservation, community, theater, dance, and music; they cautioned about workplace safety and venereal disease.

…

WPA artists turned to an early form of universal symbolism that involved a streamlined variant of artmoderne (or art deco), a hint of Russian constructivism, a smattering of cubism, and a dose of surrealism that gave the posters the aura of timely modernity.

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I really enjoy the illustrated blogs on New York Times, but I love this particular series, especially this image. From the mind of Maira Kalman, an illustrator whose work I recognize from the New Yorker, is a brilliant selection of scenes from the inauguration, aptly titled “At Last.” My other favorites: the roses in the rest stop (I’ve seen those so many times!), the knockout dress, and the eyebrows on the security guard. Check out the entire series here. Apparently a new collection of drawings from her “Pursuit of Happiness” series comes out each Friday.