The United States swings back and forth every generation from being a large federal bureaucracy (Hamiltonian) to a decentralized (Jeffersonian) model. (Stay awake and I promise I’ll get around to talking about art.) There are merits for both models but it’s during those Hamiltonian periods that we as a country do REALLY COOL THINGS like go to the moon or create social security.
I can think of fewer times it would have been better to be an American artist than between 1935-43 during the Federal Art Project. The federal government funded art projects and employed artists like Pollack, De Kooning, and Rothko at the beginning of their careers. The Federal Art Project produced a lot of posters that promoted everything from stopping syphillis, to keeping books dry, to telling people to shut up.
When I was asked to create advertisements for our county parks for the elections guide, I stole from went to national parks posters from the FPA for inspiration. These posters simply ask readers to “See America.” Weeks after I finished the posters I was asked to create Spanish translations for them. The good thing about keeping the text simple is that you don’t have to work much on the translation. I am also pleasantly surprised that the Spanish translation of the Jalama Beach poster now feels like a Pixies concert poster.
Lael Wageneck 
