At Work: The Art of California Labor ed. by Mark Dean Johnson (review)

B O O K R E V IE W S A t W o r k : T h e A r t o f C a l i f o r n i a L a b o r . E d it e d b y M a r k D e a n Jo h n s o n . Sa n F r a n cisc o : C a lifo r n ia H ist o r ic a l So c ie t y P r ess, 2 0 0 3 . 154 p ag e s, $ 3 5 .0 0 . Review ed by M. Elizabeth Boon e H u m b o ld t S t a t e U n iv e r s it y A t W o rk : T h e A r t o f C alif o r n ia L ab o r, t h e am b it iou s p r od u ction o f M ark D e an Jo h n so n , b rin gs t oget h er st u d en ts an d facu lty at Sa n Fran cisco St at e U n iver sity w ith st aff m em b ers at th e C alifo r n ia H ist o r ical Society, t h e C alifo r n ia Lab or Fed erat ion , A F L- C IO , an d Berk eley ’s H eyd ay Bo ok s t o collab or at ively exp lor e t h e r elat ion sh ip b etw een lab or h istory an d t h e arts. P r esen t ed as con cu r ren t e xh ib it io n s t h at op en e d in Se p t e m b e r 2003 at t h e C alifo r n ia H ist or ical So cie t y an d t h e Fin e A r t s G alle r y at Sa n Fran cisco St at e U n iversity, A t W o rk in clu d es an im pressive se le ct ion o f visu al arts— p ain t in gs, prin ts, m u rals, an d p h o t o ­ grap h s— as w ell as e xam p les from literatu re, m u sic, an d th eater. T h e e xh ib it io n is cu rren tly t ravelin g t o m u seu m s an d galleries th r ou gh ou t C alifo r n ia, an d th e accom p an y in g cat alo gu e p r ovid es an in terd iscip lin ary look at t h e in tersect ion s b et w een lab or an d art d u rin g t h e p ast h u n d r ed years. A se le ct ion o f w orks from t h e b o o k is rep r od u ced in t h is issue o f W e st e rn A m e ric an L it e rat u re . T h e prem ise o f A t W o rk r eveals a fran kly m od ern ist id ealism . In t h e for e­ w ord, h ist or ian G ar y Br ech in h o ld s ar tists resp on sib le for u n v eilin g t h e system s t h at k eep u s from ack n ow led gin g ou r co m m on h u m an ity. In “A n Illu strated In tr od u ct io n ,” M ark Jo h n so n fu rth ers th is t h esis by e xp lain in g h ow “t h e ar t ­ ists in th is volu m e ev id...