The images of cities in the context of social realism in 20th century Western art and their place in art education

The concept of the city, embodying different qualities and acquiring various meanings in every period of history, has been changing due to the time period or social structure. Social Realism, reflecting this structure which is undergoing improvement and transformation, is an understanding that emphasizes the social aspect of art. In the 18th and 19th centuries, cities have main centers of Industrial Revolution and inventions and the technological innovations it caused in the society. The transformation of cities into a place which is open to innovations, technology, information and easy to find work has caused urbanization, which is defined as the increase in the number of cities in the world and the rapid increase in the number of people living in existing cities. Many artists got interested in the phenomenon of urbanization, especially by going to metropolitan cities they have been drawing the streets, squares and busy streets they observed or structures that became symbols of the cities. The artists sometimes reflected the rapid, unhealthy and crooked structure of the cities or the longing of the people to past lives and the feeling of loneliness in the city in the paintings about cities; and sometimes they concentrated on venues of culture and entainment such as theater, cinema, concert and dance halls, cafes and bars, new habits offered by the city life. Important improvements in transportation in the early 20th century influenced the development of the city and artists depicted transportation vehicles such as trains, subways and buses. While people try to get accustomed to the social changes brought by modern cities, the breakout of the World Economic Crisis after the First World War and its leading to a greater destruction and unemployment problem among the people living in the city has been a subject for artists. After the Great Depression, the living conditions which started to improve in the city, again deteriorated with the Second World War. Works have been found in which artists explored the social classes and cultures in the city life and depicted festivals, parades, national and religous fests, thanksgiving days. The artists, who used cities which are the main places of the new social structure, created compositions in which children are placed in the center. In addition, the new image of women, which has become a part of urban society, has been one of the most interesting subjects in the artists works. How artists reflect urban life in different countries in a wide geography including America, Europe and Russia will be studied and their contribution to art education will be evaluated.