The elephant (and donkey) in the room

Chicago museums don’t endorse presidential candidates, but their fall programming suggests they can’t think outside the ballot box. The same issues shaping the campaign—the economy, the environment, foreign policy and civil liberties—dominate local shows this season. Below, TOC presents the front-runners and reveals what these institutions let slip about their political leanings.

Dorothea Lange, Texas Tenant Farmer in California, Marysville Migrant Camp, 1935

“On The Road: Farm Security Administration; Dorothea Lange; Robert Frank”
Where and when
Museum of Contemporary Photography. 600 S Michigan Ave, 312-663-5554, mocp.org. Sept 5–Nov 1.
What it is
Depression- and World War II–era photos of migrant workers and other struggling Americans put Jack Kerouac’s On the Road in context. Most of these photographs were taken to drum up support for then-President Franklin Roosevelt’s social welfare programs.
Candidate connections
In July, John McCain economic advisor Carly Fiorina made the over-the-top claim that Barack Obama’s economic policies would plunge the U.S. into another Great Depression. The MoCP’s photographs of grubby, desperate farmers serve as a reminder of what a real Depression looks like.

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