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things had changed.

Forge: But were you in any way involved with the strong sort of social tendencies of American art during the thirties?  I mean, the W.P.A.

Krasner: Oh yes.  I was a member of the W.P.A. as were not all artists, but a great number of them were on W.P.A. and I was very much involved with that - very much.

Forge: And did the involvement with the W.P.A. affect your aesthetic in any way?

Krasner: To a degree it did, as the work that was called for didn't quite line up with what I was interested in.  On the W.P.A. an order for work - murals easel painting to be placed in public buildings.  Someone from the public buildings had to designate what kind of art they wanted.  Needless to say it moved a little away from my own interests in art.  Nevertheless, its validity I would never deny.  It kept a group of painters alive through a very difficult period.

Forge: But you were faced with this problem of reconciling your interest in avant garde art with a function which was available to the general public.

Krasner: But one dealt with it.  For instance I was asked to execute murals done by other artists, and after doing quite afew of them they weren't my paintings but it had to be done and then I said I would do it provided I finally got my own mural to do.  Now I believe there was just one place that was accepting abstract murals and they - the administration said fair enough, if you complete this next eighty nine feet of the history of navigation you will have your own, and indeed I did get it, only before I