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Two highly controversial subjects, it is true, but definitely of major importance in the understanding of the progressive artist. 

Let us survey the first point: realism. [[strikethrough]] A few years ago, [[/strikethrough]] In 1936 to be exact, four hundred painters, sculptors, designers, photographers, saw that fascism, war and human degradation and oppression were at all odds with all the forces of culture, peace and freedom. They cried aloud a resounding note of allegiance with all the people who love life and culture to form a united front and fight for the heritage of man. This heoric [[heroic]] spirit was not only voiced in words, but in the heart and soul of their work. They tore into the body of our society and exposed [[strikethrough]] its [[/strikethrough]] the cancerous growth, of power, hunger, race hatred, fascism. They exposed it to the world to see, in all the creative mediums at their command. The stage, the book, the canvas, the mural, the film, the music. They made the cause of peace and freedom, the case of their work. Their sincerity and honesty affected thousands of workers, farmers and students. This initiated the emergenc[[strikethrough]] y [[/strikethrough]]e of other artists, - organizations, allied in principle, in purpose. But what gave these artists real heroic stature and historic significance was their alliance with labor and the mass movements of the people. And this alliance was possible because the artist spoke in his work as well as actions in a language the people could understand. True he did not always reveal the heart and soul of the people as often as he revealed their overt actions. But the people respected him for what appeared to be a common faith and understanding. Action, work, and deed, for the artist became an integrated thing on a positive level. The artists drew his inspiration from the realities of life. He toiled in the noble tradition bestowed on him by Rembrandt, Daumier, Goya, Brueghel, Tanner, and Homer. The hands that toiled in the earth, the factory that soothed and carressed [[caressed]] a crying child, the faced that reveal pain, anguish, hope and courage. The bodies of those bloated with greed and hate, and those gaunt from hunger, sickness, overwork, and age. [[strikethrough]] These were the symbols of the [[/strikethrough]] EXPOSED. THE. TRUE. ISSUES. OF. OUR SOCIETY.