Cotton Workers

thats a really strange picture to have hanging in the Administration of a Mental Institution

Two words... Social Darwinism.

are the people in the picture supposed to represent the patients?

Kate,
I wondered that too ...... Looking at it from an art prespective, it is an interesting picture.... but extremely out of place in Pennhurst, who thought to put this in a Mental Hospital and what exactly was it supposed to represent?

ok..so the picture isnt nailed it is cemented to the wall,so someone wanted it to stay for good(it must have had that much meaning)..does it mean that at pennhurst you can be free from what holds you captive..or..does it mean it is a messed up hospital that doesnt let parents see where their kids live..it is a picture that shows people being held against their will to work and be enslaved like penn hurst

Maybe it was made by a patient.... reflecting their past....

The mosaic appears to have been put in after the wall was put up, the frame has been adjusted to fit the oppening and the mortar was crudely applied around it.
The mosaic dosnt fit inside the frame, like it is only a small portion of a much larger picture, possibly salvaged from another building. I am sure that whomever had this put in just liked the way it looked and thought nothing of how it might appear to anyone in the future.

Perhaps they were racist?

This seems more than a bit out of place-especially in a Pennsylvania mental hospital.
I wonder what percentage of the patient population was blacK?? Or, did that even have anything to do with this mural?? Interesting.

im goin to pennhurst this weekend i hope it will be a worthwhile trip

That's really good architectural terra cotta. I'm surprised it's still there in such good condition.

What the hell is this ?

In one way I want to destroy it !!!

But in another way; art is art and art is in the eye of the beholder. I suppose someone would want it but not me.

Signed: An American Soldier in Germany.

I have looked at this photo for a second time and I have a feeling of harsh reality that pours over me.

I feel very un - comfortable too.

Signed: An American Soldier stationed in Germany.

I was there last night... I saw this mural and was speechless at the rest of pennhurst

for sure owned slave workers here

Interesting...were there any other pictures of this type? If not, it does seem odd without any explanation or artist's signature.

Reminds me of the murals in San Francisco's Coit Tower that depict, among other things, the history of migrant farm workers in the area.

How about, a talented patient created this and the staff thought it would make an interesting conversation piece.
I don't see any need to drop the Race or Slavery cards here. *sheesh*

This is a mosaic from The Moravian Tile Works in Doylestown. There are a few scattered around the Pennhurst campus and around PA.

Kind of a random subject, considering that migrant workers in PA would likely *not* be picking cotton...lol...but a nice piece of local art.

PEOPLE HAVE SINCE DESTROYED THIS PIECE OF ART !! IF PEOPLE WOULD JUST LOOK AND NOT DESTROY IT WOULD BE NICE !!!!!!!!!!!!

I was just at Pennhurst today...sadly...this mosaic has been destroyed. Someone has chipped away at it. All that remains is bits of it, and this beautiful photographic reminder of the evidence that once remained. There is one still intact on an adjacent building that is absolutely gorgeous!

This institution was built after the abolition of slavery. But the patients did most of the work here. They worked in the farms, in the greenhouses, in the kitchen...they even helped the doctors in the operating room!

I think in order to understand the meaning of this piece of art you have to take into consideration the dictum of that day. This is exactly what a commenter stated previously “Social Darwinism/Eugenics.” During this time Social Darwinism/Eugenics was gaining a lot of momentum and was being institutionalized, example of this is exactly this old facility. Whoever was stigmatized as being feeble minded were institutionalize and sterilized. They also perform many horrible experimentations on them. Social Darwinism/Eugenics was the driving force of the Nazis, to “preserve the race” aka “Aryans” by one day reeding the world of all who they thought were imbeciles thus stopping retrogression. This placement of art is an indirect way of saying blacks were imbeciles which they believed. This was a way to show their pure disdain for the black race and all the “lesser races” for that matter. This is a sad reality of history.

Wow, the first time I ever heard such a thing. Have you ever studied or traced the origins of Eugenics that sprung out of Social Darwinism? This was a thought that originated by racist German and Anglo Saxons of Europe. Their cover was the “improvement the human species” through their systems of control (Eugenics). They believed that they were at the pentacle of human evolution. This thought gave reason for wanting to preserve and improve their “species” by way of selective mating and of coarse covertly destroy the “lesser races” through various methods. Now there were many philosophical debates among their own scholars which method would be the best course of action. One famous Eugenicist in America was Margaret Sanger who created Planned Parenthood which is nothing more but an abortionist clinic. Her aim was to reduce the numbers of blacks in America which end up being very successful because the #1 killer of blacks in America is now Abortion. Eugenicist roots are birth out of disdain for other races. Modern psychology was birth out of Eugenics and Pennhurst would have never came into existence if it was not for eugenics. I'm sorry if this sounds a bit too much but it's the truth.

Mott, the topic was not about abortion, I was attempting to give validity to the racist agenda of eugenics here in America that you said: " I don't think U.S. eugenics at institutions were based on racism." Abortion is a product of Eugenics including the many mental institutions that developed. Eugenics initially preyed upon blacks, native Americans, and of the weak. Eugenics is a system that had been institutionalized. Many of the works of these institutions in my opinion did not know what they were apart of or the endgame. I'm sure many of them thought what they were doing was necessary. When I consider Pennhurst, I understand it's existence would never had been if it had not been for eugenics. This art work only confirms my intimations of racism. It's there for a reason and making a clear utterance.

I think this picture was put there to show them they where still free even though they where locked up and treated like crap I think this building should be left as is cause even if u cant see them doesnt mean no one lives there still and doing anything to this building would be rude and an insalt to thoes spirets still there

This picture was made by WPA workers when building the administration building. They were comparing the work that the patients did for no money (along with the terrible conditions they were kept in) to slaves.