Lorna Simpson

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the works of photographer, Lorna Simpson. The paper compares her to Dorothea Lange of the 1930s, who used photography to document the disastrous conditions for Americans confronted with the Dust Bowl in the West. The paper explains that Lange's images demonstrated the urgent need for government programs to assist these disadvantaged people. The paper highlights the parallel with Lorna Simpson's modern-day photographs that do the same: Document the American blacks and demonstrate their personal societal needs. The paper describes how this Brooklyn-born artist uses black-and-white images to portray the situation of present-day American blacks so that uninformed viewers can better understand these individuals' perception of the world.

From the Paper:

"In the 1930s, Dorothea Lange used photography to document the disastrous conditions for Americans confronted with the Dust Bowl in the West. The images demonstrated the urgent need for government programs to assist these disadvantaged people. The photographs told the entire story. Today, Lorna Simpson's photographs do the same: document the American blacks and demonstrate their personal societal needs. This Brooklyn-born artist uses black-and-white images to portray the situation of present-day American blacks so uninformed viewers can better understand these individuals perception of the world. "

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