Documentary Photography

Paper Summary:

When the camera was invented, photographers learned that they no longer needed oil paint and brushes to capture a scene or a person. On film, they could now record the life and times of the period in which they lived, either from a sense of mission or simply to leave an accurate version of their life and times for others. This paper provides an in-depth look at the lives, times and works of several photographers who captured America's history on photographic film. The paper discusses Matthew Brady who documented the realities of the American Civil War, Jacob Riis who condemned the deplorable conditions in New York City at the end of the 19th Century and the unobtrusive Dorothea Lange who photographed the plight of the American people during the Great Depression and went on to become the first woman awarded a Guggenheim fellowship. The paper also discusses the works of Walker Evans who was hired by the Resettlement Administration to photograph the Depression and Lewis Hine who educated the American public on the plight of children working under deplorable conditions.

From the Paper:

"The most poignant and moving photographs from Lange's trip convey a mood rather than describing circumstances or activities: a man squatting at the edge of the field, a mother and child in the tent opening, a group of men staring at the photographers. The photographs are character studies showing the textures of skin and clothing with an artist's eye and depicting posture, gesture and gaze with an ethnologist's.
When the Depression came to an end with World War II, Lange changed subjects rather than give up her documentary photography. Three months after Pearl Harbor, President Franklin Roosevelt ordered the relocation of Japanese-Americans into armed camps in the West. Soon after, the War Relocation Authority hired Lange to photograph Japanese neighborhoods, processing centers and camp facilities.
However, now Lange's feelings about what the government was doing gave her much discontent. She was not prepared to witness the disturbing racial and civil rights issues raised by Japanese internment. Lange quickly found herself at odds with her employer, the United States government."

More papers on Documentary Photography:

• Essay # 55055 : "Documentary Photography"
• Analytical Essay # 117631 : "The Photography of Edward Weston"
• Analytical Essay # 140337 : "Photography of Martin Parr and Magnum Photos"

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