Dorothea Lange was a courageous American photographer who used her images to rally support for the destitute American people enduring the Great Depression. Lange accomplishes her lofty goals by capturing the optimistic human spirit in image form. She was able to look past the outer appearances of her subjects and see their determination and hope for a better future.
Lange was born in New Jersey in 1895 and learned from a young age how to deal with adversity. At the age of seven, Lange was diagnosed with polio which left her with a limp in her right leg for the rest of her life. Then at the age of twelve, Lange’s father walked out on her family. This event was so hurtful to Lange that she dropped her father’s last name and took up her mother’s maiden name. This was an extremely unusual act for a woman during the early 1900s and shows Lange’s strength and independence.
In 1918, Lange moved from New York to San Francisco and opened her own portrait studio. One day as Lange was staring out her studio window she noticed a man standing at an intersection and in that moment she vowed to photograph the now rather than the timeless and undated. It was these documentary photographs that caught the attention of Roy Stryker who was in charge of the Farm Security Administration (FSA) of the United States Government. Lange joined the team of famous photographers in traveling across the country and documenting the Great Depression for the U.S. government.
The most widely recognized photograph by Lange is Migrant Mother, 1936, which depicts a poor mother trying to take care of her children. Lange was unique in the sense that she saw her subjects as real people instead of just subjects in a photograph. She got to know her subjects and listened to their stories. Lange truly cared about their well being and wanted to help them.
Lange did not pose or stage her images, yet they are more optimistic than her coworkers in the FSA. Lange’s subjects typically stand tall and have their heads held high. They have a look of determination and hope for a better future in their eyes. Lange could see the strength behind the raggedy appearances and was drawn to it.
When Lange was married for the second time, her husband had to travel all over the world for work and she accompanied him on his journeys. Lange captured the same human characteristics in her Asian portraiture as in her work during the Great Depression.
Lange was a brave woman who dedicated her life to helping others. She had numerous obstacles in her own life but was always able to overcome them. Her photographs display optimism and hope, two qualities that Lange admired most. Without Dorothea Lange, the way we view the Great Depression would be completely different.
Possible Prompts
- As a photojournalist, do you feel Lange was distorting the truth by capturing optimistic images? Why or why not?
- When you look at Migrant Mother, what feelings and emotions come to mind? Do you feel this is an optimistic photograph?
- In your opinion, what makes an image or photograph look optimistic?
- Lange’s goal during the Great Depression was to use her photographs to shock the nation into helping the destitute people. If you were a wealthy American during this time period and saw Lange’s work, would you be inclined to help? Why or why not?
- Write a short history for the subjects in either Egyptian Villagers or Classroom.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Dorothea Lange Summary
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As a photo journalist I don’t feel like Lange distorted the truth by capturing optimism because she was capturing the American people. During the Dust Bowl, these migrants were facing huge opposition, but they still had pride and hope for a better future, and she captured that. Her photography can also be seen in many ways as well. While that optimism and faith is there, there are still the worry lines and tension in each of the pictures. She does a good job of finding real human emotion in her subjects, like you said, by simply taking pictures and not staging them.
ReplyDeleteI feel like if she had overly staged scenes, dressed her subjects up, and told them what to do with their faces, like other photographers did, it would be distorting the truth. The comparisons you made with other photographers really showed this, because Lange’s subjects were caught in a moment of their life, while other photographers seemed to be stiff and posed.
Her pictures show optimism because they show a true person. The little clues of body language and a light in their eyes show optimism. Even the hurt and worry in their eyes and body language show optimism because they are facing these challenges head on and not letting the farmers or people opposing them influence their drive. Optimism is more than just a smile or light in the eyes, it’s the relationships and the strength behind someone that truly shows optimism. It’s the people who can overcome a trying situation, who can stand there strong, with looks of pride and determination while feeling confused and scared inside, even if just for their children.
These people also were part of huge families, full of support, and while they faced death and opposition, they had a deep connection to one another. They were willing to help each other with what little means they had. They were modern day pioneers, making wagon trains, and providing support to complete strangers.
Her use of her photography as a means to show the American public what was going on during the Great Depression would have affected me, if I were a wealthy American. There were so many public works programs, and the arts truly showed the mindset and situations people were facing. Seeing these images of men, women, and children would have had a huge affect on me because even today, they show emotion and pain. Their optimism and hope also shows through, showing how strong they are. This would have made me want to help as much as possible because they could have been me. These people were part of a harsh time and this could have happened to anyone. The fact that they were willing to share what little food and shelter they had shows the character of the people. They lived in poor conditions, but the pictures show camaraderie, something we should all want and aspire for. I would have loved to help them in anyway possible.
Dorthea Lange’s famous photograph, Migrant Mother, was taken in the midst of the Great Depression and illustrates the unbelievable desperation and poverty that many Americans had to face at that time. The main subject is a middle-aged woman. Her children are turned away from the camera and leaning on her shoulders. When I look at this photograph, I feel hopelessness and uncertainty. I, personally, don’t feel that this is an optimistic photograph. It looks to me as if the mother is looking off into the distance, trying to search for answers. She realizes that she has two small children to look after and that each day is going to be a struggle. It looks like the entire weight of the world is on her shoulders, even though she only bears the weight of her two children who are fully dependant on her, every moment of every day. Perhaps her husband is no longer in the picture. Maybe he left her or passed away not so long ago. Her eyes look very worried to me and her slumped-over posture gives me the feeling that she has lost all hope. It looks as though she is thinking to herself. Her face is not quite resting on her right hand. Rather, her hand is feeling her right cheek. Perhaps she is stroking her face like an old man strokes his beard and contemplating her situation. Obviously, this is not the life she imagined living when she was younger. Maybe she is wondering if things will ever look up for her and her family. The frown on her weathered face does not illustrate a feeling of optimism to me either. Rather it is a look of fear and frustration. Fear that each new day could bring death or disaster to her family, and frustration that there is little or nothing that she can do about it.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, there are a few things that make an image look optimistic. If it is a color image, bright and happy colors evoke positive emotions and make me think optimistically. However, if it is a portrait (color or black and white) the face and posture of the subject tell me a lot. In the above paragraph, I talked about Migrant Mother and why I do not think it is an optimistic image. She is hunched-over, she is frowning, and she is not looking at the camera. The eyes can tell volumes about a person’s feelings and emotions. In an optimistic photograph, a person’s eyes should look joyful or at least hopeful. They should not be worried or frightened. The person’s posture should be upright and proud, not sullen and sorrowful. Also, in my opinion, the mouth doesn’t need to be a smile, but it should absolutely not be a scowl. A smile or a look of unconcern can relay optimism to me as long as the posture and eyes of the subject don’t contradict it.
If I were a wealthy American during the Great Depression and saw Lange’s photographs of people in destitution, I would definitely be inclined to help. Her images are very powerful and often show images of children in complete poverty. For example, if I saw Lange’s Migrant Mother, Damaged Child, or her image of Mississippi Delta Children, I would be quite moved that I have so much and they have so little. I think especially since they are Americans, I would feel an extra close connection to them, which would make me feel like helping them all the more.
Dorothea Lange’s candid depictions of people suffering through the Great Depression did not distort reality. Her photographs may have been optimistic in times of great suffering, but since Lange captured what she saw, what was real, no disfiguration of reality occurred. It could even be argued that Lange’s portrayals of destitute individuals are more genuine then other photographers from the Farm Security Administration. The way Lange did not pose, or set up any of her photographs gave a feeling of authenticity that affected the American public more than other Farm Security Administration photographers.
ReplyDeleteAn example of this authenticity is the photograph Migrant Mother. As one of Lange’s most recognizable works, the illustration of a rootless, itinerant woman with piercing eyes and children to take care of brings a wealth of emotions to the viewer. The first thing that is apparent in the photograph is the deep stress lines on the mothers face. Her posture and hand position gives a stoic nature to the work. Her eyes speak of determination and strength for the future of her children. Although this photograph shows someone in their most destitute of times, the woman’s face does not seem depressed or weak. There is a subtle resolve the mother holds for herself and her children. She will not lose hope because she must be there for the ones that depend on her. This faint sense of power that the migrant mother holds, even though everything else has escaped her, can be interpreted as optimism, but more so as hope. Hope that the country she lives in will help her, hope that her perseverance will be enough, hope in others to do the right thing.
In any picture, a sense of optimism can be developed by the slightest amount of conviction. At times, this conviction has to be gathered by the viewer. The portrait does not always reveal itself upon one glance. Good portraiture and photography has many layers, as do people. The slightest difference can change a portrait from optimistic to despondent just as the slightest change in facial expression can affect an entire face. In most cases this change is observed mainly in the eyes. The old expression that eyes are the window to the soul holds true in almost every occasion and it is no different in Migrant Mother.
Any person who viewed this photograph in the era it was taken would have been moved more so then when it is viewed now. The Great Depression impacted many of the vital social levels that supported the country and those who were fortunate enough to escape its affects should have realized that was only due to the burden carried by the lower class. This realization should have shocked most Americans into trying to help the unfortunate as much as possible. By bringing this sort of frank representation into the vast public eye, Dorothea Lange affectively stunned those who were oblivious to the ongoing hardships of the people that built and held together the foundation of America. Indeed the hope carried in the eyes of Migrant Mother and other portrayals of real people in the Great Depression by Dorothea Lange drastically affected many in the country for the better.
First of all, I do not think that Dorothea Lange was distorting the truth by capturing optimistic images during the Great Depression. In fact, I think the opposite. I believe that by taking photographs that belied popular conceptions of the spirit of the downtrodden people of the Great Depression, Lange was revealing a deeper truth that many other photojournalists failed to find.
ReplyDeleteMy belief is rooted in the fact that Lange did not stage her photos, but simply captured artfully what was already there. She could not fake the dirty desperation of the migrant mother, or the indomitable smile of the man who lost his farm. These emotions already lived in the hearts of these people; it simply took the eye of a true photographer to display them to the world. This is part of the reason that Lange’s photographs are so powerful. The most moving and memorable photos are those that express some sentiment or personality so vividly and so honestly that looking at it makes you feel something. For example, the famous kissing sailor picture taken on VJ Day by Alfred Eisenstaedt (at http://www.freeimagehosting.net/image.php?61e34436bf.jpg), or the picture of the Afghani girl on the cover of National Geographic by Steve McCurry (at http://www.freeimagehosting.net/image.php?61e34436bf.jpg). Dorothea Lange’s photos have this same quality as those two photos do.
I think that some might feel that she had bias in her photos because of what she chose to photograph. This could be true, in the sense that she had the ability to choose which emotions she wanted to evoke, and which photographs she wanted to publish. However, you cannot argue that the emotions she captured were not there. In fact, it makes perfect sense that she would find optimism in the midst of squalor. The human spirit has the peculiar ability to thrive in the most oppressive and miserable conditions. From the most dismal of times is born a sort of illogical, irrepressible hope, because if there is no hope in such situations then there is no reason to live. As we like to say, “There’s nowhere to go but up!” Lange just looked for this hope, and found it - she did not create it.
Secondly, I think what makes a photograph look optimistic is not a single definable element. Of course, you can always pose the subject to look happy, or ask them to be doing a task that seems to be preparing for a brighter future, but this often comes off looking fake. The pictures with the best sense of hope are photographs of people who are truly hopeful. There is a light in their eyes, a lift of their eyebrows, a straightness in their stature; they stand or sit with purpose, and sometimes there is a wry twist of the mouth. People who are hopeful may be saddened, but not defeated, and they may struggle but they never surrender.
Because hope is such an elusive and nebulous emotion, often overshadowed by joy, I think that it can be overlooked in photographs and can be overlooked by photographers. This, again, is where Lange succeeds. She makes hope the focus of her pictures, instead of a backdrop to happiness. I think that since her subjects have so little else, the hope is thrown into sharp relief by their destitution. So, it seems that what makes a photo hopeful is the absence of anything to be hopeful for. Then, the insuppressible optimism shines through.