I Am an American, Oakland, CA, March 1942 by Dorothea Lange

Documentary photography emerged in the mid-19th century as a powerful medium for capturing real-life events like the American Civil War and, later, social issues like poverty and injustice. The foundational ability of photography to depict reality as never before was expanded and redefined as a tool for social change by artists like Dorothea Lange, Berenice Abbott, Russell Lee and Gordon Parks in the 20th century. (Keep your eyes peeled for our newest Gordon Parks edition, out later this month!)

EXPLORE ALL PHOTOGRAPHY

Image of Signs in the windows of a Marcus Garvey club in the Harlem area

Signs in the windows of a Marcus Garvey club in the Harlem area by Gordon Parks (1943)

Gordon Parks photographed a handful of images outside the Marcus Garvey club, but this shot is the only one that shows details of the actual space. In the window display, one can see articles, full publications, and a prayer for the president. Most prominent, however, is the portrait of Marcus Garvey, a Jamaican-born political leader, publisher, journalist, entrepreneur, orator and creator of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League. As the head of the UNIA-ACL, he encouraged people of African origin to return to their homelands to redeem the countries by removing all Euro-centric white influence. While not all black leaders at the time agreed with him, his speeches and writings influenced many future leaders, including Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Marcus Garvey passed away in 1940, but his influence was still felt in Harlem in 1943, when Parks made this image. Earlier that year, on assignment for the Office of War Information, Harlem had captured Parks' heart, so much so that he moved to the neighborhood in 1947. Parks' 1948 photo story on a Harlem gang leader is what earned him a job at LIFE Magazine, where he would go on to produce some of his best-known work.

Image of Migrant Worker on California Highway

Migrant Worker on California Highway by Dorothea Lange (1935)

It could be said the American Dream took shape in the shadow of the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression, defined by the Americans who travelled the long, rocky road toward the chance to achieve it. It makes sense that a light powerful enough to crack through the darkest days would have the strength to shine still, almost a century later. It's an enduring dream we can see suggestions of in Dorothea Lange's work.

Over a million people headed West in pursuit of that dream, looking to escape a life of destitution, lift themselves from poverty, and provide for their families. What formed was a nomadic, boot-strapped workforce made up of migrant workers. Armed with a camera, Lange embarked on a mission to document their experience on behalf of the FSA, producing photographs that would become some of the most recognizable images of Depression-era America.

Image of Hot Dog Stand, West St. and North Moore, Manhattan

Hot Dog Stand, West St. and North Moore, Manhattan by Berenice Abbott (1936)

Abbott had a deeply ingrained sense of the balance between objectivity and subjectivity in her work, intent on representing reality but all the while aware that her choice of subject, angle, and other aspects automatically imposed the personal on everything she shot. In Hot Dog Stand, West St. and North Moore, Manhattan, the close crop and shallow depth of field establish straight up that this image is all about the vendor and his stand. The midday sun and sharp focus create crisp wheel shadows on the sidewalk and draw the eye to the hand-painted lettering on the cart calling out ice cold lemonade and hot frankfurter rolls for 5 cents a pop. That pricing, the wheels, the slice of skyline blurred at the back, and the sliver of a truck Abbott’s included at right are all historical context clues, situating us squarely in the 1930s.

Cutting the pies and cakes by Russell Lee (1940)

Russell Lee was known for his ability to enter a community and document every aspect of it, becoming friendly with the locals and capturing honest moments of their daily lives. Unlike his fellow FSA photographers, Lee loved shooting in series rather than single images, feeling that was the only way to truly capture the story of a society.

Lee spent several months in Pie Town, New Mexico, photographing the daily lives of the homesteaders there. In October, there was a large gathering called the Pie Town Fair, during which Lee took several images. In addition to this image of the spread of desserts, there was barbecue, a rodeo, fruit wagons, and an exhibition hall. Lee's penchant for documentation allows the present-day viewer to completely travel back to 1940 Pie Town, New Mexico.

Harlem Tenement in Summer, a 20x200 Vintage Edition (1935-1939)

Throughout the 19th and early 20th century, photography had long been used to represent people of color as “the other”, as objects of study. The visual record of African Americans was largely composed of ethnographic images and bleak depictions of racial stereotypes. But with the Harlem Renaissance in the 1920s came a fresh bloom of photographers using the medium to show community, humanity, and joy in Black American life—a trend that carried on into the 1930s and even today. Shot in the late 1930s, Harlem Tenement in Summer challenges the negative representations that often saturated the socio-political climate of the time with a typical day in the neighborhood punctuated by a smile from the window, schoolchildren chatting, and an infectious laugh you can almost hear. While the photographer is unknown, they captured a pivotal shift in perspective that influenced the medium for decades to come.

NEW
GIFTS
QUICK SHIP
BLOG
SALE

20x200 135 Plymouth Street Brooklyn, New York 11201

Manage Preferences or Unsubscribe

NEW

GIFTS

QUICK SHIP

BLOG

SALE

Mia Gemma

Coupons & Deals

No Active Deals Found

We found this deal in the email below. Have a look for yourself!

Framing Reality: a Look at Documentary Photography