Dorothea Lange
Eileen Romero
Photo Design
W3_A3
Dorothea Lange (1895-1965)
I chose Dorothea Lange because I admire her strength of character, her empathy and compassion for her subjects, but more importantly because of the essence of the people she was able to capture in her photographs. Not only does the viewer feel pity for the subjects, they also feel sadness for them because the photographs treat them as people so the viewer is able to feel for them like they would their own family and friends. The three photographs I selected are unified and work together to invite the viewer into the world of the subjects by portraying them in their typical surroundings. The images are all documentary and elicit emotions from the viewer. Lange felt compassion for these poverty stricken families and was striving to bring about political change through her photos. She wasn’t afraid to photograph real life.
The depression which began in 1929 lead to Lange 's first documentary photograph titled, “White Angel Breadline”.
[pic]
Dorothea Lange “White Angel Breadline”
San Francisco, 1933
In “White Angel Breadline” I see a crowd of men wearing hats facing away from me while the subject leans against a fence or railing with his back to the crowd facing the viewer. The lines and angle of the railing create a barrier as if it is holding the people or cattle back. Although the subject’s eyes are covered by the brim of his hat, the posture of his body, clenched fists and stern jaw line indicates anger and fortitude, as if to express that he doesn 't like being in this breadline but he doesn’t know what he would do if it weren’t here. He is unshaven and his hat is stained and dirty. His coat has a tear in one of the sleeves and he possesses a tin cup. There is another man in the crowd looking over his shoulder at the man with his back to the crowd as if to say, you are no better than I. It is a striking portrait of that one man while at the same time it reflects on a
Photo Design
W3_A3
Dorothea Lange (1895-1965)
I chose Dorothea Lange because I admire her strength of character, her empathy and compassion for her subjects, but more importantly because of the essence of the people she was able to capture in her photographs. Not only does the viewer feel pity for the subjects, they also feel sadness for them because the photographs treat them as people so the viewer is able to feel for them like they would their own family and friends. The three photographs I selected are unified and work together to invite the viewer into the world of the subjects by portraying them in their typical surroundings. The images are all documentary and elicit emotions from the viewer. Lange felt compassion for these poverty stricken families and was striving to bring about political change through her photos. She wasn’t afraid to photograph real life.
The depression which began in 1929 lead to Lange 's first documentary photograph titled, “White Angel Breadline”.
[pic]
Dorothea Lange “White Angel Breadline”
San Francisco, 1933
In “White Angel Breadline” I see a crowd of men wearing hats facing away from me while the subject leans against a fence or railing with his back to the crowd facing the viewer. The lines and angle of the railing create a barrier as if it is holding the people or cattle back. Although the subject’s eyes are covered by the brim of his hat, the posture of his body, clenched fists and stern jaw line indicates anger and fortitude, as if to express that he doesn 't like being in this breadline but he doesn’t know what he would do if it weren’t here. He is unshaven and his hat is stained and dirty. His coat has a tear in one of the sleeves and he possesses a tin cup. There is another man in the crowd looking over his shoulder at the man with his back to the crowd as if to say, you are no better than I. It is a striking portrait of that one man while at the same time it reflects on a
Cited: Lange, Dorothea. "Look in Her Eyes!" Library of Congress Home FSA/OWI. US Government. Web. 24 Mar. 2012. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/96518456/ Lange, Dorothea. Migrant Mother, California. 1936. Library of Congress, Washington D.C. Library of Congress Home FSA/OWI. US Government. Web. 24 Mar. 2012. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/fsa1998021556/PP/ Manzanar, Calif., A War Relocation Authority Center. 1942. Photograph. Library of Congress, Washington D.C. Library of Congress. By Dorothea Lange. US Government. Web. 24 Mar. 2012. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2001697381/resource/ "Newly Released Photos Tell Story of Internment." NPR. National Public Library, 21 Nov. 2006. Web. 24 Mar. 2012. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6519565 THE COLLECTION. Photograph. Metropolitan Museum, New York. MoMA.org. By Dorothea Lange. Metropolitan Museum of Art. Web. 24 Mar. 2012. http://www.moma.org/collection/artist.php?artist_id=3373