Contextual Studies: Social Documentary Photography

This morning we had a contextual study lecture on social documentary photography which is the most common genre in photography for looking at the visual difference in social class.

Jacob Riis 1849-1914

We looked at Jacob Riis who was a photographer in the late 19th century. In 1890 Riis took a photograph called How the Other Half Lives. Riis was influenced to take this picture because he was a Danish immigrant himself. He wanted to tell a story through the photo and ends with how he wants to try to ix the problem between low and middle classes.

Lewis Hine 1874-1940

In 1908 Hine became the photographer for the National Child Labour Commitee which meant he had to focus on photographing child labour but by doing that it meant that he had to disguise as different workmen to get into the mills, mines and factories because otherwise he was threatned with violence.

In this picture he asked the girl how old she was and she replied saying 'She doesn't remember' and then in confidence to Hine she said that she 'knew she wasn't old enough to work but does the same as everyone else'. This is a very touching image that really makes you realise how young people were back then and how much they had to work.

Alfred Stieglitz 1864-1946

Alfred Stieglitz was an American photographer that focused on how the different social classes were segregated, this certain picture was called The Steerage. He did this collaboration on a series of photographic experiments with his friend.

At the bottom deck of this image you can see the lower class people and on the upper deck you can see the upper class people, this is very ironic as you would always think to see the upper class people on the upper deck and the lower class on the lower deck.

Dorothea Lange 1895-1965

She was the photographer for the Farm Security Association to show the crisis of the Duust Bowl in America in the 1930's.

This is a very powerful image of Lange's because it shows the pure suffering of the children during the Dust Bowl and the mother's disappointment that she can't provide for her children. If you look really carefully you can see that the mother is holding a baby in her arms which makes the image even more powerful once you realise there are three children.

Walker Evans 1903-1975

Walker Evans was an American photographer that was best known for his work for the Farm Security Administration documenting the effects of lives of people in the Great Depression, similar to Dorothea Lange.

This is a photo of Allie Mae Burroughs who is a symbol for showing the effect of the Great Depression in Southern America.

In 1936 Evans was on leave from the FSA and paired up with writer James Agee and were both sent by Fortune magazine on an assignment in Alabama which unfortunately in the end Fortune decided not to publish.

I don't feel like this photo is that powerful that you can really see the true suffering of what people went through during the Great Depression.

Bill Brandt 1904-1983

Brandt was German however, he is the most famous and influencial 'British' social documentry photographer and photojournalist that was massively influential.

In 1933 Bill Brandt moved to London and began documenting all levels and classes of British society, this was very uncommon at the time.

These two images really show the differences in class during the 1930's. On the left hand side you can see what looks like a chimney sweep that is trying to provide for his wife who you can really tell is suffering. On the right hand side you can see the maids that work for a high class family. You can tell this is a high class family because of how the table is laid out compared to how the table is laid out on the lower class table on the left.

Robert Frank 1924-

Robert Frank is an American photographer and documentry filmaker, he is well known for his book called 'The Americans'. He was influenced by Walker Evans which helped him to get to where he did and to where he is now.

This is a picture from his book 'The Americans'. Frank has been very clever not to show the children's faces whether it's by covering the face with a flag or whether it's by getting a shadow to cover the face.

He also took a picture of a bus which was showing segregation between black and white people. The picture was published just weeks before Rosa Parks stood up for herself on a bus in America.

Henri Cartier-Bresson (the co - founder of Magnum) 1908-2004

A French photographer that was considered the master of straight - forward photography and was an early user of a 35mm film. Cartier-Bresson photographed the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. He was also in the army and focused a lot on war photography while he was there showing the effects on the children there.

You can see the true pain and suffering of the children in this picture that has been taken looking through a wall that has been shot down using a bullet.

Sebastio Salgado 1944-

Salgado is a Brazilian social documentry photographer and photojournalist. He has travelled over 120 different countries for his photographic projects of which most have appeared in publications and books.

Salgado focused on the real facts of what pain and suffering people went through. This picture was taken in Brazil at the Serra Pelada gold mine showing the amount of people climbing up ladders that have been built by the miners. The miners are carrying what they hope is gold on their back all the way up the ladder and back down again.