In 1936 Dorothea Lange photographed a mother of seven who was a migrant worker. She was following the pea harvest but the ground was frozen, leaving nothing to pick. The mother was housing her family in a lean-to, having just sold the family tent and the tires off the family car. While she was 32 when the image was taken, she appears to be a much older woman. Lange only shot five images, and did not approach anyone but Florence Owens Thompson at the camp. These images were used to document the work of the Resettlement Administration, later called the Farm Security Administration. This main image on the left called “Migrant Mother”, was immediately published in a San Francisco paper and the federal government sent 20,000 pounds of food to the camp where she was photographed. It is said that it inspired John Steinbeck to write “Grapes of Wrath”.
Dorothea Lange: Words and Images @ the MoMA
Watch this interview about the current exhibition at the MoMA in NYC if you missed the live viewing last week. MoMA’s curator, Sarah Meister, chose my question to ask one of Virginia's greatest all time photographer Sally Mann!!!! It was terribly exciting. Your photo teacher is practically famous 😁 My question to her was this: “How does ones relationship to writing affect the process of image making?” A lot of the work you have been producing in the past few weeks has strong ties to the written language. You should reflect on how this has affected your own creative process.
Classroom Forum: (2pts) Due Monday 5/4
Think about the messages that you connected with or intrigued you the most during this conversation. Create a new post titled, “Week 15: Words and Images.” Describe in great detail what it was that stood out to you and how you relate it back to your own experiences with photography.
Classroom Forum: (3pts) Due Wednesday 5/6
For your final project, I want you to create a series of three separate images that work together as a whole. Each one should tell a different part of a story that is completely up to you. That narrative can be truth or fiction. It can be abstract or concrete. It can even be based on your own writing or someone else’s. I want you to use your imagination and find new possibilities for constructing unique compositions within your everyday surroundings. You may decide to work with your images and layer them with type or they can stand alone. The only parameter is that you shoot 30-60 images in the coming week, and you outline your ideas clearly.
Create a new post titled, “Week 15: Series Project Proposal” and outline the following:
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO?
Definition: What subject matter will be your main focus in this series? What compositional strategies will you use to ensure they work together as a whole?
WHY DO YOU WANT TO DO IT?
Vision: What is your motivation to create this work? What does this project mean to you? How is it personally relevant?
HOW DO YOU WANT TO DO IT?
Goals: What do you hope to accomplish? What insights or knowledge do you already possess that will help support this project? What skills and techniques will you gain? How do you envision carrying out this final project?
Google Drive: Due Friday 5/8
Upload your individual photo shoots into dated folders inside a new Photography folder titled “Series.” You should be conducting several shoots between now and the end of next week.
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