During the Great Depression, F.D.R. enlisted American photographers to document life in the United States. The Library of Congress provides amazing access to the black-and-white photographs of the Farm Security Administration-Office of War Information (FSA-OWI) collection. These images show Americans at home, at work, and at play. The emphasis was on rural and small-town life and the adverse effects of the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl, and increasing farm mechanization. In the latter years, the project documented America's mobilization for WWII. Here, the photograph reflects the elements of painting, where the primary focus is on depiction of a person, a place, an event, etc.
For more info: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/fsahtml/fahome.html
Documenting America Photographer Series: Ben Shahn, John Vachon, Dorothea Lange, Walker Evans, Gordan Parks, Arthur Rothstein
.Use the link to view their collections: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/fsahtml/fadocamer.html
Select 2 photographers and for each, examine 3 pictures from each photographer from one of their series.
Discuss the following for each photograph (you will have 6 responses in total):
a) the subject
b) the occasion/situation
c) the purpose/message
d) how the picture "speaks" to the audience.
e) what do the choices made show about the photographer's point of view of the situation
For more info: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/fsahtml/fahome.html
Documenting America Photographer Series: Ben Shahn, John Vachon, Dorothea Lange, Walker Evans, Gordan Parks, Arthur Rothstein
.Use the link to view their collections: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/fsahtml/fadocamer.html
Select 2 photographers and for each, examine 3 pictures from each photographer from one of their series.
Discuss the following for each photograph (you will have 6 responses in total):
a) the subject
b) the occasion/situation
c) the purpose/message
d) how the picture "speaks" to the audience.
e) what do the choices made show about the photographer's point of view of the situation