Social Documentary Work - Essay Example

Social Documentary Work Early social documentary photography was done by different photojournalists like Jacob A. Riis and his team of amateur photographers in New York City. Each photojournalist sought to depict an aspect of social atrocious lifestyles, abject poverty, child labor and inhumane living conditions that members of the society went through during the hard time of the Great Depression and a period just before it. Jacob Riis for instance, depicts among many of his famous photos, a Five Cent per ‘spot’ dungeon of a Lodging room, along Bayard Street in New York City 1889, that is overcrowded with multiple families. Each spot (a space on the floor) where an individual or a complete family spread their beddings at night to sleep was rented at five cents per night (New Britain Museum of American Art). This is socially depriving to the children and demeaning to their adult parents in equal measure. Lewis Hine, on the other hand, as an employee of National Child Labor Committee, focused his photography art on children working in mills, canneries, fields, streets and many other places. Lewis followed in the foot-steps of Jacob Riis ideology of exposing social atrocities through photography, but with a bias to child labor due to his organizational requirement. The publicity that Lewis Hine got by his photography work widely published and displayed in magazines, books, pamphlets, lecture slides; prompted Farm Security Administration (FSA) to send out talented photographers like Dorothea Lange, Carl Mydans, Walker Evans, Arthur Rothstein and Ben Shahn to get wide spectrum of child labor photography (New Britain Museum of American Art). Dorothea Lange assigned by FSA after Lewis Hine work went viral, focused on not showing pictures that showed misery of her subjects. She instead waited patiently for opportunity shots that show hope emanating from her photography subject. Her photography allowed the viewer to deeply look into the soul of their subject but retaining their dignity. Two of her most famous examples are the Migrant Mother, Nipomo, California, and Mississippi Delta children both 1936 (New Britain Museum of American Art). Their Goals The objectives of these resilience photojournalists were geared towards a common target. Exposing the reality of life of the subjects to themselves and to the affluent perpetrating beneficiaries of the vice. In his photographic book “How the Other Half Lives”, Jacob A. Riis depicted many issues. Squalid living conditions featuring as a major broad subject. The New York City hidden dim lit allies, basements and shanties which housed the suffering deploring populace of its inhabitants was brought to public light. Riis used this as a platform to front better housing agenda, though as a laid back activist due to his protestant believes. Lewis Hine, an investigative photojournalist who was widely repelled from canneries, mines and places where child labor was immensely used and his team of FSA photographers wanted a Photographic proof. It gave documented evidence without anonymous denials that could be challenged by perpetrators of child labor vice. This is because government agencies had started to take keen interest in the child labor and prosecuting those behind it. Hine travelled to Biloxi on behalf of National Child Labor Committee that was formed in 1904 to do his diligent duty of photojournalism. Here he shot one of his famous pictures of Manuel, an already veteran shrimp picker. The barefooted, five year old, wearing a fisherman’s cap, a checkered shirt, and a short. The round-cheeked Manuel standing behind a big heap of shells with two tins in both his hands and a soiled apron was crystal clear piece of evidence of child labor that could not be disputed or challenged. Dorothea Lange, on the other hand, wanted to bring out hope from the victims regardless of the situation. Her photography delved deeper through the souls of her subject to search for traces of hope and bring them to the surface. Though this required a viewer to have a dissecting eye through the surface appearance of the image of the subject being photographed. The exposure congestion in the slums, lodging, backstreets and basements of New York City of the poor sent a shocking revelation to Middle Class, who most were genuinely unaware. I believe his campaigns for better housing was genuine. Considering that he was a victim of absolute poverty, homelessness and everything that he endeavored to expose and bring out through his photojournalism and book he authored. Escalated crime rate in the New York City that Jacob A Riis documented in one of his famous Bandits’ Roost, 59 ½ Mulberry Street 1888 is as a result of victimization of slum lifestyle. Absolute poverty does push men to fend for their families in both legal and illegal ways. Slums are the best breeding grounds for crime because it is easy for criminals to fizzle in darkness or colonize allies that pass through the highly congested shanties. What Motivated Them? Jacob Riis was very passionate about housing, lifestyle and living conditions reforms. He captured helpless, life beaten down victims that were oppressed by the systems in place at that time. His photography shed light to the subjects that were hidden in darkness of dungeons and from other half of people who were unaware. He proposed solutions like philanthropy and self-restrained ethical landlords. I believe as a victim of such circumstances in his early life, he brought out the best reality of what he had lived. His photography works later inspired new photojournalists like Lewis Hine (Riis). Lewis Hine had a multi-dimensional approach and growth to the photojournalism career. One, as a practical victim of his subject matter child labour and absolute poverty, Hine’s photography captured true moments of it due to the understanding he had. An orphan at teenage hood, he was left with the responsibility to fend for his family. This practically brought him to the jaws of child labour. He toiled in factories as a hauler for six straight days a week on thirteen hours long shifts a day. Splitting firewood for a living after the factory he worked for closed down during depression. An errand boy for many different organizations and individuals, which later became popular subject in his photojournalism career. Then a janitor in the bank where he was promoted to a secretary and formal growth journey officially began. A progressive educated scholar who taught in school and was given a photography role in the school as a teacher. Where he begun Photography Club which horned his skills to a professional level. Especially when his pictures were used to teach other children about social conditions and created awareness of child labour in campaigns through print media. Three, after his graduate studies, he pursued Sociology in Colombia University. This gave him the back-borne of his research of his walk as a photojournalist mixed with the skills he had acquired earlier on. As an advocate and a front-liner of banning child labor through photography, Lewis Hine had a firsthand experience in four different dimensional approaches to it. Not forgetting his highly skilled investigative photojournalism team, that brought the reality of child labor scourge that was bleeding out innocent lives of children. Citing another famous picture in New York City poorly lit Tenement by an oil lamp, Angelica is Three-Year-Old, pulls a part of the petals glued to a stem, making 540 flowers a day for a five cents wedge. Ideologies of these Photojournalists Dorothea Lange was from the school of thought of bringing viewers of her photography into the soul of her subjects. In spite of their prevailing predicament and dehumanizing circumstances, hope and dignity and pride of these subjects was still visible. Never the less, strive and suffering were key characteristics she brought to play. Walker Evans ideology was researched based on two different phases. He believed that a photographer is not only an objective recorder, but also a subjective evaluator. As a tool or equipment that cannot lie, a camera is capable of objectifying and subjectifying the reality of an image. The picture of the U.S. in the 1930s produced by Evans was neither political nor journalistic in intention and technique. It was reflective instead of tendentious and also disinteresting (Marien 53). A photographer was considered to be an sharp observer. But as humans quickly discerned that nobody can take a similar picture of the same thing, the belief that cameras provide an distant objective picture supported to the reality that photographs are proof not just of what is there but of what people see, not only a record but an assessment of reality (Marien 53). Jacob Riis, a passionate reformer but a protestant conservative believed in solving the congested, undignified, inhumane, housing problem through philanthropy. He believed that if landlord would be ethical and exercise self-restraint decongest their longings and basements affordable accommodation. Lewis Hine ideology revolved through many phases as discussed earlier in ‘Their Goals’. Finally, his ideology as a photojournalist settled to humanitarian aspects on meeting his mentor, Frank Manny who later introduced him to the founders of Ethical Culture Movement John Dewey and Felix Adler. (Nordeman) Change In Social Documentary Photography that is used to chronologically record everyday’s life and significant historical happenings. Documentary photography is recorded by amateurs, artistic or academic pursuits, professional photojournalists and real life reporting. From early 1839 when cameras came to the United States of America by immigrants who settled in growing metropolitan, photography has tremendously grown and changed. First images to be Photographed were silver-plated and looked like mirror object called a daguerreotype. To distribute them was cumbersome and a very expensive affair. The introduction of tintype and ambrotypes worked magic in mass reproduction prints from negatives. This widens circulation of photography, increased consumption in middle-class preservation of documentary photography creating a new culture and taking photography to a whole new level (Curtis). Information age made documentary photography easier, cheaper, viral distribution possible and greatly increased many new platforms and distribution media. Contemporary society of the Twenty First Centaury, a mouse click or a fingertip touch away on a gadget and a photographic documentary is transmitted globally in seconds. This is an immense transition in the photojournalism fraternity (Curtis). Contemporary Examples of Social Documentary Work and Whether the Influence of Early Documentary Work Apparent In Today’s Social Documentary Work? Contemporary social documentaries are based on a wide range of topics ranging from health, politics, humanism, feminism, culture to war and conflict. These are displayed in the works of photojournalists such as Tim Herrington, Adam Bloomberg, Oliver Chanarin and Brandon Stanton to mention but a few (Dewitz). Specific Examples Tim Herrington covers stories of war and conflict. His work takes us to the trenches of war fronts; he brings out the feel of war and exchange of fire. He has featured in his works conflicts in Afghanistan, Liberia and most notably Libya. His works include Respreto, Long Story and Infidel (Dewitz). Chanarin and Bloomberg have put up famous works addressing mental health and the penal system. Their works take the viewer to scenes in mental asylums and jail cells to view the plight of patients and inmates (Victoria and Albert Museum). Finally, Brandon Stanton has put up works which taps into the experiences of peoples of diverse cultures worldwide. He initially set out to capture images that depict the culture of the inhabitants of New York City then expanded to multiple cities worldwide. Stanton’s has archived his works on a website named ‘Humans of New York‘and on social media platforms under the same name (Stanton). Evidence of influence of early documentary work is apparent in today’s documentary work. The passion that drives production of works by both early and contemporary photojournalists of today is similar. Both exhibit great passion and drive in creating and bringing their viewers into the world of their subjects. They create excellent portrayals of their subjects staying objective to the subject matter. The mode of preservation of documentary works has however evolved over the years. This has changed from pamphlets, magazines and books to present blogs and social networks (Dewitz). Read More