Dorthea Lange Inspired- Photography

About the artist:

Dorthea Lange was an American photographer and photojournalist whose work during the Great Depression convinced people of the need to help the poor.

Dorthea had a painful childhood. She contracted polio at the age of seven, which left her with a weakened right leg and a permanent limp.  She said later, “It formed me, guided me, instructed me, helped me and humiliated me. I’ve never gotten over it, and I am aware of the force and power of it.” Her mother told her to try and walk straight, and not to be an embarrassment. When she was twelve years old, her father abandoned the family; her parents divorced, which was uncommon at the time. She said looking back that she wanted to be invisible.

In the 1920s women were expected to be nurses or teachers until they married, Dorthea chose photography as a career. She had no experience. What inspires me the most about her is that her weakness, not her talent, became her strength. She took photos that showed empathy and helped others identify with the poor. She gave a platform to the lowly, the immigrants- the invisible! Her iconic photograph, a Migrant Mother, is perhaps one of the most famous from the Great Depression.

Art affects lives. This picture was taken outside of a pea-pickers camp in 1936 where the woman, Florance Thompson’s, car broke down. When the news ran the pictures, it was reported that 2,500 to 3,500 migrant workers were starving in Nipomo, CA. Within days, the camp received 20,000 lbs of food from the federal government.

Assignment:

Spend some time looking around you and thinking about this unique time in history that we are living in. Take a picture (or several) of things that will help you remember. Put thought into this- I want you to really notice your surroundings. Do not take a picture of the first thing you see. Tell me about your picture’s significance.

Here are some examples of mine:

The first is taken at a grocery store where every lane is open during one of the first days of quarantine. There were signs about limiting the number of certain items that could be bought, and lots of empty shelves. Milk and toilet paper were among many things sold out. The checkout lanes were packed with people.

The second picture is of my messy desk while I wrote this assignment. I see the laptop screen about Dorthea Lange and think of my drive to know more about people and their lives. I am not a perfectionist- my desk always looks disheveled- the fingernail polish, the headphones, the papers, etc.

The third is a picture taken looking at my backyard from inside. I love to be outside in the morning, but it was too cold. The sunrise makes me feel hopeful, you never know what will happen in a day- even a day in quarantine

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