Walker Evans FSA Photographs - Case Study Example

Walker Evans FSA Photographs Photography has been defined as a trace or impression of the real which is more vivid more than any other visual impression. A photograph is a direct interpretation of the real object just like it is. Hence, a photograph is perhaps a more realistic representation of an actual object compared to artist’s impression. Photography is an instant and exact reproduction of an image that can accurately represent the visual reality. Photography thus provides a platform through which the world can be recreated in an objective way without bias. Photographs can be thought of a literature, representing a narration of the world in a visual manner1. Although photographs can be used as artistic form of aesthetics, they are more practically used as an impression of the society. Since the discovery of photography in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, it has been used extensively to capture still images that depict the happenings of the society. Even though touched up photographs have become popular over time, some photographs still hold their authenticity as actual representations of the reality. This implies that an analysis of authentic photographs can be used to tell an objective recording of the social conditions of a place. Walker Evans is one of the most influential photographers of the twentieth century. His photographs were a showcase of elegancy and clarity that led to their publication in various artistic works. His early photographs were influenced by European modernism but his style evolved with time to reflect the role of realism2. His images became a representation of the poetic resonance of ordinary subjects. The images of Walker Evans were captured in such a way that they depicted the society in a simple but effective manner. Evans did most of his remarkable work during the years of reconstruction after the Great Depression when he worked under the Farm Security Administration3. His role was to document how the federal government was attempting to improve the rural communities during the Great Depression. It should be noted that his role was not to trumpet the federal government’s efforts but rather distilled the essence of simple American form in its most raw form. This paper aims to analyze some of the photographs of Walker Evans take under the FSA and evaluate them to investigate the extent to which they accurately represented the social conditions of the time. One of the most evident themes in Walker Evan’s photography was the portrayal of the disjointed lives of the poor. Most of the artists in the New Deal era portrayed the poor in a manner that evoked empathy in order to drum up support for the political program that was being run by the government. However, Evans endeavored to respect the moral integrity of the poor and not use them as tools for political propaganda. Walker Evans recognized that these people had something human in them and thus tried to showcase this aspect in his photography4. The major aim of Evans was to represent the social conditions in the most precise way without aligning himself to the political stands of the time. The photos that Evans took were not labeled with captions but rather the narrative descriptions were put in a separate place in the book. This helped to let the viewer analyze the photographs in an independent manner without having other views imposed on her or him. One of the significant photos that Evans took was the Negro Barbershop’s Interior (6). The photo was minimalistic in nature and it portrayed the simplicity of the barbershop that served the poor people in the society. The photograph is represented in a concise manner without the need to put any text to elaborate. It shows that the barbershop of the poor was simply meant to serve its function. It thus lacked any aesthetic appeals or designs that were beyond the basic requirement for a building of a barbershop. The minimalistic representation of the photo serves the function of portraying the social conditions just as they are without bias. The other compelling theme of Evans photography is simplicity. This implies that Evans took images that were a representation of the society in its most natural state without any stimulus for modified behavior. The aspect of the society that captured his attention was the simple ways of living by the poor and the middle class. One of the works of Evans that portrayed this simplicity is "Lucille Burroughs, Daughter of a Cotton Sharecropper. Hale County, Alabama" (1936)5. Evans took this photo when he was on the South since he had been paid to document the effect of the New Deal agency program in curbing the Great Depression. It should be noted that Evans was committed to taking photographs that suited his personal interests and also make money. On the other hand, photographers like Dorothea Lange were true to the mission of the New Deal. The photograph of Lucille was taken when she was just ten years of age. She is shown standing against wooden planking in the out farms of the Burroughs family6. The elegance of simplicity is clear given that she is shown only shoulders up wearing a straw hat. No sort of superficial sophistication is evident in the photograph as the camera captures the raw elements in great simplicity. By observing the background of the picture, it is evident that the family’s economic situation was poor due to the rusty bleeding from the nails in the untreated wood. The theme of poverty is not evident elsewhere in the picture given the fact that it is take as a close-up view with little room for clatter. The innocence of the child is depicted by the woven hat that she is wearing. Further, it is evident that neat white print dress she is wearing is not an everyday clad; rather it was put on for the picture. The center of attention for this picture is the face of Lucille Burrough. Her face is in the center of the image and it captures the attention of the viewer in a n impressive manner. Although her features are regular as well as slightly attractive, it is evident that she was not born into wealth. The sociological information projected by her face shows that indeed, she is a simple girl with little knowledge of the outside world beyond her town. From the photo, it is evident that she is keenly focused on the photographer, probably with an intention of figuring out the true nature of the Evans. The man behind the camera seems to hold her curiosity and he pure gray eyes seek to understand the city man who came to their farm7. Walker Evans shows that he is master photographer who lets the child determine how she wanted to present herself. Ordinarily, a photographer would request the girl to lighten up and smile possibly with a bribe of candy. But Evans lets Lucille present herself in the most natural way hence helping us to understand the real conditions that she was in. Walker Evans’ photographs were also a keen juxtaposition of the still life images with static tension. Evans was different from other photographers such Dorothea Lange in that his photographs lacked emotional attachment or involvement of any sort. He clearly had the ability to fuse two images from a single point of view to communicate a message. This served to represent the phase of the society using two images under one compass of life. The first use of double images is titled Street Scene: Atlanta, Georgia (1936). On first observation, these images look detached and odd together. The powerful juxtaposition of the images however creates a deeper engagement with the viewer. A notice advertising the film Love Before Breakfast is the first image that the viewer sees. The film was starring a well known film star of the time known as Carol Lombard. The second portion of the image shows a row of dingy houses which are aligned behind the notice of the movie. In this simple but powerful manner, the viewer is presented with the conflicting images of the fantasy world that Hollywood promised and the stark reality on the ground. The Hollywood films communicated a major myth of the American life which was in great contrast with the daily. The alliance of the two visual images in a natural setting forms a unified impression of the great disparities in the society as it were in those times. Evans shows a great skill in his ability to use inanimate objects to depict the actual social life in the society8. The use of two photographs in a combination is also applied to show the theme of breakdown of Capitalistic ethos of the time. The photograph entitled “Easton, Pennsylvania” (1935) is a clear indicator of the economic temperatures during those times. The powerful symbolic image of the capitalist era played a role in encouraging the common Americans to reach for their dreams. Perhaps one of the greatest capitalist of the time was the great Henry Ford. Famous for his assembly line of the Ford motor vehicles, he was unquestionably the leader of the movement. The historical context of the mass production of motor vehicles is that they made it possible for the majority of Americans to own cars. The spirit of consumerism, driven by the flourishing economy of the 1920s, lead to a high uptake of the automobiles by the majority of the population. Indeed, the booming economy of the 1920s was an exact opposite of the present circumstances dominated by the Great Depression. The high purchasing power of the masses ended abruptly in the 1930s after the onset of the Great Depression. Hence, Evans graphically represented the situation with the symbolic destruction of the dream that was generated in the post first world war period. The images of the broken dream ably captured the disillusion of the masses with the concept of capitalism given that they were suffering from reduce purchasing power. It is evident that the society was in a demoralized state due to tough economic conditions that prevailed during those times of the Great Depression. One of the most striking photographs of Evans Walker was the Albama Tenant Farmer Wife (1936). Although Evans was rarely interested in the traditional sense of portraiture, the images of Ale Mae Burroughs are perhaps the most striking images of poverty in America after the Great Depression. The photographs were taken against the same wooden background. The family of Allie Mae Burroughs did not own anything at all. Their home, land and farm tools were all leased from the landlord. Poverty was so rife that the family ended up in debt year in year out. Burroughs was a cotton farmer who had the obligation of sharing half of his produce with the landlord and then using the remaining amount to pay for farm inputs and upkeep. The family lived on very meager resources and abject poverty. The images of Allie Mae Burroughs fully capture the level of desperation that had engulfed the majority of the low cal citizens of America. Distinct features of the facial expressions clearly show the brooding anger and resentment that was hidden in her. The tilt of her head and furrows on her face show high levels of desperation. This powerful image is universally recognized as the face of poverty in America after the Great Depression. In retrospect, the image was captured in a simple manner that succinctly illustrated the general social situation in America during those times. Most people had lost their entire wealth and life was just about survival. It is difficult to imagine the life of a total squatter with no possessions at all. In fact, most people were living in perpetual debt and this meant that their lives were seemingly hopeless. In a raw and effective manner, Evans captured the mood of the poor people in the farms and the difficult circumstances that they were undergoing. It is evident from the photographs that the lady was going through tough times had she probably resented the government for neglecting her despite the precarious situation that she was living in. The other aspect of Walker Evans’ photographs is that clearly showed the differences in class among the people in the society. Despite the tough economic circumstances that most people were undergoing, it should be noted some people had a life that neared normalcy. Hence, some of the photographs that he took depicted unexpected normalcy and luxury9. One of the photographs that clearly showed the upper classes were living an easy and happy life is the image of a young couple in a convertible motor vehicle. A convertible car has also depicted wealth and opulence. In this case, the man in the picture is smartly dressed in a suit albeit without a tie. This shows in a subtle way that they were in an informal occasion having fun. The lady in the picture is also wearing a white neat dress which implies she is also well off. The impression on their faces is calm and relaxed. This is unlike the previous images of the farmer’s wife whose face had grief written all over it. The use of inanimate objects to show normalcy is also used by Walker Evans. His appreciation of nature and architecture is also evident from the photographs that he took. One of his images shows a residential property with clear signs on the road. The building stands alone in a seemingly posh region. This is due to the presence of well manicured lawns. The house is in an area that was most probably inhabited by the rich people in the society. Yet the subtle inclusion of the signs takes the photograph form a mere image to a piece of work that is laden with meaning. The road signs show that there were several courses that the lives of people could take in the society. the choices that one made are the ones that determined the kind of life that they lead. In this case, the rich had made their choices and they were now living in the posh areas of the town in comfort. Day to day activities that captured the pulse of life also made part of the photography work by Walker Evans. He took random photographs in the streets and the farms which captured the essence of the moment. He was creative in terms of the angles at which he took the images to ensure that they clearly showed a thematic aspect of the community. His photograph of a building that housed a photo studio showed that people still had the urge to capture the events of the moment10 . The photograph captures the various parts of the front side of the building that housed the studio. A major notice at the lower side of the building indicates that the photo studio took pictures for road driving licenses. This notice gives a message that perhaps the main reason people took pictures was to fulfill the requirements of obtaining a road driving license. This could essentially mean that no one could afford to go to the studio for recreational photography. This is further testament of the tough economic conditions that were witnessed during the period of the Great Depression. Another casual photograph taken by Walker is the one that shows a lady at the entrance of a hairdressers/barbers shop. The lady seems to be posing for the picture hence not at her natural position. She is standing at the entrance clutching her handbag and smiling broadly. Her pose indicates that she is probably the owner of the premise. The writings on either side of the door are also of interest. The price of a haircut is twenty five cents and that of a shave is fifteen cents. This price differential implies that indeed, there were differences in the capability of the people who came to the shop. Although it seems high end unlike the Negro’s barbershop that was discussed previously, the different prices indicate that it accommodated both the middle class and the elite of the society. In conclusion, it is clear that Walker Evan’s photography works were an objective depiction of the social conditions after the Great Depression11. Although he was hired by the FSA to document the progress the federal government was making in its new program christened “New Deal”, his photographs show an inclination to objectivity and honest depiction of the society as it was. Unlike other artists in the era of the New Deal who used the poor to create empathy for the new political program, Walker was objective in his work save for the moments when he followed his personal preferences. Nevertheless, his photography works for the FSA have carved him a special place in the history of documenting the Great Depression12. References Brix, M Walker Evans. America, Schirmer, Munich, 1991.  Evans, W American Photographs. Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1938 (reprinted 1988).  Evans, W Walker Evans at Work. London, 1995 (?).  Hine, L Men at Work/Women at Work, Dover, New York, 1981. Hulick, D 'Walker Evans and Folk Art’History of Photography, vol. 17, no.2, Summer, 1993.  Keller, J ‘Evans and Agee’. History of Photography, vol. 16, no. 2, Summer 1992  Keller, J ‘Walker Evans and Many are Called’. Shooting Blind History of Photography, vol. 17, no. 2, Summer 1992 * Lange, D : Dorothea Lange, American Photographs, (ex cat), San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, 1994.  Mora, G ‘Walker Evans’. The Hungry Eye, London, 1993.  Orvell, M ‘Walker Evans and James Agee’. The Legacy, History of Photography, vol. 17, no. 2, Summer 1993.  Partridge, E ‘Dorothea Lange’. A Visual Life, Washington, 1994 Rathbone,  B: Walker Evans : A Biography, London, 1995  Rosler, M In, around and afterthoughts on documentary photography, in Bolton (ed) : the Contest of Meaning : see General : Critical Strange, M : Symbols of Ideal Life : Social Documentary : Photography in America, 1897-1950, Cambridge, 1989.  Stott, W Documentary Expression and Thirties America. University of Chicago Press, 1973. Read More