Migrant Mother Case study

The image ‘Migrant Mother’ by Dorothea Lange is known to be one of the most famous photographs of the Twentieth Century. Because of this image and others of which it is in a series of, Lange has repeatedly been represented in popular journals as the ‘mother’ of documentary.

Migrant Mother, taken by Dorothea Lange in 1936

Investigated in relation to the intentions of the Photographer and the particular context of its making:

In the case study, Lange discusses the context of ‘Migrant Mother’. It is said how when she approached the mother, she never asked for a name or the ladies history, she was simply interested in what was going on there and then.  This is what I imagine gave the image most of its significance. When a viewer looks at an image they expect to know the context. Yes with ‘Migrant Mother’ we know that this was a mother and her children suffering from the deppression, but what was the history of this family? What were their lives like before they where effected by the depression? What happened to the father? Ect ect. It’s the underlying questions that intregues the viewer. Maybe Lange had this in mind when she approached the woman and her children that day?

Genre and Usage:

One of the central principals of documentary photography is that the photograph should be untouched, to maintain its Guinness. However with this particular image, Lange wasn’t quite happy enough with it and decided to do some retouching. Many people once they found out weren’t very happy with this.  I also agree with this. I believe that an image should remain true to its original content in order for it to be a documentary image. You are documenting something, not trying to make it look perfect. A documentary image should represent the truth.

Revolutionary Photography and Photomontage

Aleksandr Rodchenko

1891 Russia – 1956

Krizis
[Crisis] for Lët: Avio-stikhi
[Flight: Aviation verse] 1923
Photography, Photograph, gelatin silver photograph after original photocollage
image 20.5 h x 13.8 w cm
Purchased 1984
National Gallery of Australia, Viewed 10th November 2011, http://artsearch.nga.gov.au/Detail-LRG.cfm?View=LRG&IRN=95373>.

The image I have chosen is a photo collage by Alexander Rodchenko.  Rodchenko was a keen revolutionary artist, who wanted his art to help build a new Russia. To make the image 'Crisis', he has cut up photographs of explosions, people, buildings and aeroplanes and stuck them back together to create a fusion of images reflecting destruction and mayhem. Although the original images were still figures, the assembled image has great movement and energy. It seems to show the aeroplanes bombing the city below, throwing the people up into the air, however, it could also be the other way around where the planes are using people as bombs to destroy the city. The way he has constructed the image together, could have it work either way, both reflecting a sense of chaos.

Photography and Colonailism



Aborig. [sic.] Natives of the Clarence River District New South Wales Photographed By J. W. Lindt, Grafton 1875, State library of New South Wales, 10^th November 2011, <http://acms.sl.nsw.gov.au/album/albumView.aspx?acmsID=446829&itemID=846102>.



I have chosen this particular image, because I like the way it depicts the Aboriginal man to be in his natural environment (or as close to as possible).  Also, in comparison to portraits by some of the other photographers, the images in this series, portray their subjects being highlighted as strong and having a sense of leadership. I personally like how this is done, as it helps to preserve their cultural ways and a sense of identity.

The reading by Alana Harris reads ‘Aboriginal people were living physical relics from the dawn of human time'.  I believe the way in which the photographer has captured the portraits, reflects this.

Looking at this image from technical point of view,  I’d imagine that at the time the photograph was taken, photography would have been in an era of time when image exposures were extensively long. Looking at how the Aboriginal man is posed in the photograph, you can tell that he is positioned so that he will move as little as possible; the way his feet are positioned shoulder width apart, to help keep his balance, and how the stick that he is holding, is resting on his shoulders to minimise movement. The fact that these long exposures would not have been very comfortable for the subject says that the photographer had obviously gained trust with the Aboriginal community, and is evident in the images.