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Dorothea Lange, The Road West, 1938, Silver gelatin Print
Dorothea Lange, born in 1895 in New Jersey, produced a considerable number of documentary photographs for the American government during the Great Depression. From 1914-1917, she attended the New York Training School for Teachers and, possibly due to the influence of Arnold Genthe, decided to pursue photography. She took a class with Clarence White in 1918, and, the following year, she moved to San Francisco and established her own portrait studio. In the 1920’s, she grew tired of working in the studio and experimented with outdoor subjects and landscapes. The majority of her notable work, focused on the contemporary human condition, witnessed its greatest extent during the years following the 1929 stock market crash. Lange traveled across the country, meeting truthful victims and recording their plight. Her documentary photography earned her a solo exhibition in 1934, and she continued to communicate her images to the public, publishing An American Exodus, in collaboration with Taylor in 1939. Imbued with political message, her work continued to act as social commentary, and she worked for the FSA and War Relocation Authority. Her later work focuses on religious issues in America, which she began exploring when she received a Guggenheim fellowship in 1941. She died in California in 1965.
Dorothea Lange’s 1938 photograph, The Road West, serves as a perfect example of the road photography that she produced during her documentary work for the American government in the years following the 1929 stock market crash. While many of the images created in these years presents human subjects and their plight, this photo turns the lens on the symbolic and literal connotations of the road. Here, the endless stretch of pavement, in conjunction with the bleak horizon, parallels the turmoil of the contemporary human condition and the troubled absence of assured change and optimism. The photo, symmetrically composed, acts a snapshot representing both the artist’s personal travels and the constant movement of displaced American citizens. The road is a vehicle for both exploration and the endless tomorrows associated with homeless migrants.
Dorothea Lange, The Road West, 1938, Silver gelatin Print
Dorothea Lange, born in 1895 in New Jersey, produced a considerable number of documentary photographs for the American government during the Great Depression. From 1914-1917, she attended the New York Training School for Teachers and, possibly due to the influence of Arnold Genthe, decided to pursue photography. She took a class with Clarence White in 1918, and, the following year, she moved to San Francisco and established her own portrait studio. In the 1920’s, she grew tired of working in the studio and experimented with outdoor subjects and landscapes. The majority of her notable work, focused on the contemporary human condition, witnessed its greatest extent during the years following the 1929 stock market crash. Lange traveled across the country, meeting truthful victims and recording their plight. Her documentary photography earned her a solo exhibition in 1934, and she continued to communicate her images to the public, publishing An American Exodus, in collaboration with Taylor in 1939. Imbued with political message, her work continued to act as social commentary, and she worked for the FSA and War Relocation Authority. Her later work focuses on religious issues in America, which she began exploring when she received a Guggenheim fellowship in 1941. She died in California in 1965.
Dorothea Lange’s 1938 photograph, The Road West, serves as a perfect example of the road photography that she produced during her documentary work for the American government in the years following the 1929 stock market crash. While many of the images created in these years presents human subjects and their plight, this photo turns the lens on the symbolic and literal connotations of the road. Here, the endless stretch of pavement, in conjunction with the bleak horizon, parallels the turmoil of the contemporary human condition and the troubled absence of assured change and optimism. The photo, symmetrically composed, acts a snapshot representing both the artist’s personal travels and the constant movement of displaced American citizens. The road is a vehicle for both exploration and the endless tomorrows associated with homeless migrants.