Best of The Commons

Jason W. Dean says: As students, we all hear about the Dust Bowl, but rarely do we see such strong images depicting what it looked like.

Dust Storm in Rolla, Kansas 05/06/35 by U.S. National Archives

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Jason W. Dean says: For me, this is a compelling image because it combines our religious zeal as Americans with our infinite thirst for oil.

Gasoline Stations Abandoned During the Fuel Crisis in the Winter of 1973-74 Were Sometimes Used for Other Purposes...04/1974 by U.S. National Archives

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Jason W. Dean says: There is something very intriguing about this image to me - the women are frozen (and, presumably had to be still for a long time) in a post that makes them look like they are involved in a fencing match. Also, the juxtaposition of the backdrop with the activity of fencing is interesting to me.

Two women fencing by George Eastman Museum

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Jason W. Dean says: Unlike the previous image, this is full of action, though it is obviously made from a glass plate negative. The off center subject (a left-fielder) is slightly out of focus and seems to be falling into the camera, while reaching out to us, almost beckoning us into the scene with him.

Portrait of Matty McIntyre, baseball player by George Eastman Museum

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Jason W. Dean says: To the best of my knowledge, getting a photo-portrait done in the past was an expensive process. Why, then, would someone take a photo of just a top hat, suspended in the air by thin wires? Was this a test for the photographer? If so, why was it printed? I love the composition and all the questions that come up in my mind when I view this image.

Top Hat by George Eastman Museum

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Jason W. Dean says: I like cats, and why someone would pay for a professional portrait of their cat eludes me.

Cat / opaque background by George Eastman Museum

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Jason W. Dean says: This great hall at Ellis Island is one of the most moving spaces I have ever been in. You can almost imagine a scene like this in the space now, full of different languages, and smells, but filled with hope. The shaft of light illuminating some of the people just reminds me of that hope.

Immigrants seated on long benches, Main Hall, U.S. Immigrati... by New York Public Library

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Jason W. Dean says: This image feels like a protoimage to the work that Avedon did in the West. The man seems a bit offended, but not afraid of, the photographer and camera. Also, his tattoos are very interesting.

[German stowaway.] by New York Public Library

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Jason W. Dean says: I think I'm allowed on kitsch image - and this is it. George Bush (I) accepts Babe Ruth's manuscript on behalf of Yale. I wonder if George knew what his life would be at this point.

George Bush, Captain of the Yale Baseball Team, Receives Babe Ruth's Manuscript of His Autobiography which He Was Donating to Yale by U.S. National Archives

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Jason W. Dean says: I love this because it's not one of the typical "welcome home" type image of a couple kissing. The kid gets top billing in this image, looking up at his parents as they greet one another.

A Youngster, Clutching His Soldier Father, Gazes Upward While the Latter Lifts His Wife from the Ground to Wish Her a "Merry Christmas" by U.S. National Archives

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Jason W. Dean says: If I were the sitters for this portrait, I would want my money back. That "ghost" looks mad.

Elderly couple with a young female spirit by National Science and Media Museum

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Jason W. Dean says: This image speaks volumes to me about the glorification of others. The man in the tank looks quite "awesome" in his pose, and dramatically lit. However, the source of that glorious image is a light held by a person in the bottom right hand corner - not what we were hoping for.

Tank commander, Ft. Knox, Ky. (LOC) by The Library of Congress

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Jason W. Dean says: These two boys holding a Native American artifact is very interesting to me. They both seem to be disgusted to be even holding the artifact, almost as if they are engaged in some illicit activity they don't want to be caught in. Very telling as to most white American's opinions of Native Americans at that time.

Negative by Smithsonian Institution

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Jason W. Dean says: I think we have all seen these tintypes somewhere or another - photos generally carried by civil war soldiers as reminders of the family members they left behind. This one is dramatically different, as one of the subjects is blind. Why would she wear her dark glasses for this very personal portrait? Why does the boy look so annoyed?

Portrait of blind woman (wearing dark glasses) and child by George Eastman Museum

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