PHOTOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT DEPRESSION

EVERY PICTURE HAS A STORY

MIGRANT MOTHER

The “Migrant Mother” was a series of photographs taken by Dorothea Lange to document the struggles of poor families in Central California

This is Florence Owens Thompson and her seven children on the brink of starvation

March of 1936

LANGE ON “MIGRANT MOTHER” I saw and approached the hungry and desperate mother,

as if drawn by a magnet. I do not remember how I explained my presence or my camera to her, but I do remember she asked me no questions. I made five exposures, working closer and closer from the same direction. I did not ask her name or her history. She told me her age, that she was thirty-two. She said that they had been living on frozen vegetables from the surrounding fields, and birds that the children killed. She had just sold the tires from her car to buy food. There she sat in that lean- to tent with her children huddled around her, and seemed to know that my pictures might help her, and so she helped me. There was a sort of equality about it.

MODERN LOS ANGELES

MODERN LOS ANGELES You must be able to tell the story of the

photograph you take

If it’s a building – what business was there? What happened? When?

A person/family – What is their story? Why are they suffering in our modern Great Depression?

YOUR JOB – CREATE AN ART GALLERY

RUBRIC Essential Skill #4 – 70% of Grade

5 Pics from Great Depression 5 Placards with Story and Content 5 Pics from Modern Los Angeles 5 Placards with Story and Content

Presentation of your Pictures

Habits of Mind – 30% of Grade Accountability 10% Quality 20%

HOW CAN WE PRINT? www.snapfish.com www.shutterfly.com

These websites will provide you with 20 free printed photos upon signing up for their program.

1 person in the group signs up and can print for the entire group

STEP ONE Split up into groups and you will choose a

town/community you wish to photograph (Hawthorne, Gardena, Inglewood, Watts, South Central)

In groups, have each individual come up with a theme to your 5 pictures. What do you want to show? What do you want your

audience to take away from your photographs

Start to research and compile a list of Great Depression photographs you can use for your project

REMEMBER ! You should only choose communities

and photographs that you are comfortable with

Communicate with Family Game Plan Where and What you are going

to take Choose what you are safe with