Dorothea Lange was the first photographer I fell in love
with. It was and remains a total infatuation. Her Iconic and brilliantly honest
work, her mastery of her chosen instrument and the decisions, journalistic and
artistic are representative of the vision sublime.
Lange’s camera and eye were drawn to those on the fringes of
society. The Invisible American’s; those numbering among the forgotten or
ignored became her subjects of choice. The results are remarkable in their
simplicity and directness. She was a serious photographer. Her works date her
to a time when life was many times more brutal and devoid of the excess and
glitz of our times. Her prime years
depicted many of America’s most trying: the Great Depression, The Dust Bowl
Era, Japanese Internment Camps and the early Plight of the Migrant Worker. Her
eye sought out the universal and commonality of all Americans like no other
photographer. She is from a time before the “selfie.” Lange was looking out
into the world as she discovered beauty and truth among the pains of human
existence, suffering and trials. Lange was a beautiful woman of heart, mind and
spirit. She has given the world much through her activism and journalistic works.
The photographic compositions of Dorothea Lange speak so
eloquently for themselves they need little embellishment or definition. I have
included a selected portfolio of some of her best and moving treasures. I have
also included a link to the documentary; “Dorothea Lange: Grab a Hunk of
Lightning” from the PBS series “American Masters.” It centers on Lange’s preparation for her MoMA
retrospective and covers many aspects of the photographer’s life in intimate
detail. The life was amazing, indeed. You be the judge.
“The camera is a
powerful instrument for saying to the world: this is the way it is…
Look at it! Look at it!”
Dorothea Lange
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| “Dorothea Lange: Grab a Hunk of Lightning” |
