Photojournalism- Catalyst for Social Reform

1
Photojournalism- Catalyst for Social Reform

• The Impact of the Works of
• Lewis Wickes Hine
• Jacob Riis, and Dorothea Lange

2
Turn of the Century Conditions

• Industrial Revolution in America brings
• Quick assembly line production systems
• More plentiful jobs in factories and mills
• Jobs for people of all ages
• Population growth for areas with factories
• Crowded living conditions
• Less emphasis on education

3
As a Result

• People lived in crowded tenements (apartment
  buildings with few facilities)
• Illiteracy grew because more and younger children
  worked
• No labor regulations on of hours worked or the
  minimum age of workers
• No laws governing working conditions

4
The Need for Reform

• People saw the effects of the Industrial
  Revolution on American society and realized that
  the labor practices needed to be revealed to the
  general public so that
• improvements would come.

• Several authors wrtoe books about the need for
  social reform, but it was not until Jacob Riis
  took pictures to augment his writings that people
  began to really understand societys need for
  reform.

5
Jacob Riis

• Jacob Riis was a Danish immigrant who lived just
  as the immigrants whose plight he wrote about in
  his book How The Other Half Lives.
• His experiences led him to empathize with others.

• To read more about Jacob Riiss life, visit the
  site http // www.masters-of-photography.com/R/ri
  is/riis_articles1.html

6
Jacob Riis Working Conditions

• Riis, Jacob. Bohemian Cigar Makers at Work in
  Their Tenement. 1890. The Jacob A. Riis
  Collection of the Museum of the City of New York.
  http//www.mcny.org/m31.htm 90.13.4.150 (June
  24, 2001).

7
Jacob Riis Playground Reform

• Riis, Jacob. What the Boys Learn on Their Street
  Playground. 1902. Jacob Riis Collection in
  Masters of Photography. http//masters-of-photogr
  aphy.com/R/riis/riis-street-playground.html no
  number available (June 24, 2001).

8
Jacob Riis Living Conditions

• Riis, Jacob. Hells Kitchen and Sebastopol. How
  The Other Half Lives, Jacob Riis. 1890.
  http//www.cis.yale.edu/amstud/inforev/riis/chap1
  .html no number available (June 29, 2001.)

9
Lewis Wickes Hine

• Hine worked for the National Child Labor
  Committee and took photographs for the purpose of
  affecting social reform. He often took notes
  about his subjects, noting their names and the
  years theyd worked.

• To see more images that Hine took for the
  National Child Labor Committee, visit
  http//lcweb.loc.gov/r/print/coll/207- b.html at
  the Library of Congress.

10
Lewis Wickes Hine Child Labor

• Hine, Lewis Wickes. William Paralla, 313 Second
  Street, SW, Washington, DC, a seven year old
  newsboy, standing on street with newspapers.
  April 1912. National Child Labor Committee
  Collection Photographs by Lewis Hine.
  http//lcweb.loc.gov/r/print/coll/207- b.html
  LC-USZ62-92163 (June 24, 2001).

11
Lewis Wickes Hine

• Hine, Lewis Wickes. Shrimp and Oyster Worker,
  Biloxi, MS. Lot 7476, canneries volume, 1984.
  Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
  Illustrated Guide, Portfolio 1.
  http//lcweb.loc.gov/rr/print/guide/pp7476.jpg
  LC-USZ6-1306 LC-USZ62-55649 (June 29, 2001).

12
Dorothea Lange

• Lange is the best known photographer of the
  Depression Era. Her work depicts the
  economically depressed common people of the time.
  The emotions evoked are the strength of the
  images.

• To see her work, visit http//www.museumca.org/at
  the Museum of California in Oakland and search
  for Dorothea Lange in their collection.

13
Dorothea Lange the Depression

• Lange, Dorothea. Destitute peapickers in
  California, a 32 year old mother of seven
  children. February 1936. Library of Congress
  Farm Security Administration Collection.
  http//lcweb.loc.g ov/rr/print/128_migm.html
  LCUSF34-9058-C (June 29, 2001).

14
Dorothea Lange

• Lange, Dorothea. White Angel Breadline. 1933.
  Dorothea Lange Collection, Oakland Museum of
  California. http//www.museumca.org/global/art/co
  llections_lange_repro.html no number available
  (June 29, 2001).

15
Dorothea Lange

• Lange, Dorothea. Ditched, Stalled, and Stranded.
  San Joaquim Valley, CA. 1935. Dorothea Lange
  Collection. Oakland Museum of CA.
  http//www.masters-of-photography.com/L/lange/lan
  ge_ditched_stalled_stranded_full.html no number
  available (June30, 2001).

16
Dorothea Lange

• Lange, Dorothea. The only home of a depression
  routed family of nine. 1936. http//lcweb2.loc.g
  ov/cgi-bin/ndlpedu/lessons/98/dime/photos.html
  LC-USF34-009751-E (July 3, 2001).

17
And the Question Is.

• How will YOU use photography to document an area
  in our society that needs to be changed?