Seminar 6: Photography Goes Social - Post War Years

The Great Depression sparked Joseph Rosenthal (1911 – 2006) interest in Photography. After first being turned down to work for the US Army as a photographer due to inadequate eyesight, he later joined a US news agency co-operative, the Associated Press and went on to win the Pulitzer Prize for his image of the Americans raising the flag, following capture of the island of Iwo Jima from the Japanese Empire. 

Joseph Rosenthal, Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima, 1945.

Documentary photography was firmly established and seen as a means to record both the unfamiliar and events in history. George Roger, a founding member of Magnum photographic agency, along with Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Capa and David 'Chim' Seymour was most noted for his photographs of the aftermath at the Nazi concentration camp, Bergen-Belsen and for his works in Africa. 

George Roger, Bergen-Belsen, 1945.

The Americans, by Robert Frank (highlighting the cultural dynamics in the USA, was published (first in France in 1959, then the USA) in 1959. Documenting the diversity of America over two years and in 28,000 images, out of which, 83 were selected for the book. Walker Evans’s work had been hugely influential on Frank and it is thought he helped him gain the funding required for him and his family to spend the two years travelling across the States. The book was said to have emulated Walker Evans' own book, American Photographs. Robert Frank, himself an immigrant from Switzerland highlighted the isolation of some cultures and those living on the fringes of society.

Robert Frank, The Americans, 1959

Diane Arbus (1923 - 1971) also documented those who were considered to deviate outside the norms of society. Her images were hard hitting and controversial.Some felt she was exploiting her subjects for financial gain. Arbus commited suicide in 1971 at the age of 48. It was only after her death that her work achieved real acclaim. Susan Sontag (1933 - 2004) suggested she was highlighting these individuals as outcasts of society from her own elevated position within it.

Taking his influences from Walker Evans, Robert Frank and Henri Cartier-Bresson, Gary Winogrand portrayed documentary photography in America in the 1960's. Through the lens of a 35 mm camera he highlighted the social impact of the media on society, the candid imagery of women on the streets he deemed beautiful (or thought if not within the realms of accepted beauty, that he could portray as beautiful) and the animals of a New York zoo.

Gary Winogrand, The Animals, Bronx Zoo, 1969.

In the 1960's the liberation and independence of women, brought about by contraception  altered  the approach to fashion photography, not least of all influenced by David Bailey's alternative approach, which was at first rejected by Vogue for its unconventional depictions of models. Inspired by Terrence Donovan's (1936 - 1996) often gritty, industrial backdrops in sharp contrast to the beauty of  his models, Bailey developed his own style and added further sexual tension to his images of Jean Shrimpton.

David Bailey, Jean Shrimpton, New York, 1962.

Political liberation, a move to left wing policies and The Civil Rights Movement all accounted for huge changes in the 'Swinging Sixties'. The high cost of colour televisions (although available in the USA in the early 1950's ) restricted purchases until more affordable in the 1960's and was not available in the UK until the late 1960's when the world could be finally be be viewed in colour. An instant color film was introduced by Polaroid in 1963.

In 1972 more than 70 photojournalists including John Neubauer, Bill Strode and Dick Swanson were commissioned by the Environmental Protection Agency in project 'Documerica' to document areas that were were being threatened by environmental factors across the USA. There were similar bias and conflicting interests felt to that of the Farm Security Administration during the documenting of 'Dustbowl' of the Great Depression. More than 15,000 images were taken for the project over 5 years.

Dick Swanson, Bicyclist Holds Ears As Jet Aircraft Roars Off From National Airport. Nearby Are A Marina And A Waterfowl Sanctuary, May 1973