: "In the News: Vintage Photojournalism from 1940 to 1965" with
photos by Capa, Evans, Freed, Lange, Smith, Weegee and others
will be on view at Lee Gallery, 9 Mount Vernon Street, from
September 1 to October 29.
Both Walker Evans and Dorothea Lange were important photographers
for the Farm Security Administration (FSA), recording the people
and places affected by the Great Depression.
Lange put a human face to the suffering of those forced to leave
their homes, searching for work. The photo of "The Migratory
Cotton Picker" is a visually striking portrait of a particular
man struggling to make a living. Lange's images were powerful
enough to encourage the state of California to improve the
migratory workers' living conditions. Evans employed his talent
as a street photographer during the FSA and later working
Fortune magazine, documenting the war factories of
Bridgeport, Conn.
Weegee's unsettling, voyeuristic images of the gritty New York
streets and crime scenes are a classical example of subjective
journalism. "Crowd at the Scene of an Accident" is a typical
Weegee image, taken with a strong flash and unflatteringly
showing people in an unenviable situation.
Robert Capa and Eugene Smith both became passionately and
personally intertwined with the places, people and events they
reported. Smith worked for three years on a project on
Pittsburgh. Capa co-founded the photo agency Magnum in 1947 in
order to establish more freedom in choosing his stories.
Smith ably switches between powerful war images such as "Saipan"
depicting a war hardened, determined marine and "A Walk to
Paradise Garden" of his two children emerging from a darkened
forest into a bright opening. Capa found moments of happiness and
reflection, even in wartime, such as the jubilant crowd of
"Surrender in Palermo" and the soldier taking a minute to
contemplate a purchase in "Naples...Stands of Books on Sale in
the Street."
For information, 781-729-7445.
