One of Lange's most renowned and famous pictures, this picture
represents the fear and frustration of the Depression. Having
already taken pictures on a long and difficult trip, Dorothea
was on her way home to her family. She had the pictures taken
on the trip in the passenger seat in the car, which were ready
to be mailed to Washington. She saw a sign for a pea picking
camp, and instead of ignoring it and continuing on her trip,
she fought an internal battle over whether to turn into the
camp and check it out. After twenty miles, she decided to
turn back and look into the situation at the camp. She only
took 5 pictures, and knew that she had captured the best possible
form of expression for the camp.
Reaction of Roy Stryker, her boss for many years: When Dorothea
took that picture, that was the ultimate. She never surpassed
it. To me, it was the picture of Farm Security. The others
were marvelous but that was special. Notice I never said it
as the greatest. People would say to me, that migrant woman
looks posed and I'd say she does not look posed. That picture
is as uninvolved with the camera as any picture I've ever
seen.
The picture is one of the most powerful in her vast collection.
The viewer can feel the pressure of the two children weighing
the mother down in fear and anxiety over what will happen
to her family. The woman is obviously deep in thought, debating
and trying to discover the best among her few options. The
children appeal to the most basic of human emotions, those
that want to be taken care of. Adults during this time did
not want to handle the responsability of finding a job and
earning money when there was none for the taking. Dorothea
has captured so many different human emotions in one timeless
instant. |
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