Photographer Dorothea Lange was all about getting out there and photographing people in their current situations. That alone is an understatement to the fact that she’s also one of the most important photographers of all time. Further, a new exhibit at the National Gallery of Art entitled Dorothea Lange: Seeing People will examine how she was an innovative photographer for the time. Featuring 101 different photographs, you’ll be able to see some of her greatest work in print instead of behind a screen.
The exhibit will run from November 5, 2023– March 31, 2024. All images used with permission by the National Gallery of Art. All photos are by Dorothea Lange.
To get a better understanding of the show, we talked with Philip Brookman, consulting curator in the department of photographs. Philip believes that Dorothea was extremely good at getting close to people — and that this is one of the reasons why her work stood out so much. It began with her portrait business then evolved further as she did documentary work. More importantly, she cared about the people she photographed and used processes accordingly.
“I think it’s her empathy and skill at connecting with people, coupled with her vast experience and understanding of art history and photographic technique, that makes her work stand out,” says Philip. “She was also willing to experiment with her ideas, and because of that, she produced work that is both complex, groundbreaking, and fresh.” Indeed, her work is influential and studied even today.
I can’t say that I have a single favorite photo, that’s like asking to say which child you like the most. But for this I’ll say I like End of Shift, Richmond, California, made in 1942. Fortune magazine commissioned Lange to document the bustling shipyards in Richmond, north of Oakland, where newly desegregated defense firms were rapidly constructing transport, cargo, and warships for the US Navy. With its angled cropping and dynamic configuration, End of Shift focuses on the rushing legs and torsos of shipbuilders leaving a wartime facility. Lange expresses the urgency of their work in defense production without showing their individual features. The tilted composition and complex interplay of light and shadow demonstrate Lange’s understanding of how modern design techniques could convey the force and energy of a group working together on a project critical to the nation’s defense.
Philip Brookman, consulting curator in the department of photographs
Dorothea Lange learned photography in NYC portrait studios before setting out to go photograph the world. She opened up her own portrait studio alongside folks like Imogen Cunningham, Consuelo Kanaga, Ansel Adams, Edward Weston, and the painter Maynard Dixon, who would become her first husband.
“Bay Area high-society and cultural figures became Lange’s clients and the subjects of her stylish studio portraits,” explains Philip. “These early pictures combine elements of the pictorial style in which she was trained, such as soft focus and diffused light, with an emerging modernist aesthetic that experimented with dramatic cropping and unusual angles. She used light, shadow, and carefully constructed poses to articulate the character, attitude, and individuality of her models.” She continued to state that Dorothea worked to show people exactly as how they are.
To do this kind of work, Dorothea used large format cameras that used 4×5 inch black and white negatives. She started out doing street photography with a 3¼ x 4¼-inch Graflex camera with a 7½-inch anastigmat lens and magazine film holders. “She also used a 2¼-inch square Rolleiflex, which had the advantage of being small, less obtrusive, and easy to carry,” says Philip. “When she worked for the Resettlement Administration and Farm Security Administration, she began to use the Speed Graphic and View Graphic cameras that were standard press equipment during the 1930s and 1940s. She continued to use her Rollei during this time.” In the 1950s, she switched to Hasselblad then to Nikon.
Of course, one would think that Dorothea wouldn’t care much for AI imagery these days as she wouldn’t believe that it’s real life at all. She would probably even be appalled by Michael Christopher Brown’s AI imagery usage to tell the stories of refugees. “She loved the sights, sounds, and smells that make up a sense of community, and she always wanted to find some truth in that experience,” explains Philip. “You don’t get all that with AI.” Philip believes that AI can be a tool in the creative process, but not the creator.
“One of the great things about photography is that it can encompass so much of our experience from truth to fiction, and I imagine AI can fit into that. But if we expect it to make our photographs for us, then we are giving up the best part to some form of artificial intelligence.”
