Background Info - Walker Evans was born in 1903 in St. Louis, Missouri. He painted, collected picture postcards, and took snapshots of family and friends. He went to Williams college for a year, but then he quit and moved to NYC. He worked at bookstores and libraries. In 1927, he was in Paris writing short stories and nonfiction essays. He returned to NYC set on becoming a writer, but he took on photography. His early works were the effects of European modernization of America. Then he moved on to the Great Depression.
The subject of the photo is a cotton farmer. He seems to be near a farmhouse or just house due to the piece of wood behind him. The light seems to be coming from mostly the bottom left of the man. The photo is straight on, but he is more to the left of the photo. This sheds light on the daily lives of tenant farmers and their lifestyles. The man looks tired. His clothes are dirty and torn. This photo shows that the tenant farmers were hard-working and they can not afford much, such as new clothing.
Portraits
Middle School & South School
Social Issues- Women
Saul Leiter
My photographer, Saul Leiter, was born in Pittsburgh. He is now held to be a pioneer of early color photography, and is noted as one of the outstanding figures in post-war photography. He was a starting point for my photos. The first photos I took were inspired by his photos, but I built off from his photos. I used intentional blur as he did in his photos. His photos focus more on people, but mine focus on nature, documenting both living things.
ICA inspired photo
The artist is Lorna Simpson. The title of the work is "ID", created in 1990. It is made from gelatin silver print and plastic plaques. It is 49 x 84 inches. This piece is realistic. It shows how people are identified without even seeing their face. Black women are identified by their hair and skin color. The photo has levels of blacks to whites and creates contrast. It is created through the background, hair, and skin. The photo is underexposed for the first one. You can only see her hair. The photograph is in focus. The photographer did not need a specific shutter speed for the photo. The photos were taken straight on. The rule of third is used with the word identity, and the top of her head. The focal point is her hair, her skin and the word. Foreground is created with the word, she is the middle ground, and the black backdrop is the background. The photos are vertical. There are not really any leading lines in the photo. The photo is interesting to see how different people identify the photo, but the composition is not original. The point of view is too common. The texture of her skin and hair stand out in the photo. The contrast in the photo is also interesting. The mood is mysterious. I think the photo would be stronger in color.
I will be doing portraits from behind, inspired by this work.