Migrant Mother
Photographer: Dorothea Lange
Year: 1936
Location: Pea Pickers Camp
Nipomo, California
Owner/Venue: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division,
Washington, D.C.
The Great Depression began in America when the stock market crashed, resulting in an economic crises that spread worldwide. Everyone suffered, especially the lower and middle class populations. Franklin D. Roosevelt established The Farm Security Administration, who then hired photographers to depict the harsh conditions of Americans, for the purposes of bringing attention to the effects of the Great Depression and to justify the need for federal assistance. Dorothea Lange was one of the photographers hired.
In 1936, Lange discovered a “Pea-Pickers Camp” in Nipomo, California, where she came across Florence Owens Thompson, a widow left to support her children on her own. Lange was drawn to the mother and children, and took six photographs of them. One of the photographs, Migrant Mother, became one of the most famous American photographs of all time.
This set of photograph’s significantly represent the migrant workers and how they were directly affected by poverty, hunger, and suffering, caused by the Great Depression. The mother sits in her unstable tent surrounding her broken down vehicle with no tires – due to previously selling them for food. You can see the pain and suffering in Florence’s eyes, face, and especially her skin; she appears a lot older than her resilient age of 32.
I found several art pieces that I really enjoyed, however I was powerfully drawn to the Migrant Mother photographs. When I look at them, I get the same feeling that I get when I looked at several of the Madonna paintings from the Renaissance era. I believe the artists from the Renaissance era painted their versions of their era’s Migrant Mothers and transformed them using mannerist styles. Lange’s photographs are beautiful pieces of art that represent the pain and suffering that the American people have endured in history, and still endure to this day.
Citation
“Great Depression.” Wikipedia. Web. 1 Jul 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Depression>.
“Migrant Mother.” EyeWitness to History.com. Web. 1 Jul 2011. <http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/migrantmother.htm>.
“Migrant Mother.” Programming Librarian. Web. 1 Jul 2011. <http://www.programminglibrarian.org/pa/programming/for-youth/guides-for-youth-programming/poster-18-b-teen.html>.
Melanie's Neuron Network 
You must be logged in to post a comment.