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9. Farm Security Administration Photography and the Dilemmas of Art
- University of Illinois Press
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9 Farm Security Administration Photography and the Dilemmas of Art “A More Important Record Than It Now Seems” PhotographsbytheHistoricalSectionoftheResettlementandFarmSecurity Administrationsareunquestionablythebestknownofthethirties.Severalcircumstances coalescedtogivethemsuchposthumousprominence.Thesheer sizeandextraordinaryscopeoftheSection’sarchive—seventy-seventhousand printsandnearlytwiceasmanynegatives,alongwiththeproject’sdeep coverageoftheentireUnitedStates—makeitindispensableforresearchers, andadetailedindexpermitsefficientaccesstopicturesofspecificsubjects andlocales.ItishousedintheLibraryofCongress,whichlendstheprestige ofoneofthenation’spreeminentculturalinstitutions.Andunlikeprivately heldphotographstheSection’srequirenoreprintfees.Theyhavebecome 144 A Staggering Revolution ubiquitousassouvenirsofdepressionAmericaandarecopiouslyreproducedin anthologies,scholarlyandpopularhistories,andtextbooks.Butnotonlytheirscope, accessibility,andinexpensivenessaccountfortheirprominence.Theuncommonly talentedmenandwomenwhocreatedthemrankamongdocumentaryphotography’s leadingadeptsandincludeJackDelano,WalkerEvans,DorotheaLange,Russell Lee,MarionPostWolcott,ArthurRothstein,andBenShahn.Collectionsofthe picturesbegantoappearinthesixtiesandcontinueunabated.1 Thepictures’contemporaryvisibility,though,ismisleading,fosteringthe impressionthattheywereubiquitousandthatFSAdocumentarywastheera’s mosthailedpractice.Theyarenotsingularlyrepresentativeofthirtiesphotography ,however,andtheirpresentrenowngreatlysurpasseswhatitwasintheirown era.IftheSectionwaslessobscurethanothergovernmentphotographicunits, neitherdiditenjoyuniversalrecognition.BeaumontNewhallwasnottheonly impresarioignorantofit.GardnerCowlesJr.onlyfortuitouslyheardaboutthe projecteighteenmonthsafteritwasunderwaythrougharelativeintheDepartment ofAgriculture,despitehisroleinlaunchingLookandaffiliationwiththe DesMoinesRegisterphotosyndicate,aleadingnationaldistributor.In,when RoyStryker,theSection’sdirector,wasinvitedtoaddressfacultyandstudents atprogressiveandarts-mindedBenningtonCollege,hishostwarnedthat“your audiencewillnotknowaboutResettlementAdministrationphotography.”Aslate asitsvisibilityremainedcloudedwhereitmighthavebeenexpectedtobe obvious.OneofthephotographersreportedthataKentuckyFSAoffice“doesn’t evenknowthatthereisaphotographicsectioninexistence.”NordidtheSection itselfattractmuchmediaattentionasotherNewDealculturalagenciesdid—not evenasmuchasotherphotographicprojectssuchasthosebyBereniceAbbottand EdwardWeston,aboutwhichLifepublishedarticles.2 MostoftheSection’sphotographsremainedunseeninthethirties,althoughthe smallpercentagethatdidappearsurpassedinquantity—andoftenquality—pictures byotherfederalphotographicunits.Buttheyneverbecomemorethanirregular journalisticfare.Newspapersthatdidreprintthemtendedtofavorinert“progress” shotsthatblandlychronicledtheFSA’sprogramsratherthanthephotographers’ moreambitiousdocumentarywork.Theyalsocommonlyfailedtorunacreditline, whichmadeitimpossibleforreaderstodistinguishbetweentheSection’spictures andthosefromcommercialsyndicates.Nor,despitestrenuousefforts,didStryker havemorethanmodestsuccessinsinuatingthemintoleadingmagazines.Themost widelycirculatedreprintedonlyatinyhandful,andthereadershipoftheSection’s mostfaithfulpurveyor,SurveyGraphic,wasjusttwenty-fivethousand.Afterayear oftryingwithLifeStrykerconcluded,“Wehadbestgiveuptheideaofgetting picturesintoLife;thatis,anypicturesthathaveanygutstothem,”thusseconding Lee’sobservationaboutthe“lousy,crappystuff”themagazinefavored.Lookwas [18.212.87.137] Project MUSE (2024-03-28 11:29 GMT) 145 FSA Photography and the Dilemmas of Art slightlymorereceptiveinitsinauguralyear,butit,too,failedtocreditadozenor sopicturesandthereafterusedthemonlyinfrequently.3 IftheextenttowhichtheSection’spicturesblanketedthirtiesculturehassometimes beenexaggerated,thesignificanceofitsarchivecannotbeoverestimated, foritconstitutesaricher,morecomprehensivevisualrecordoftheerathanany photographicsurveybeforeorsince.Morethananyotherlegacyithasshapedthe nationalmemoryoftheGreatDepression.Manyofitsphotographsareofsuperior estheticdistinction,andsomerankamongthedecade’sfinest...