landscape
Documentary
Photography was invented at a time when the exploration of new lands was being undertaken by
western cultures. Photography was seen as an excellent medium by survey teams to categorize,
order and document the grandeur of the natural environment. A sense of the vast scale was often
established by the inclusion of small fi gures looking in awe at the majestic view. These majestic
views and their treatment by American photographers contrasted greatly with European landscape
photographs. Landscape painters and photographers in Europe did not seek isolation. Indeed
seeking out a sense of isolation is problematic in an industrialized and densely populated land.
In the 1930s Roy Stryker of the Farm Security Administration (FSA) commissioned many
photographers to document life in America during the depression. Photographers such as Arthur
Rothstein, Dorothea Lange and Walker Evans produced images which not only documented the
life of the people and their environment but were also subjective in nature.
ACTIVITY 1
View the image by Walker Evans on this page and describe what you can actually see (objective
analysis) and what you think the image is about (subjective analysis).
Discuss how effective Walker Evans has been in using a landscape image to communicate a
point of view.
Can this photograph be considered as Art? Give two reasons to support your answer.Bethlehem, Graveyard and Steel Mill - Walker Evans 1935 © Walker Evans Archive, 1994,
The Metropolitan Museum of Art