Because the
focus of this week’s course material is about accessing public information, I
thought this would be a great time to dig into Yale’s archives of
photos taken all across the United States from 1935-1944. From the link:
“In order to build support for and justify
government programs, the Historical Section set out to document America, often
at her most vulnerable, and the successful administration of relief service.
The Farm Security Administration—Office of War Information (FSA-OWI) produced
some of the most iconic images of the Great Depression and World War II and
included photographers such as Dorothea Lange, Walker Evans, and Arthur
Rothstein who shaped the visual culture of the era both in its moment and in
American memory. Unit photographers were sent across the country. The negatives
were sent to Washington, DC. The growing collection came to be known as ‘The
File.’ With the United States' entry into WWII, the unit moved into the Office
of War Information and the collection became known as the FSA-OWI File.”
Using an
interactive map that can be accessed here,
a few months ago I spent hours looking through the photos taken in Pittsburgh. It
was fun to see what has changed and what has stayed the same in terms of
architecture, and to get a glimpse of the city when it was a steel town.
I’m so glad
that we have ways to bridge the time that separates the generations, and that
these moments were documented. Here are a few of my favorites, with more information
about the photos--and their subjects-- at the respective links:
It really
is a fantastic collection. I highly recommend that you check it out!
Next entry:
A glimpse into my own collection from the 1940s to the 1970s. A journal of essays
from 1946 that my grandmother gave me—she walked down the same Fifth Avenue in
Shadyside that I do every day when walking to work. Photographs that look like they were taken on the set of Mad Men—and, of course, bell bottoms and
seventies hair galore.
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