Migrant Mother Case Study

Dorothea Lange was hired as part of the farm security administration to take document photos of people in rural environments.  Migrant Mother was one of the photos she took and happens to be the most reproduced image in history of photography.  The reproductions come from Lange’s publications as well as many documentary publications.   

Something I learned while reading this is that there were four other photos taken but migrant mother was the chosen to represent them all.  What is so different about Migrant Mother is that it excludes context of location and time because it does not detail the background at all, where as the other photos give context to migrant mothers life by providing a backdrop.  This picture without much context has been  seen as the universal symbol to motherhood, poverty and survival.

Something that struck my attention was that Lange was quoted saying “we were after the truth, not just making effective pictures.”  I found this interesting because Lange also barely spoke with the women and did not ask her name or for any historical information on her except her age.  This is controversial because how is she going to find any truth without interviewing her subjects.  This creates a situation where the photograph is speaking as the truth rather than an interview speaking for the truth.  This is where the power of photography has become very apparent in history and people tend to believe anything in a photograph, especially if it is labeled as a documentary photograph.  This is inaccurate because she admits to editing a thumb out of the picture.  Wells states that one principle of documentary photography was that it should be untouched, so that its veracity and genuineness can be maintained.  This is not true for this because of the edit.  The photograph was also out of Lange’s control at some point because she was being contracted by the F.S.A.  This also makes it hard to believe that the authenticity of the photograph was being maintained.

            Another issue I have with this photograph is that Lange thought the woman really helped her with capturing the photograph as if it was going to help the woman out.  This also proved to be false because in an interview fifty years later the woman, Florence Owens Thompson, said she was proud to be in the photo but she had never received any money for it.  I feel like this objectifies her as a movement and that it is unfair that she received no benefits or even notice that she was becoming famous.  Especially since her fame came from how poor and not well off she was.