Migrant Mother

     Before reading the case study of the image, Migrant Mother, I could recall seeing the image multiple times either briefly in an art history course or somewhere on the web. But I never knew the actual story and power behind this image. When hearing that Dorothea Lange was sent out by the FSA to collect photos of damage that the Depression had caused, I didn't think that she could create such a powerful image without being able to connect with the subjects that she was going to photograph. So when learning that she quickly strolled into this woman's place of living, took five pictures and left, I was shocked that this kind of imagery could become of that.
    
     After reading further into the history of this photo, it's much easier to understand the concept behind Lange's technique of "in and out" photography. She didn't want to get to personally know the woman or her family because the viewer couldn't know them like that, and didn't need to to find a connection. By leaving the piece so open, it created a place that people could see themselves in. The photo is showing a loving connection between a woman and her daughters, no matter what the situation is, even if times are hard.

     One surprising thing that I read though was that before Lange took the photos, the woman being photographed and the photographer seemed to have an agreement about what was being done. Lange needed the photo, and the woman wanted to send a message. They both thought that they were helping each other out. But about 50 years later, the woman had been tracked down in a trailer park, not doing too much better than the previous encounter. She had stated that she was proud to be the subject of such a powerful photo, but she had never gotten a penny for it and the photo had never done her any good. This seems to go against the previous agreement that this woman and Lange had. I feel that Lange's fame from the photo should have been carried onto this woman at some point in her life. After all, she was the one struggling while Lange was employed.

-Cody