Dorothea Lange

It was very interesting to read Dorothea Lange’s opinion on her journey for the Farm Security Administration.  Lange, 1895-1965, was a very important documentary photographer with a continued historic relevance today.  Migrant Mother is a photo that has been seen around the world and lies in most historical textbooks about the United States of America.  Lange did not fully appreciate her one hit wonder because of the neglect received with her other photographs.  Although her one friend told her “ time is the greatest of editors and most reliable.  When a photograph stands this test, recognize and celebrate it” (151, Heron).  I think this a powerful truthful statement because I know I would rather one piece of artwork of mine to live on forever then none.  Of course as an artist we would like all of our pieces to be loved and carried on but the human attention span does not work that way.  I can still understand why it must have been frustrating especially if she was trying to do work on her own and nobody cared for it. 

            I found the story behind Migrant Mother to be more interesting when Lange explained it.  On her seven hour journey home she had an instinct to pull over once more for a photo opportunity.  She declined her instincts until she was twenty miles past the destination.  Her intuition had her U-turn around and head back to the sign that read PEA-PICKERS CAMP.  She explains how little dialogue was spoken in their exchange and that it felt like a magnet drew her to this woman.  Something I do not understand is how Lange felt like the mother was helping her out because she knew it would help herself.  I do not see how the Migrant Mother could have been helped without Lange getting the woman’s name or any historical information on her.  She felt an equality about the exchange which is good but I don’t see how that transcribed to anything for the Migrant Mother.

            The message Lange finishes with is an important one to artists and how intuitions and working hard pays off.  The “inner compulsion” is an important ingredient to an artist work.  I fully agree with this and find that in my art practice I work better off intuition and that when you plan a piece out it never is how you expected it because intuitions during the creation process lead to bigger and better ideas.