A Comparison between the Farm Security Administration and Mass Observation
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William Stott defined the term “documentary” as split into two types. The first type, “impersonal documents” refers to items such as bills, letters and newspapers. The second type of document is a “human document.” This is an item which is read emotionally rather than intellectually[1], (as the aforementioned “impersonal document” is). As a general overview of documentary this is an adequate explanation, for a number of reasons. Perhaps during the early years of Documentary Photography this definition would have been more than adequate but because of both society and Documentary Photography evolving since that period, the matter is no longer as straight-forward as that.
In the 1930’s, for example, Walker Evans’ photographs would have raised very controversial issues to do with migrant workers, becoming a “human document” in the process. Reading into Evan’s work now, it becomes more like an “impersonal document,” because the issues Evans raised then are no longer relevant. However, through this blurring of the boundaries between the two types of Documentary, this kind of work becomes more complex. Studying the bodies of work properly, a reader becomes aware of the issues the photographers raised at the time, although not in as immediate a manner, and also raises current issues from this reading.
This essay will investigate how photographers within the Farm Security Administration and the british equivalent, Mass Observation, differ in their approach to creating documentary photographs. Part One will analyse how the projects were initiated and what social differences they faced. Part Two will deal with how these factors in turn affected the photographs produced. Part Three will then go on to consider how a number of photographers involved with both projects dealt with issues of objectivity in their photographs, and how their approaches differed to achieve this. Finally, Part Four will conclude the series, looking at how effective each initiative was.
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