1) Photographer Zofia Rydet, Polish 1911-1997
Title: Untitled from the series Sociological Record (1978-88)
This photograph is in black and white and shows an elderly woman sitting on a bed in her house. There is a chicken sitting next to her and there is a large tapestry with a religious image behind her. On the sides of the photograph there are a table and a countertop. Both of these surfaces are cluttered with bottles and other objects.
This photograph immediately caught my attention because it reminded me of my childhood in Russia. The interior of the house has an Eastern European image, which brought back memories of my great grandmothers house. When I saw this photograph I felt like I was five years old walking into my great grandmother’s house once again. I was surprised by the similarities between the two women and the two houses. For example, the arrangement of the table on the right side of the room is something that I have seen many times in my life. The small details on the table such as the tablecloth, left over food and the glass bottle half filled with milk give off the impression of reality. These little details help show that this is more than just a photograph, it is what life looked like during the time period.
The details in the photograph give clues to the type of life this woman led. The first clue, is that the woman is sitting on the bed which makes her look tired. However, the expression on her face is strong and makes her look like she has been through hard times in her life. Another clue is the woman’s feet. She is wearing a slipper on one foot, while the other foot is exposed. You can see that the woman’s feet are swollen. The image of the woman’s swollen feet combined with the image of the chicken on her bed made me think that she did a lot of physical labor in her life and probably produced most of her own food. This contributed to the memories of my childhood because my grandmother owned chickens and planted her own vegetation as well.
The photographer who took this photograph was from Poland. As a result, the woman in this photograph is most likely Polish. The similarities between the Polish woman’s household and my great grandmother’s house in Russia made me realize that the living conditions and cultures in the two areas are closely related.
Photographer: Dorothea Lange (American, 1895-1965)
Title: Funeral Cortege, End of an Era in a Small Valley Town, California (!938)
This is a black and white photograph that shows a woman sitting in an old fashioned car and looking out of the window. The car is a part of a funeral cortege. The photograph shows only a portion of the car, which takes up most of the space. However, there is a small area of the sky visible in the top right corner.
I noticed this photograph because of its simplicity, which calls attention to the woman’s facial expression. She looks like she is full of sorrow. However, she is not crying. This gave me the impression that she is so upset because of the death, that she is not capable of crying. The death has worn her out to the point where she no longer has the energy or need to cry.
Another interesting aspect of the photo is the reflection of the clouds in the car’s window. As a result, when you look at the women’s face you are seeing it through the reflection of the clouds. I think this image relates to the feelings the woman is experiencing. The woman is so upset by the death that as she looks out of the car window her eyes are looking, but she is not seeing anything. Instead, she is deep in thought about the death and her head is in the clouds.
I noticed this photograph in the exhibition because it presented a mystery. It made me wonder how the woman was related to the person who died. I also wondered what caused the person’s death. I know that this photograph was taken towards the end of the Great Depression. Because of this, I’m curious to know whether the person’s death is related to the situation in the country during the Depression and whether the Depression somehow contributed to the death. In addition`, I like the title of this photograph (The Funeral Cortege: End of an Era in a Small Valley Town, California) because it uses the words “funeral” and “end”. The title of the photograph tells me that a person’s life came to an end, but also a time period in history came to end. It reminds me that during the Great Depression, many people experienced the same sorrow that the woman’s facial expression conveys.
