Background

Paul Strand is an influential, 20th-century American photographer.  He was born in New York City on October 16, 1890.  At the age of twelve, he received his first camera from his father.  When he was seventeen, he enrolled at the Ethical Culture School where he took photography courses under one of his teachers, Lewis W. Hine.  During this class, he had the opportunity to visit Alfred Stieglitz’s “291” gallery where he was exposed to the pictorialist style of photography by observing the works of Stieglitz and other famous artists (Oden 1).  A turning point in his career came in 1915 when he started to utilize the large-format camera.  His photographs transitioned from soft-focus scenes of modern New York City to sharply-focused expressions of reality.  Strand’s photographs gained power from their integration of reality and abstraction.  This deviation from the norm was what made Strand such a notable and distinct photographer.  It symbolized his change from one common art form to a unique art form that was different from his contemporaries.  In 1920, there was another shift in Strand’s career life.  Strand began going into cinematography and even helped found Frontier Films, which was a documentary film company dedicated to pro-labor causes.  Although he worked in the film industry, he still continued photography.  In 1936, Strand and Berenice Abbott established the Photo League in New York City (“Paul Strand – Bio” 1).  “Its initial purpose was to provide the socialist press with photographs of trade union activities and political protests” (“Paul Strand – Bio” 1).  However, it became a group that organized local projects in which members photographed the working class communities.  Strand later traveled to different countries to document the inequalities of the world.  He became a pioneer in showing the world that art can promote social change (“Paul Strand – Bio” 1).  

“Wall Street”

 

Influences of his work

Paul Strand served in the Army Medical Corps during World War I before pursuing his career as a professional photographer.  There, he was introduced to an x-ray machine and some other types of medical cameras.  He would go on to use these skills in cinematography as he collaborated with Charles Sheeler on the film Manhatta (Rosenblum 1).  Thereafter, Strand became more aware of the social inequalities that were present in the twentieth century.  With the help of the Mexican government, Strand released a documentary called Redes.  The film informed audiences about the uphill battle poor Mexican fishermen had to face because of their abuse by larger corporations (Oden 1).  Strand worked to fix social injustices domestically as well.  He was motivated to direct both Native Land, a documentary portraying the work of trade unions and their struggle against conglomerates trying to halt their influence, as well as The Plow That Broke the Plains, a film about the negligent farming practices which caused the Dust Bowl (Rosenblum 1).  These two films were products of a larger understanding that Paul Strand had tapped into.

Strand was also influenced by Socialism and the Communist political party.  Strand’s Redes, Native Land, and The Plow That Broke the Plains convey this sense of justice for the working classes of society (Rosenblum 1).  In his later works, Strand converted himself into a leftist-thinking socialist.  Strand moved to France after the Second World War.  He fit better in with the norms and social atmosphere of Europe rather than the overly conservative push during the fifties in America (McCauley 1).  While in France, Strand had collaborated with and had multiple connections to numerous prominent socialists of the time and their views are portrayed throughout his work (Rosenblum 1).  Although not necessarily a Communist, Strand, in fact, preferred that the literature he wrote later in his career would be published in East Germany.  That way, the United States would receive the literature later on and not directly from its source, because the source came from a Communist state (McCauley 1).

Class Themes

Paul Strand’s work intersects with some of the themes that were discussed in class.  More specifically, Strand’s work embodies the themes of social justice and what makes New York City unique.  The theme of social justice is quite prevalent in Strand’s work.  Through his mediums of photography and cinematography, he sought to reform the labor systems in place at the time.  Strand used his work to pass along certain elements of class equality, whether it was the trade unions depicted in Native Land or the Mexican fishermen shown in the documentary, Redes.  Moreover, Paul Strand was seen as a figure that was able to communicate his message of social justice through his photography.  Candid photos of New Yorkers, like those pictured in Blind Woman and Sandwich Man, were able to portray the discrepancies of American life.  Where there was wealth, there was vulnerability, and that is what Strand was able to capture in his images.  And, through such images and these depictions of vulnerability, he was able to spark change, and thus, he inspired social justice.

 

“Blind Woman”

“Sandwich Man”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Paul Strand’s work is also a testament to how and why New York City is so unique.  New York City has undergone countless transformations from artists who constantly reinvigorate and evolve the entire city as a whole. Paul Strand played his role in makingNew York City the incredibly diverse city it is today. He gradually rejected the soft-focus pictorialism and instead, he viewed photography as direct statements about life and nature. The purity and straightforward nature of Strand’s photos contrasted with the adorned and blurry nature that was popular at the time. His way of taking photos became known as “straight” photography since he produced photos that were organic and realistic. Paul Strand used the large-format camera to change the way he and future photographers like him would take pictures. Rather than conforming to the style of the contemporary artists, Strand chose to deviate from the norm and develop his own style. He could have easily followed the rest of the photographers of his time. However, it is his decision, like many other artists before and after him, to change and be different that allows New York City to keep growing.

By Justin Bischof and Herrick Lam

 

Works Cited

McCauley, Anne. “The Problematic Politics of Paul Strand.” Foto Post-Photography              Museum. N.p., 1 Feb. 2015. Web.

Oden, Lori. “Paul Strand.” International Photography Hall of Fame. N.p., n.d. Web.

“Paul Strand.” The Art of Photography. N.p., 14 May 2015. Web.

Rosenblum, Naomi. A World History of Photography. N.p.: Abbeville, 1997. Print.

“Paul Strand Biography.” Paul Strand – Bio, National Endowment for the Arts,

www.phillipscollection.org/research/american_art/bios/strand-bio.htm.