Migrant Mother
May 26, 2007 1:51 PM Subscribe
Her name is Florence Owens Thompson. In March 1936, FSA photographer Dorothea Lange took a series of photos of a 32-year-old woman and her children in a pea pickers' camp outside
Nipomo, California, including one of the most famous photos in American history. Mrs. Thompson talked about the photos in 1979. [more inside]
Hmm, interesting! I had always suspected that it was a staged photo because the little girls' cute bobbed hairdos are so perfectly cut. Silly I guess, since a parent can get quite skilled at haircuts over time, nevertheless I always felt something didn't add up.
posted by zarah at 2:14 PM on May 26, 2007
posted by zarah at 2:14 PM on May 26, 2007
That particular photograph is in the public domain, and is
obtainable from the US Govt. Nobody's making any money off of it.
Get one yourself. Search for Dorothea Lange migrant mother.
posted by the Real Dan at 2:24 PM on May 26, 2007
obtainable from the US Govt. Nobody's making any money off of it.
Get one yourself. Search for Dorothea Lange migrant mother.
posted by the Real Dan at 2:24 PM on May 26, 2007
I don't understand why the photos of her and her daughters in later life are nearly impossible to find, but here's one obscure web page that has one. It really completes the story to see how she fared.
posted by hodyoaten at 2:36 PM on May 26, 2007 [1 favorite]
posted by hodyoaten at 2:36 PM on May 26, 2007 [1 favorite]
Great post, thanks for sharing the article.
In recent years, however, the FSA photographs have come under a growing criticism. Many view them as manipulative and condescending, to the point of assuming a "colonialistic" attitude toward their subjects
Christ, I hate that kind of bullshit. It's one think to discuss the problematic aspects of this kind of photography (something Sontag did brilliantly), quite another to spew simplistic crap about colonialism. But hey, anything for tenure, amirite?
posted by languagehat at 4:07 PM on May 26, 2007
In recent years, however, the FSA photographs have come under a growing criticism. Many view them as manipulative and condescending, to the point of assuming a "colonialistic" attitude toward their subjects
Christ, I hate that kind of bullshit. It's one think to discuss the problematic aspects of this kind of photography (something Sontag did brilliantly), quite another to spew simplistic crap about colonialism. But hey, anything for tenure, amirite?
posted by languagehat at 4:07 PM on May 26, 2007
Florence's story as told by her grandson is really interesting.
posted by maggiemaggie at 5:40 PM on May 26, 2007
posted by maggiemaggie at 5:40 PM on May 26, 2007
This is an excellent post, thanks.
posted by Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese at 5:47 PM on May 26, 2007
posted by Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese at 5:47 PM on May 26, 2007
spitbull - yeah, I found that interesting, too, when I stumbed across the article. Most people I know who had it hard during the Depression were apparently traumatized by it to one extent or another. My grandparents were always sticklers for not wasting any part of dinner (though the intentions were good, it led my grandfather to pack on the calories/weight).
posted by hodyoaten at 6:31 PM on May 26, 2007
posted by hodyoaten at 6:31 PM on May 26, 2007
Thanks for posting this and filling in some gaps.
posted by longsleeves at 7:14 PM on May 26, 2007
posted by longsleeves at 7:14 PM on May 26, 2007
Hey, very interesting links - great post.
posted by jamesonandwater at 7:28 PM on May 26, 2007
posted by jamesonandwater at 7:28 PM on May 26, 2007
The grandson's site is fascinating. The extent to which he wants to deny that his grandmother represented what Lange intended, and the extent to which he details the ways in which she in fact did.
Sontag is right -- there's an objectification process in photography, and that's what they don't like. And of course whatever immediate help reached that camp because of the publicity, the life of the migrant farm worker really didn't change that much.
posted by dhartung at 10:01 PM on May 26, 2007
Sontag is right -- there's an objectification process in photography, and that's what they don't like. And of course whatever immediate help reached that camp because of the publicity, the life of the migrant farm worker really didn't change that much.
posted by dhartung at 10:01 PM on May 26, 2007
I really enjoyed reading the story behind the famous picture. Thanks!
posted by spacelux at 1:22 AM on May 28, 2007
posted by spacelux at 1:22 AM on May 28, 2007
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Mrs. Thompson died in 1983. Her grandson has web site that tells her story.
The Online Archive of California has an online collection of over 20,000 of Ms. Lange's photos.
posted by kirkaracha at 1:51 PM on May 26, 2007