Living as I do in the surrounding rural area of a small (6000) southern town, I'll try to be aware of possible themes, e.g., small eateries. -----Original Message----- From: "Christine Aguila" <[email protected]> Sender: [email protected] Date: Wed, 18 May 2011 15:07:16 To: <[email protected]> Reply-To: Pentax-Discuss Mail List <[email protected]> Subject: idea for a pdml photography project
Hi Everyone: I just finished F. Jack Hurley's book, Portrait of a Decade: Roy Stryker and the Development of Documentary Photography in the Thirties. Many of you have probably read this, but if not, you should be able to find it in your local library or secure a used copy via bookfinder or amazon. At 175 pages, the book provides a nice broad look at Roy Stryker's life, his years studying and teaching economics, his working relationship with Rexford Tugwell, and, of course, his leadership at the Farm Security Administration (FSA). All fascinating stuff! You won't be disappointed--I promise! The book has inspired an idea that might be of interest to PDML list members. In 1936, Stryker began to broaden the FSA projects to include photographic documentation or rural, small-town, and urban life (as opposed to poverty in agricultural communities). According to Hurley, Stryker used questions to give focused direction and purpose to the photographers' field work--to illustrate: "What do people do at home in the evenings? Do the activities in a small town differ from those in a large city? How do people dress for church? Where do people meet? Do beer halls and pool halls take the place of country clubs for the poor? [and even broader questions] What are the key economic factors in the existence of a small town? The railroad? The highway? How can these be represented visually? Has anyone ever taken a really good series of pictures of a filling station, showing its relationship to the restless, shifting American population? What do railroad stations look like? How do they relate to small-town life?" (98) When I first read the above, I thought it might be interesting if PDML photogs worked in self-selected groups and pursued similar questions but with an international scope. For example, What do people from selected countries do at home in the evenings? How do people from selected countries dress for religious services? What are the key economic factors in selected small towns around the world? What do back yard gardens look like in selected countries? What are the popular tourist sites in selected countries? How does the architecture differ in selected countries? What does the native flora & fauna look like in selected countries? What do gas stations look like in selected countries? (see Tim Hetherington's study on Arab gas stations--fascinating stuff) What types of dance classes are offered in selected countries? How do weddings differ in selected countries? What kinds of pets do people have in selected countries? How has the landscape changed in selected countries? and so-on and so-on. The possibilities are endless! A project like this would give those who are interested a chance to collaborate with other photographers from different countries, work on a question together, post the final international photographic study in a gallery, and share with the PDML list, of course. I see this as an *anybody-who-wants-to" and *in-your-own-time* kind of project. I also see it as a project that takes advantage of PDML's international character, which is rich and interesting. I also envision a hint of text to accompany each photograph in the gallery--think of the old Life magazine. Any interest? Cheers, Christine -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
