1930s, Beauty, Cars

STEEL, LEATHER AND WOOD BEAUTY

No Comments
Talbot Lago T-150C SS Goutte d’Eau (1937)

Editor’s Note by Bruce Berman
How could you even describe how beautiful this car is. Every once in awhile you just have to go silent, let your mouth hang open and just say… Wow!
At the end of the article… check the price.
DEAL!
______________________________________________________________________________

Without a doubt one of the most beautiful cars ever made, the Talbot-Lago Teardrop Coupé was designed by Giuseppe Figoni, one of the greatest French coachbuilders before World War II. The sheer definition of Art-Deco, the T-150C SS was nicknamed Goutte d’Eau (teardrop) because of its round shape and sensual curves. Not just a pretty car, though, as the Talbots of the era won many races, including the French Grand Prix of 1937. A stock Talbot Teardrop even competed at the 1938 24 of Le Mans race, placing third overall. You can auction one of these beauties at around $4,000,000.

This is a description from DriveMag

Continue Reading

1930s, FSA, Journalism

NOT SO BLACK AND WHITE

No Comments
Girl at Gee’s Bend, Alabama (April 1937)
by Arthur Rothstein, Library of Congrss

Text by Bruce Berman, Site Editor

“You see the girl — that’s effect one. You see the ad [the blond woman] — that’s effect two. But the third effect is when you see both images together and recognize the irony.” — Arthur Rothstein on the photo

It’s a beautiful photograph, no doubt. Rule of thirds composition. Great light creating great texture. Juxtaposition of the printed rumpled paper against the real person, Black tones versus light tones, i.e., contrast. The slightly diagonal lines and the pattern they create. Textbook rules of composition. But, of overwhelming importance, of course, the implied comment and intention of the photograph.
Arthur Rothstein understood and believed in the power of photography to make social commentary. Working for the United States government, Rothstein photographed Artelia Bendolph in Alabama, to illustrate the effects of the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenancy Act of 1937.
Of course -and this is NEVER supposed to be asked when discussing the iconic FSA project- should someone working for the government EVER be allowed to use their words or photographs to “make social commentary?” Isn’t that the realm of commentators in the news industry, i.e., non tax paid?


Continue Reading

1930s, Cultural Issues, Documentary Photography

FSA, MINORITIES, AND FAKE NEWS

No Comments

Article by Bruce Berman

The Atlantic Monthly just published an article about the FSA (Farm Security Administration) and how minority Americans (African-Americans and Latino Americans) were ignored by the FSA during its four year run.
It’s title is: Whitewashing the Great Depression.
It is factually misinforming.
Four years ago I co-authored (with my colleague Dr. Mary Lamonica) an article titled, “The Photographer as Cultural Outsider.”
It focused on Russell Lee and his 1949 project shot for George I. Sanchez who was the first Latino Dept. Head at UT-Austin and one of the early Civil Rights warriors in LULAC (League of United Latin American Citizens). Sanchez had created The Study of the Spanish-Speaking People of Texas project. Lee, of course, was an FSA shooter of great renown and prestige (and later OWI/Office of War Information). He had settled after his WW 2 service in Austin, Texas, the same city as Sanchez’.
Our article was a little more nuanced than the Atlantic piece and delved into the issue of cultural identity of the photographer (or writer or filmmaker) in shaping not only his/her viewpoint but how various ethnic subjects react to a photographer.

June 1938. Outskirts of El Paso, Texas. “Young Negro wife cooking breakfast. ‘Do you suppose I’d be out on the highway cooking my steak if I had it good at home?’ Occupations: hotel maid, cook, laundress.” Medium-format nitrate negative by Dorothea Lange for the FSA (Farm Security Administration).
Continue Reading