Migrant Mother, Migrant Gender

Discourse #1

by Sally Stein

Sally Stein reconsiders Dorothea Lange’s iconic portrait of maternity and modern emblem of family values in light of Lange’s long-overlooked ‘Padonna’ pictures and proposes that ‘Migrant Mother’ should in fact be seen as a disruptive image of women’s conflictual relation to home, and the world. Stein is an American academic and cultural theorist living in Los Angeles. The interrelated topics she most often engages concern the multiple effects of documentary imagery, the politics of gender, and the status and meaning of black and white and color imagery on our perceptions, beliefs, even actions as consumers and citizens.

Genres: Photography

115 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2020

Reviews

[Nik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enormously well researched. Interesting read if you are invested in the history of documentary photography as well as the nature of perceiving images.
However, the one gripe I have with the book is the, in my opinion, overly complex language. I am fairly okay with academi texts but this felt exhausting at times.

[sevdah]

A study of a single "iconic" (in more ways than one) photograph - "Migrant Mother" by Dorothea Lange, this is in no way reverential. It is, however, absolutely dedicated to its subject matter with an unflinching gaze that I so enjoy reading. It employs precision and determination to shape a type of critical archeology, or maybe of archeological criticism. It manages to correct assumptions and bring back complexity in the black and white understanding of image-making and image-seeing. In the process, it unearths bigger questions. It doesn't involve itself with the matter of who gets to tell what story (yawn), but why is an artist compelled to shoot when they do - and to what human effect.

[Joshua · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book could be much more simple. It tells stories in an overly stylized manner to a point it is difficult to understand and ended up pedantic. But other than that the contents of the book is still rich, which make it valuable to know the stories behind the image of Migrant Mother.

[Lovisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kapitlet om Langes bilder av män med deras barn var det mest intressanta jag läst på länge. Tänker återigen på hur kanon bildas

[miriam s. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great research and great storytelling. I wanted more!!!