Daring to Look...Dorothea Lange's Phhotographs & Reports from the Field

by Anne Whiston Spirn

Daring to Look presents never-before-published photos and captions from Dorothea Lange’s fieldwork in California, the Pacific Northwest, and North Carolina during 1939. Lange’s images of squatter camps, benighted farmers, and stark landscapes are stunning, and her captions—which range from simple explanations of settings to historical notes and biographical sketches—add unexpected depth, bringing her subjects and their struggles unforgettably to life, often in their own words.

When Lange was dismissed from the Farm Security Administration at the end of 1939, these photos and field notes were consigned to archives, where they languished, rarely seen. With Daring to Look, Anne Whiston Spirn not only returns them to the public eye, but sets them in the context of Lange’s pioneering life, work, and struggle for critical recognition—firmly placing Lange in her rightful position at the forefront of American photography.

Genres: Photography, Nonfiction, History, Art, Biography

338 pages, Paperback

First published July 15, 2008

Reviews

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overlooked for years, this book finally pairs Dorothea Lange's incredible photography with her field notes. As she worked for the WPA during the 1930s, part of her job was to talk to and gather notes about what she was seeing. Although her photos tell important tales, her words truly reflect how she was able to connect with the people she met and preserve their stories for decades.

[Lisamary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spirn is an amazing author, she tries to understand her subjects from within their own skin. Lange is not one of may favorite photographers from an aesthetic perspective, she shares the lack of subtlety more typical of one generation earlier. She is, however, one of my heroes. This book will help you to understand why the ambivalence

[Deigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book full of great images from a very difficult time in our country. I really appreciated the in-depth captions on the images and the field notes - they added so much to the understanding of the times and the images. A keeper for sure.

[Emmie · Rating 4 out of 5]

[Karen Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

My desire to continue the Lange learning extended to getting a photo book. I wasn's disappointed. Anytime you feel the need to complain about your lot, look at these photos and what others who share our world endure.

[Konnie Maskell]

Fascinating woman- It is hard for me to imagine how hard women had to work to simply be allowed to have a paying job. The photos are exquisite and Lange was so good with people, always respecting their lost voice.

[Aleah Litterell-Sa'id · Rating 4 out of 5]

such a captivating, unique peek into such a wild piece of American history. it has given me more perspective & respect for my ancestors & the battle for survival so many of them went through. this book also gave such an in depth look at dorothea herself & the impact she has had on the world.

[Stephanie Holt · Rating 5 out of 5]

The stunning photography by Dorothea Lange tells a story of hard times. While I greatly enjoyed the whole book, especially the Dorothea's photographs, for me the most valuable section was Part Three:Then and Now. Anne Whiston Spirn uses her images, taken in 2006, to represent her own vision of the area Lange explored in 1939. Reading about how much the landscape has changed but the struggles haven't was absolutely heartbreaking. Of utmost interest is a section about her time with Richard White, a historian at Stanford University. To quote the book "Lange is coming into the middle of events that have been going on for years," White observes. "Since the 1880s, Indians from all over the West were marshaled to harvest hops, up until the 1920s. The dislocation of farmers from the Great Plains happened repeatedly, in the 1870s, the late 1880s, the 1890s, and the 1920s. There exists a myth of a stable America, overturned at one terrible moment during the 1930s, and then we got over it. Lange seems to believe this myth, as if what she is photographing in 1939 is a singular phenomen of the Depression itself, not a recurring one." On the next page, there is a section which illustrates her growing awareness of this phenomena in the early 1960s. "Building labor camps with improved housing, medical clinics and day care had met the immediate emergency but failed to address the causes of problems migrant agricultural workers faced; hence, unpredictable and short-term employment, hazardous work, and child labor persist today. As Lange observed in the early 1960s, the conditions of 'migratory labor' she photographed in the 1930s persisted twenty-five years later;'I might have made [those photographs] yesterday. This is a mighty interesting thing. Not many things don't change in twenty years, not many things." These two sections of Part Three caught my attention. They are the lasting impression I will take away from this book. I came to it ready to appreciate the photography and go away ready to appreciate my own life more and think about our culture with an heightened analytic approach.

[Jessica McCann · Rating 5 out of 5]

The photos in this book are stunning and paint a dramatic portrait of the people and times in 1939. I was especially drawn to Lange's notes, which she took in the field, and to her approach in meeting people, enabling them to let their guards down and capturing images that show her subjects' emotions and surroundings. It's providing great inspiration and insight for my current novel-in-progress set in the 1930s.

[Rinku · Rating 4 out of 5]

Her pictures are timeless and of people we normally don't get to see in photographs. The lives of impoverished people in black and white photographs is powerful. There are some images that will stay with me forever. I enjoyed reading her prose about her photographs and seeing comments of the people in the pictures in their own words.

[Lenore Kuipers-Cummins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dorothea Lange is an incredible photographer, and her photos make you see what you've never seen before. This is my second book that I've read with her photography, and I have another one to begin. She makes history real through the things that she photographs...including the Depression, Dust Bowl, and the Internment of the Japanese during WWII.

[Gato Negro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jaw dropping photographs that show how the western regions of our country were cultivated, farmed and settled in the late 1930s. Excellent commentary throughout the book as well. A MUST READ for anyone who thinks he or she has it 'tough' in America today.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind of dense and not always as well organized as it might have been, given the author's emphasis on the importance of seeing Lange's text captions with her photos. Fascinating information and great pictures though!

[CURTIS NUGENT · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is more than just an exhibition of Lange's photos. Spirn had access to Lange's notes and this gives us insight to the socio-economic realities of the times.

[Ron Stafford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book, great insight into the mind of a photographer. She is so much more than Migrant Mother, and an inspiration to me.

[Abby · Rating 4 out of 5]

The pictures are interesting, but the prose less so.