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Theodore Roosevelt's approach to reform
Jacob riis papers
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Documentary Photography
One has often heard the phrase, “a picture is worth a thousand words.” When a person looks at a picture, it could take them back to their past or it could take them to a place they have never been. Photographs have the ability to describe scenes in a way that words cannot. One branch of photography, documentary photography, is particularly good at stepping in when words fail. Documentary photography was first introduced in the twentieth century when pictures were first used as a visual language. The two most stand-out photographers of the twentieth century were Jacob Riis and Mary Ellen Mark. Although they photographed different decades and social issues, their work brought light key historical moments of that time.
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He was one of fifteen children to Niels Edward Riis, a schoolteacher, and Carolina Riis. Growing up, his biggest influencer was his father who encouraged him to read and learn English. Although his father wished for him to become a teacher, Riis chose carpentry and moved to Copenhagen to pursue an apprenticeship. At the age of 19, he moved back to his hometown but was faced with a lack of work. Discouraged by this, Riis decided to immigrate to the United States.
Riis migrated to America in 1870 when he was 21. He arrived at a time where the country was facing a vast number of immigrants during a time of social turmoil after the Civil War. As more and more people immigrated to urban areas, cities became more heterogeneous due to the large ethnic enclaves. Riis lived in numerous poor houses with other immigrants. The conditions of those poor houses were so ghastly and overcrowded that Riis dedicated himself to shutting them
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Using this invention, he was able to take pictures of scenes with little light. He was able to capture the hardships of the poor and bring to light the difficulties they faced everyday. He first began showing his work as lantern slides as part of lectures that were presented as entertainment, however, he also published his work in a book called How the Other Half Lives. The book was published in 1890 and it became an international sensation. His writing coupled with his photographs made a powerful statement of society's indifference to the poor. As an advocate for the poor, oppressed, and exploited, Riis wrote how they were the victims of economic slavery. His writing brought shock and horror to the upper and middle class of New York. He also captured the attention of Theodore Roosevelt. After Roosevelt became governor, he closed down the poor-houses and enacted many reforms that helped combat the poverty in the slums. Roosevelt called Riis the “most useful citizen of New
For my museum selection I decided to attend Texas State University’s Wittliff Collection. When I arrived, there was no one else there besides me and the librarian. To be honest, I probably would have never gone to an art museum if my teacher didn’t require me to. This was my first time attending the Wittliff Collection, thus I asked the librarian, “Is there any other artwork besides Southwestern and Mexican photography?” She answered, “No, the Wittliff is known only for Southwestern and Mexican photography.” I smiled with a sense of embarrassment and continued to view the different photos. As I walked through Wittliff, I became overwhelmed with all of the different types of photography. There were so many amazing pieces that it became difficult to select which one to write about. However, I finally managed to choose three unique photography pieces by Alinka Echeverria, Geoff Winningham, and Keith Carter.
Riis talked about all the immigrant major groups that came to the United States during this time period. Riis was a bit prejudice and stereotyped the people he wrote about. For example he talked about he Italians as being gamblers and being slow learners. He criticizes them as being dumb and that is the reason they were cheated on their pay roll. They were told that by coming to America they would get pay...
Have you ever been at the beach safely shielded by a dark pair of sunglasses and just watched? Being a silent third party to a father screaming at his seven-year-old daughter for putting the inner tube in the wrong place. People watching has for a long time been one of my favorite activities as third party you are able to see people for what they are, unbiased by already having known the person. Eugene Richards’s book has made me look at my hobby from an artistic vantagepoint. He’s made me start to think that one day I would like to be one behind a telephoto lens capturing those moments that people don’t think anyone else saw. Richards photographs have made me relies that photography is more then a point a shoot process.
...lena Krstovic. Vol. 172. Detroit: Gale, 2012. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 15 Apr. 2014.
5 Light, Ken. Tremain, Kerry. Witness in our Time: Working Lives of Documentary Photographers. Washington and London: Smithsonian Institution Press, 2000.
Jacob Riis, a Danish immigrant to New York City in the late 1800s, was a photographer that documented the harsh conditions of the working class in the late 19th century. He released a photo-journal book in 1890 entitled How the Other Half Lives: Studies among the Tenements of New York. He illuminated the dark, cramped quarters and incredibly dirty conditions of Manhattan’s Lower East Side. The publication invigorated social activism and pushed for improved housing legislation and standards.
Sidney, Mara S. 2003. Unfair Housing: How National Policy Shapes Community Action. Lawrence: Univ. Press of Kansas.
Film Society of Lincoln Center , ND/NF Q&A: "Stories We Tell", Sarah Polley, online video, May 10 2013, viewed May 5 2014,
“The documentary tradition as a continually developing “record” that is made in so many ways, with different voices and vision, intents and concerns, and with each contributor, finally, needing to meet a personal text” (Coles 218). Coles writes “The Tradition: Fact and Fiction” and describes the process of documenting, and what it is to be a documentarian. He clearly explains through many examples and across disciplines that there is no “fact or fiction” but it is intertwined, all in the eye of the maker. The documentarian shows human actuality; they each design their own work to their own standards based on personal opinion, values, interest and whom they want the art to appeal to. Coles uses famous, well-known photographers such as Dorthea Lange and Walker Evans, who show the political angle in their documentations and the method of cropping in the process of making the photo capture exactly what the photographer wants the audience to view. In this paper I will use outside sources that support and expand on Coles ideas with focus on human actuality, the interiority of a photograph, and the emotional impact of cropping.
...el through time and show newer generations of the events of the past and the rich history of a particular country. With the use of all the technology over the years, photography has now become a major part of everyday life and the photographer behind the camera.
Whereas men had a so-called “head-start” with painting and sculpture, photography was pioneered by and equally associated with both genders. Sexualized images of women circulated via mass media. Described as a voyeuristic medium, photography was a powerful tool in deconstructing the male gaze and bringing private moments into the public domain (Bonney 1985: 11).
Stanley, Robert H. The Movie Idiom: Film as a Popular Art Form. Illinois: Waveland Press, Inc. 2011. Print
Newton, Julianne H. The Burden of Visual Truth: The Role of Photojournalism in Mediating Reality. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2001. Print.
Marrs, Suzanne. Eudora Welty(tm)s Photography: Images into Fiction. Critical Essays on Eudora Welty. W. Craig Turner and Lee Emling Harding. Boston, MA: G.K. Hall, 1989. 288-289.
Photojournalism plays a critical role in the way we capture and understand the reality of a particular moment in time. As a way of documenting history, the ability to create meaning through images contributes to a transparent media through exacting the truth of a moment. By capturing the surreal world and presenting it in a narrative that is relatable to its audience, allows the image to create a fair and accurate representation of reality.