required post of week four..

Paul Strand

'Blind'

1916

Paul Strand (1890-1976) was an American photographer who helped establish photography as an art form in the 20th century. He had wanted to photograph "portraits of people such as you see in the New York parks and places, sitting around, without their being conscious of being photographed. … I felt that one could get a quality of being through the fact that the person did not know he was being photographed … [and I wanted to capture] these people within an environment which they themselves had chosen to be in, or were in anyway." Most of the portraits he did were of the common people in New York during his time. Tough workmen, washerwomen, old people, peddlers, and beggars. This portrait of a blind woman is one of his most famous photographs.. It describes so much about the community during his day because I reckon it would have been hard to walk down the street without coming across a person like this blind woman. It draws our attention to the starkness of poverty in the community. In looking at the image, I felt kind of disturbed. Both by her eyes and the written sign drawing attention to them.. The sign that hangs around her neck has a badge above it that is her license to beg. New York at that time required its beggars to be licensed in the hope of controlling the poverty of the people. I reckon Paul Strand captured the reality of this problem and its sad because the woman has to call attention to her blindness in the hope that society would feel pity and give her money to live. This photograph reflects a deeply held attitude about blindness and even towards the blind and straight up represents a still very present issue. Poverty in our community.

These are some more photographs he took..

'Alfred Stieglitz'

1919

'Yawning Woman'

1916

'Fifth Avenue'

1915

'Man, Five Points square'

1916