New York City
Stony Point, New York
New York, New York
New Orleans
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Akron, Ohio
Lee Friedlander: Man in the Shadows
A Washington state born photographer, Lee Friedlander, who was born in Aberdeen in 1934, has made his mark in the portraiture of the everyday culture of the American working class. He works in mainly black and white photography which reflected his upbringing in a coastal town where it was rainy and dreary. He later moved to New York where he married and had two children.
He photographed the everyday social landscape of America. This was reflected by showing who they were by what they made and that revealed who they were. The true character of the American people can be examined by looking at the cities and towns just as well as by examining portraiture. He shows the evolution of the American dream and how some people are still fighting to preserve the ways of yesterday.
Friedlander also shows the landscape around the portraits of the people he loves. He ties that in by intermixing the surroundings of their environment to the people themselves. A picture of a train bringing materials to the town where people live, a tree growing out of the foreground of their houses, a wire fence with his shadow discretely in the corner, showing himself yet not being visible directly, he is the shadow of the America he photographs.
He shows the contrast of the reality of everyday life compared to the dream life of what the American advertisers would like us to believe we all want it to be. He presents this by showing both together--the reality and the make believe. This too is part of the working man's culture. He presents his portraitures with humor and sadness at the same time, again showing the contrast of everyday life. The struggle is also depicted in the old versus the new and changing America.
Even with the struggles that Friedlander portrays he also shows that the American spirit will prevail. The character of the strong working man is there in all of us.
Prompts
- Was there anything that was unclear about my presentation or could be elaborated on more?
- Discuss which “social landscape” you identify with and explore the idea that what you do and produce in life reflects who you are.
- How has the American dream shifted in your opinion? Is America still based off of a core value of hard work and fulfillment or has the evolution to pop culture changed this?
- Why does Friedlander include himself in the shadows in some of his pictures?
- Look at any of Friedlander’s photos posted on the blog and describe how they represent American people and their character.
Nice work on your presentation, Shia. You are a very poised speaker and the presentation was clear and easy to follow. I don’t have any specific criticism; I thought you incorporated character well, especially in the Pepsi billboard photo. Overall, it was a very nicely done presentation.
ReplyDeletePertaining to the photos themselves, I would like to first address New York, New York. To me, this photo is very representative of American society today. The lines and buildings in the photo are very distracting and suggestive of a hurried society. It feels as if upward progress for the sake of betterment is the key here. There is no space for sky and beautiful landscapes. Rather, the city is crammed and bustling, quite unpleasing to the eye. Society often does feel this way. American people get caught up in the business of progress and money, too focused on lofty goals to enjoy any scenery. It is suggestive of a society lacking peace and tranquility. It instead is the epitome of stress and unhappiness. The character of America is geared towards quick and efficient, as if living has become secondary to success.
Moreover, the old church in the center of the photo is reminiscent of the old days, when life moved at a slower pace and people took time to pray and speak to their neighbors. The church, wholly out of place in this society, is rapidly being encroached upon by the tall buildings. It’s almost as if the church here is a last stanchion of repose and quiet. It sits amid the chaos in defiance of the changes and beckoning the patrons of the city to its doors. The church indeed is symbolic of the hope that the new, industrialized American people will not forget their roots or the joy of decoration and pleasure in contrast to the stark reality their society is building. This photo ultimately captures the American character of striving for achievement at all costs, building haphazard austere monuments that threaten to destroy an older, quieter way of life. It’s a bit disconcerting to see this juxtaposition of old and new. The emerging American character in this photo is not necessarily a pleasant one.
Conveying an opposing message, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania represents another side of the American character. With its vast expanse of open territory, this photo captures the essence of the American dream: the opportunity and hope that anything is possible, anything at all can be accomplished by he who strives hard. The train and its tracks draw the viewer’s eye to the horizon, beckoning him to take his chances in a new land full of possibilities. The character expressed here is the American who sees a challenge and moves to overcome it, just as those who have settled in these mountains have done. Instead of a society that feels cramped and too busy as in New York, New York, the society represented here is embracing freedom and nature. One does not get a sense of stress or too rapid of a lifestyle. The character of the American people here is progressive yet grounded and at a much slower pace. This is more of the picture I imagine when novels and films discuss the American dream. That dream started out on the unsettled frontier. Through hard work and determination, America was built and the character of its people was formed. It’s interesting to observe the drastic change society has undergone from the first idea of the American dream depicted in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to the much less appealing portrait of the present day American dream and character in New York, New York. I suppose it is a matter of opinion, but I would much rather see a shift in character back to the open land and village embedded mountains, where possibilities were as infinite as the trees and dreams stretched as big as the horizon.
1. “Man in the Shadows” was an intriguing title, but I would have liked to hear more about the symbolism and significance behind it.
ReplyDelete3. The American Dream is the idea that a strong work ethic reaps social and pecuniary rewards, and also the idea that people should be let alone by the government and allowed to do whatever they want, and enjoy or suffer the consequences of their actions, so long as these actions don't infringe upon other people's rights. This Dream is a beautiful idea that encouraged early immigrants, fleeing religious and political prosecution, to come to America seeking not an easy life, but a life where they would be free to live how they wanted and worship who they wanted.
In the more than 200 years since independence, much has been done to make the Dream more of a reality. Slavery once prevented a significant percentage of Americans from participation in the American Dream, and even after abolition, racism and discrimination remained widespread. Today, though perhaps not a complete non-issue, racial barriers to success have largely disappeared. Similarly women have gained the right to vote, and it is no longer taboo for them to have jobs other than teaching and cleaning.
In other ways it seems as though the American Dream is changing. More and more, people are loosing faith in their ability achieve their goals through hard work. Frivolous lawsuits seem to be becoming more and more common. When the President takes questions from an audience, half of them talk as though they expect him to personally intervene in their lives and solve all of their individual problems. Many Americans are no longer infuriated by laws that increase their tax burden, encroach on their privacy, erode their freedoms, or attempt to solve problems that they should be left to solve for themselves.
I had an American Dream today. A dream which, if certain laws did not prevent it, would have embodied the idea of achieving happiness through hard work. A dream which, if fulfilled, would have harmed no one, yet would have benefited me tremendously. I wanted to walk to Dissmores, use money which I have toiled long hours for to buy three bottles of Guinness, bring those bottles of Guinness, along with a chaise lounge, out to Thompson Flats, and enjoy a relaxing afternoon of sun and beer, at no point pausing to attack, insult, or otherwise bring any sort of distress to any person. The fact that there are multiple laws threatening harsh punishments for attempting to fulfill this dream of mine is a prime example of the erosion of American values and the American Dream.
4. Friedlander puts his shadow in some of his photographs to include himself among the people and scenes that he photographs. He is not an outside observer, but an active participant in the America that he portrays. The reason he is only a shadow, aside from the difficulty in making self portraits with a camera that don't look like cheesy MySpace pictures, is because he cannot control the people and landscapes he photographs. He is present and participating, but the flow of events is ultimately beyond his control.
The presentation was very clear and I got the point of the artist, Lee Friedlander, in the beginning of the presentation. I thought it was very interesting that he was trying to capture America and its people. I believe that the American dream has shifted a lot since Friedlander’s time. I think Americans have become more spoiled, selfish, and greedy. Life in America doesn’t seem to be about hard work and fulfillment; rather, it is all about money. Of course there are the few who still believe and try to achieve that, but it seems that a lot of people believe in hard work for money. The harder you work the more money you will make and the happier you will be. I think Friedlander was showing this transition in his photographs. He was photographing the few people who still had culture and values in their lifestyles in a world of materials. For example, the painting, titled New Orleans, of the small marching band going past a big sign with a Coca-Cola advertisement and a dressed up superficial woman, shows that they don’t seem to care what the poster says, they are going to keep on doing what makes them happy, or fulfills them. Or the one picture, New York City, shows that despite the mass cities and billboards everywhere, there is still some history to be found throughout America. The photograph of the lone vertical church contrasting in the middle of the huge horizontal city, labeled New York, New York, also shows the determined nature of culture to always fight to exist and somehow, even though not as abundant or well-known, still stands out. He shows that this money-oriented world is beginning to dominate America, but with some searching, as Friedlander does, one can find the true American dream hidden across the country.
ReplyDeleteI think Friedlander includes his shadows in his photographs for many different reasons. One reason could be to represent the changing America. He might be trying to portray Americans as not really being present as themselves, rather as shallow shadows. They are so blinded by money that they lose themselves and are, therefore, just a mere shadow, not a person. The shadow could also just be Friedlander’s way of putting himself into his artwork. He feels he is a part of America, and since he represents America in his work, it placing his shadow in his photographs. The shadow could also symbolize his insignificance as a human being in such a vast world. Or maybe even his significance, because his shadow is portraying America and its culture and change in times. His shadow could show that he is just one person, yet making a big impact with his photos. His shadow is a very significant part of his work and probably like a signature to his photographs. There are many meanings to why he chooses to display his shadow, but I’m sure only he knows the real reason. His main point, no matter what he displays in his photographs, is to capture the American culture.
What is the “American Dream”? We often hear it talked about, or referenced in virtually every form of media, from film to music. But does it really have an identity? I think that the “American Dream” is different for every person. I also think that the dreams do not change, but the perception of the “American Dream” does. What I mean is that I think that the media and pop culture have portrayed the dream as something it is not. One of the largest issues in our recent presidential election was immigration. Every year, thousands of people immigrate to the United States. For what purpose do they immigrate here? They immigrate to make a life for themselves. Most of these immigrants do not care about the flashy cars or the house on the hill that is so prevalent in American media, they’re happy if they even have a car. They struggle for survival every day, the way our forefathers did before pop culture and mass media. This is not to say that native born Americans do not face the same issues, or have the same dreams though.
ReplyDeleteBeing in college, it is easy to not recognize the hard working classes of society and the people who struggle for survival on a daily basis. We tend to be separated by a socieo-economic divide because of the cost of college and typically see people who have at least a comfortable living and even those who flaunt their wealth. However, every day, all across America, people are living paycheck to paycheck or worse, just trying to get by. Sure, there are those who do nothing and abuse the welfare system (not to say that all on welfare are that way) but the “lower echelons” of society have the same dream of just making a life for themselves, working their tails off to get there. But do you see that on 20/20? No. Over spring break I watched a special on 20/20 about the mortgage “crisis”. Their main story was about a couple who made over $500,000 a year and had a multi-million dollar home in California. Unfortunately the man lost his six-figure job. However, rather than downsize to a smaller, more affordable home and look for any job, they burned through $500,000 dollars of savings while the man tried to look for another upper-level management, six-figure job. He eventually humbled himself and got a job at a pizza delivery place. Though they still cannot afford the mortgage, they refuse to sell the house, or their superfluous items, such as a boat, or a few of the hundreds of shoes and handbags in the wife’s closet. It’s this portrayal in the media, this image that one has to have all of this material garbage that has caused a shift in people’s perception of the “American Dream”. The fact of the matter is that the original principles are there, but they are overshadowed by the media forcing “popular” ideas upon us to further their own agendas.