Maren Stange: FSA & the new ones. An Interview

Interesting interview with the author of ""Symbols of Ideal
Life: Social Documentary Photography in America, 1890-1950''
(1989). Deals with the notion of ""documentary style'': FSA
documentary as a culmination of ""style'', ""that in competing
with all the other myriads of photographs that people were
beginning to look at in the 30's media would say 'documentary',
'trustworthy', 'government' and 'socially concerned'.'' The
differences in the uses of color vs. black & white are
discussed. Other topics: The development of photojournalism and
post-war ""museumification'' of the documentary style; the new
documentary - represented in different ways by Meiselas, Peress,
and the self-referential and deconstructive line of people like
Martha Rosler, Sekula, etc.; the relationship betwen documentary
and Visual Anthropology. A good up-to-date bibliography
concerning the FSA and documentary concludes the interview.


Citaten:
Stange, M.: FSA Project and Its Precedents (Views 5.2,1984)
Stott, W.: Documentary Expression and Thirties America (1973)
Snyder, J.: Documentary without Ontology (Stud.Vis.Comm 1984,X/1)
Kester, G.: Toward a New Social Documentary (Afterimage 1987,March)