Below you will see the photo Migrant Mother by renowned photo journalist Dorothea Lange.
When, where, and by whom was the work made?
Where would the work originally be seen? (In a museum? Probably not!)
Where would the work originally be seen? (In a museum? Probably not!)
What purpose did this piece serve?
For whom was the work made?
From what materials was it made?
For whom was the work made?
From what materials was it made?
"Asking questions can be a useful strategy early in the writing process, especially for students who feel they don't have much to say about the material they've been asked to write about. The first step in developing ideas about a text/work of art is to look closely at it. Asking questions and answering them is one way to focus your attention; it's also a way to begin finding things to say. Unexpected answers often emerge as soon as you raise a question." - A Short Guide to College Writing, Second Edition
The questions that we ask will depend on our interests and how the text (or work of art) affects us. An architecture student might be interested in the construction of the piece - how each shape fits together to form the whole - while a sociology student might question the significance of the boys' turned away faces.
** What is the focus of this photo?
** How would you describe the mother's facial expression?
** What is surprising or strange about the image?
** How might the subject (mother) have felt about being photographed?
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWhat is surprising or strange about the image?
ReplyDeleteWhat is surprising about this photograph is the face of the mother, and what I deduced as an indifference towards her children. A mother should represent love, nurturing, strength and protection. However, all I see is a mother who lost her faith in life, her strength to strive,and her will to fight. Even though life experiences may have impacted her persona in a negative way, it should not be an excuse to deprive her children from a loving environment. Additionally, It is evident that the kids are seeking for the love of their mother, but her response is cold-hearted neglect.
¿How would you describe the mother's facial expression?
ReplyDeleteThis photo was taken in the 1930s for a campaign to show the effects of the Great Depression in North Amererica's population. The first thing that comes to my mind when I see this photo, and specifically, the mother's facial expression, is desperation. I think that this image reflects almost perfectly what was going on in that moment. It shows her pain, the pain of someone that has lose almost everything in her life. Probably sadness, because she wants the best for her childs, but can't afford it. Obviously lose of hope too, but most of all, tiredness.
What is the focus of this photo?
ReplyDeleteLooking at the picture for the very first time, is not difficult to notice the tough situation this mom is passing. According to the scene showed, it focuses on the sadness of a mom when poverty is probably the cause of most of her problems, sadness seen in the desperate and despair expression of her body language. By the whole scenario, it also makes me think that she is waiting something fair happens with her and her kids. Also, the picture reflects the feelings that her children may have, probably the same unhappiness and desolation of her mom.
What is the focus of this photo?
ReplyDeleteWhen I see this photo I can realize that the photographer wanted one thing: that people can feel and realize the true reality of life, that this world is not perfect, that not everyone in this life live in wealth and with the resources for a decent life, also the focus of this picture is to realize everything that a mother has to do, and has to suffer in order to support their children and try to make them feel “alive”.
The photograph in general wanted us to focus on how people of that time lived, as they survived poverty, shortages of food, etc.
With this simple picture we can see the two kids trying to hide from the camera, maybe because of the sadness that they were living at that time, same so we can see through the eyes of the mother, the sadness, the pain, the distress and the scarcity, not only of food, but scarcity of a better life in those days.
What is the focus of this photo?
ReplyDeleteThis photo shows the pain of a mother who can´t give her children a home, food nor clothes... children who trust their mother the situation will be better. You can notice that it doesn´t matter how much you need help because the people who have power doesn´t take hunger like a priority, just rich people getting richer and poor people getting poorer. Her children, if they were being victims of panic and dispair, in which case they would be hiding as well behind their mother. But they are not in panic, they actually hide in fear from the photographer which their mother ignores... what crosses her mind? the bitter knowledge that things are not going to get any better.
How would you describe the mother's facial expression?
ReplyDeleteThe mother’s facial expression can easily describe agony and concern, I can say by their appearance they’re surrounded by poverty. By the reaction of the children I can deduce that they don’t want to face their reality, I see fear and pain in all of them. Also the mother reflects tiredness, maybe for waiting something to happen or for being surrounded by poverty. As a matter of culture, this photo can be very shocking cause mostly we are used to see colored people in situations like this, white people are presented as rich and well educated.
How would you describe the mother's facial expression?
ReplyDeleteWhen i look at the picture i can see the concern of the mother about the future of her kids. You can see the worry and sadness from all of them, specially from the mother. Maybe she doesn't know what to do to give them a better life, possibly she doesn't have the way to do it.
She is so sad because when you are poor you don’t have good opportunities, sometimes you don’t have home, you don’t have food and you have kids that ask about when they are going to eat and that is really hard. In the photo I can see that she is thinking about the future, what she is going to do? She needs money. She looks worried, hopeless, a mother without faith she doesn’t know when is the end of the bad situation. According of her face she is waiting our help, she needs helping hand, everything but we can begin giving her our smile. According to her face she is waiting for our help, she needs people who talk to her and try to restore her faith.
ReplyDeleteWhat is the focus of this photo?
ReplyDeleteThis photo shows us things that simple words can’t explain. It describes the pain of a mother, by her eyes you can feel the sadness she is having. She seems desperate and worried because of the hard time all the people were passing through, probably because of the hunger that attacked everyone at the Great Depression time. Also, the kids leaning over her not showing their faces and with dirty clothes represent very well the suffering of the moment.
What is the focus on the photo?
ReplyDeleteWell, is obvious that the autor want us to see the horrible time this family is having, There is no color on it, maybe just because the picture is old but it goes perfectly well with the message that there was no color in the life of this family. We can see a hopeless mother with 3 Kids probably alone because there is no father in the picture, one kid probably small enough to do not understand what is happening but the other two having a bad time right next to the mother who is the only good thing they have.
¿How would you describe the mother's facial expression?
ReplyDeleteBeing hopeless is the feeling that can describe your situation when the options to live and become a successful person has completely disappeared. When there is no way to continue on and to improve the situations that are making your life a nightmare, the only option you have is to wait, maybe for a miracle when you had lost the faith to accomplish the goals that you have done because to hope can be the last or the only probability in your new life. Try to survive because there is not more options, trying to breath because even yourself is already owned to those you gave birth, including almost all the days of your existence that you have shared with them. This feeling make you feel desperate and like if you are completely alone living in this world, later on it becomes to permanent sadness. Those adjectives and thoughts can perfectly describe to me the mother's facial expression in the picture, her face express me that she is disappointed of life and to wait nothing to happen is the only option that the historical and personal context has gave her.
How would you describe the mother’s facial expression?
ReplyDeleteOur facial expressions almost hundred percent of the time reveals to the world exactly how we feel. In the picture the mother’s facial expression tells us that she looks worried, stressed, sad and maybe even frustrated. She also looks like she’s struggling with something and going over it in her head. These feelings can be because of a social-economic crisis maybe due to her situation, because by the look of it, the women in the picture is poor and has two small children to feed. This picture exposes to the world how many feelings can be describe with one facial expression.
How would you describe the mother's facial expression?
ReplyDeleteI describe her facial expression as depressed but at the same time as hopeful. Depressed because she is worried about something that is happening in her life, about her kids, in how she is losing everything in a blink of an eye, it makes her so sad because mothers are supposed to give her kids strength and support, that's not actually happening. Also she is thinking about a way to get out of that situation . In other way as i said she looks a little hopeful because of her childrens she has to be strong enough and get up to get some results, cause you can't change a thing doing always the same, you have to move on and look in a different horizon, it will help her to solve her problems.
How would you describe the mother’s facial expression?
ReplyDeleteThe picture aboved show us a mother with 3 children, two on her shoulders and one in her arm. The way people look at can express how a person feels about something. The look of a person can tell us a lot without the need of saying something. Going back to the photo, Her look give us a clue of how she might be feeling, maybe lonely, hungry, desperate, sad or even forget, maybe because of the situation she might be experimenting.