My tutor suggested that I go to the Barbican this summer to an Exhibition of monochrome work by Dorothea Lange, one of the founding figures of photojournalism and Vanessa Winship who according to Black and White Photography is “the unsung chronicler of our time.”  I think this visit will help me in a number of ways in terms of producing my assessed and non-assessed work for this module.  I believe it will be really helpful for me to see the work of other monochrome photographers and to study some of Lange’s lesser known works to gain inspiration for my own black and white imagery.  For example, Death of a Valley is a documentary about the disappearance of a small Californian rural town and Ireland was Lange’s first work outside her native America.  The Exhibition includes a chronology of work including vintage prints and letters which should give a comprehensive insight into both the person, the photographer and her work.  Of course, most of us remember Lange for her portrait of Florence Owens Thompson with her children better known as The Migrant Mother:

I am not familiar with Winship’s work but will be interested to see how her work compares with the politically-charged work of Lange.  According to Black and White Photography Winship is:

“A remarkable artist who uses photography to connect with the world and its people in a meaningful way, Winship works slowly, allowing a theme to emerge and take form over time.  She often lives in the regions she photographs and her engagement with her subjects is brief but powerful.”

Here is an image by Winship which I picked out from the internet:

A link from The Guardian reviews the Exhibition and the exhibitors:

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2018/jun/20/dorothea-lange-vanessa-winship-review-barbican-london

References

Bentley, M (June 2018), On Show: Double Bill, The GMC Group

O’Hagan, S (20 June 2018, Dorothea Lange/Vanessa Winship review – unmissable images of the dispossessed, The Guardian