Discuss how effective Walker Evans has been in using a landscape image to communicate a point of view. Can this photograph be considered as Art? Give two reasons to support your answer.
Make sure you include the image in your blog post with credit in the citation. When you analyze the photo, look for deeper meaning beyond the literal description of the Photo.
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Bethlehem, Graveyard and Steel Mill by Walker Evans 1935 © Walker Evans Archive, 1994,
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
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There are many different, literal things you can see in this photography by Walker Evans, such as the graveyard, steel mill, and the close and distant city. If you look more into the landscape, though, you can see there is a much deeper meaning to it. I think that the image is actually about the hardships of the depression in the 1930's, around the time that the photographer took it. The graveyard gives representation to the gloominess of the times, and may even signify the excess deaths of the time, while the mill shows that people are still doing their best to work and get by.
Walker Evans was very effective with his point of view for this photo. The cross in the very front of the photograph shows the very surface of the town in the distance, and how difficult times, and maybe even death, shadows over the people there. Including the steel mill and power lines also adds the effect that the difficult times do not just reflect on people's homes, but their jobs and entire lives.
I do think this photograph can be considered Art because it took a lot of skill and creativity to capture. While to some it might seem like someone could simply point-and-shoot a scene and take a magnificent photo, that is not the case. It takes a lot of depth to capture an image that is exactly what you want. It is also in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, which means it must be considered Art in the eyes of the museum.
I do think this photograph can be considered Art because it took a lot of skill and creativity to capture. While to some it might seem like someone could simply point-and-shoot a scene and take a magnificent photo, that is not the case. It takes a lot of depth to capture an image that is exactly what you want. It is also in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, which means it must be considered Art in the eyes of the museum.
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