Analysis and study of the reflection of American social conditions on Berenice Abbott's "Changing New York" Photo Collection

Authors

1 Master's student in photography, department of photography, art faculty, Eqbal Lahoory higher education institute, Mashhad, Iran,

2 Assistant professor, department of photography, art faculty Eqbal Lahoory higher education institute Mashhad, Iran.

Abstract

Berenice Abbott is an American photographer. She experimented many different styles and genres of photography, during her life. Portrait photography, urban documentary photography and scientific photography are among the most important ones. She is one of the few photographers who have experienced such diversity in photography. From 1929 to 1939, she documented New York City by her photos in a straight (pure) manner. This project was named "New York in change". The outcome of this ten-year project is more than 300 photos captured by a large format camera named “View Camera”, which have been published in a book with the same title. In this regard, this question is mentioned that, what effect did the social conditions of the US in that period of time, have on Berenice Abbott and how was it reflected in her photos? The purpose of this research is to study and analyze the photos of the "Changing New York" photo collection, from the social point of view and to comprehend the social-economic changes during the era that these photos were captured. The way of collecting the needed information has been the library method and the research manner of the current research is based on the descriptive-analytical method. At the beginning of this article, Berenice Abbott, her style and type of photography and the social-economic conditions of the years she photographed New York City, are mentioned. Next, the "Changing New York" photo project is explained thoroughly, and at the end, this photo collection is analyzed from a social perspective. The research discoveries show that Berenice Abbott was able to reflect her ideas through her photos in this specific photo collection. The ideas which were influenced by social conditions of that period of time. The audience can uptake the reflected social and economic conditions in the photos, very well. This is the ultimate goal of a photographerو communicating with the audience through their photos.

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Visual Art Studies
Volume 1, Issue 1
July 2024
Pages 77-88

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