Speaker shares insights on influential photographer Lewis Hine
For information:
Lisa Voss
(920) 236-5211
Speaker shares insights on influential photographer Lewis Hine
Aug. 25, 2009 – His compelling photos of America’s children at work helped to shed light on child labor conditions in this country and now a program at the Oshkosh Public Library provides a glimpse of the man behind the camera.
Dr. Susan Nuernberg presents Lewis Hine: Oshkosh’s Great American Photographer, Sept. 1 at 7 p.m., at the Oshkosh Public Library. Nuernberg, a Professor of English at the University of Wisconsin- Oshkosh, chronicles the life of Oshkosh native and renowned social documentary photographer Lewis Hine. Hine's work is currently included in the Paine Art Center exhibit, Seeing Ourselves: Masterpieces of American Photography from George Eastman House Collections. The exhibit runs through Oct. 11.
Hine is best known for his photos of child laborers in the early 1900s, taken for the National Child Labor Committee. Nuernberg describes him as an artist and a humanist who had great compassion for the people he photographed. Hine engaged his subjects, asking questions and developing a rapport with them. “As a result, his photos do not document degradation and despair, but are compelling images of the aspiration and dreams of individual human beings in the midst of stark poverty,” she explains.
The subject matter that Hine chose for his work also makes it noteworthy. “Not the rich and famous, but the ordinary, hard-working people who came to America in the early 1900s, looking for a better life,” Nuernberg explains. “These are the ancestors of many Wisconsin residents.”
Most historic accounts focus on Hine’s photography, with little information about his first 26 years living in Oshkosh – the years before he ever picked up a camera in New York City. But Nuernberg’s presentation points out some of the early influences that shaped Hine’s work. “The Oshkosh years are important because it was here in Oshkosh that he developed his social conscience and that is what distinguishes him from other social documentary photographers of the time,” she says.
In addition to his photos of children at work, Hine documented piece work in the New York tenements, the building of the Empire State Building, the work of the American Red Cross in Eastern Europe during World War I and the arrival of immigrants at Ellis Island.
The program is presented in partnership with the Winnebago County Historical and Archaeological Society.
For more information about this free program, visit www.oshkoshpubliclibrary.org or
call 236-5205.
Lisa Voss
(920) 236-5211
Speaker shares insights on influential photographer Lewis Hine
Aug. 25, 2009 – His compelling photos of America’s children at work helped to shed light on child labor conditions in this country and now a program at the Oshkosh Public Library provides a glimpse of the man behind the camera.
Dr. Susan Nuernberg presents Lewis Hine: Oshkosh’s Great American Photographer, Sept. 1 at 7 p.m., at the Oshkosh Public Library. Nuernberg, a Professor of English at the University of Wisconsin- Oshkosh, chronicles the life of Oshkosh native and renowned social documentary photographer Lewis Hine. Hine's work is currently included in the Paine Art Center exhibit, Seeing Ourselves: Masterpieces of American Photography from George Eastman House Collections. The exhibit runs through Oct. 11.
Hine is best known for his photos of child laborers in the early 1900s, taken for the National Child Labor Committee. Nuernberg describes him as an artist and a humanist who had great compassion for the people he photographed. Hine engaged his subjects, asking questions and developing a rapport with them. “As a result, his photos do not document degradation and despair, but are compelling images of the aspiration and dreams of individual human beings in the midst of stark poverty,” she explains.
The subject matter that Hine chose for his work also makes it noteworthy. “Not the rich and famous, but the ordinary, hard-working people who came to America in the early 1900s, looking for a better life,” Nuernberg explains. “These are the ancestors of many Wisconsin residents.”
Most historic accounts focus on Hine’s photography, with little information about his first 26 years living in Oshkosh – the years before he ever picked up a camera in New York City. But Nuernberg’s presentation points out some of the early influences that shaped Hine’s work. “The Oshkosh years are important because it was here in Oshkosh that he developed his social conscience and that is what distinguishes him from other social documentary photographers of the time,” she says.
In addition to his photos of children at work, Hine documented piece work in the New York tenements, the building of the Empire State Building, the work of the American Red Cross in Eastern Europe during World War I and the arrival of immigrants at Ellis Island.
The program is presented in partnership with the Winnebago County Historical and Archaeological Society.
For more information about this free program, visit www.oshkoshpubliclibrary.org or
call 236-5205.
posted by Cheryl Hentz at 11:40 PM
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