First National Bank, South Dakota 1941

Dorothea Lange made this photograph of the First National Bank in South Dakota using black and white film. Look at the textures in the image, the rough brickwork, and then the smooth concrete of the sidewalk. The lighting is flat which brings everything into focus. A sign has been placed in front of the building, urging people to donate aluminum for defense, which gives a sense of what the image is about. The composition of the scene, with the lamp post on the right, and the sign on the left, feels well balanced, yet unsettling. A dentist’s office sits above the bank, which adds to the strangeness, and draws attention to the mundane reality of the moment in time. Lange was a documentary photographer, and in some ways, her work reminds me of Walker Evans. They both capture the everyday in a way that makes you think about the bigger picture. With this piece, Lange is asking us to consider what we value and how we protect it. There's no single answer, and that's what makes it so interesting.