Maquette, page 12 1935 - 1944

Nathan Lerner made this maquette sometime in the 1930s, likely in Chicago, and it combines two photographs on a single page. The top image shows a man looking through a window, obscured by foliage, whilst the bottom image shows a street scene from above. The juxtaposition of images here can be seen in light of the broader social context of the American documentary photography movement. Under the influence of European modernist photography and cinema, artists began using photography to reflect the realities of modern life. The top image could be a study of the effects of light and reflection, while the bottom image is a study of urban life in America, at this time blighted by the Great Depression. To understand this work better we might research the history of photography as a tool for social reform, the New Bauhaus school where Lerner studied, and compare his approach to those of his contemporaries such as Walker Evans. This would further reveal the contingent nature of photographic truth and meaning.