Dimensions 4 7/16 x 6 7/16 in. (11.27 x 16.35 cm) (image)5 x 6 15/16 in. (12.7 x 17.62 cm) (sheet)
This photograph, made by Lewis Hine sometime in the early twentieth century, captures two barefoot boys standing on a city sidewalk. The grey scale creates a flattened effect. I wonder about Hine's process, his careful selection of the angle, and his dedication to capturing the boys' expressions. The photograph’s texture seems almost grainy, reminiscent of charcoal drawings. You can see all of the details: the dirt on their feet, the bicycle leaning against the lamppost, the newspapers in their hands. What were they thinking at that moment? How did they feel about posing for the photograph? I’m thinking about the act of bearing witness. Hine, like other photographers of his time, understood photography as a medium for social change. Like a painter with a brush, Hine used his camera to reveal hidden truths. We're all in conversation, you know?
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Lewis Hine was a documentary photographer, educator, and social reformer. Trained in sociology, Hine taught at the progressive Ethical Culture School in New York City before turning his attention to photography. As a photographer for the National Child Labor Committee (NCLC), Hine traveled the United States to document children in unsafe working conditions in factories, mines, fields, and city streets. Over ten years, he created an indelible record of the human cost of an exploitative labor market, documenting the tired faces of children at the end of their shifts, or even children mutilated by industrial machinery. These disturbing photographs were used in publications and presentations created by Hine and the NCLC, and ultimately promoted sweeping policy changes designed to protect children.
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