Untitled, Shenango Ingot Molds (Working People series) 1978 - 1981

This photograph by Milton Rogovin, part of his 'Working People' series, captures a steel worker named Joe Deliman at the Shenango Ingot Mold Company in 1978. Imagine Rogovin there, making this image, trying to find a way to get at something honest in what he sees. Joe looks tired, but he’s also got a kind of quiet dignity, don't you think? He leans against these massive, broken forms, the remnants of his labor. What were they like when whole? It’s not just a portrait; it's about how we, as people, are shaped and worn down by work. You can see the grit and the dust, the texture of his clothes, the way the light catches his glasses. It’s all there to tell a story about making steel, about the body, and about the kind of work that exhausts you. It's a conversation, a story of human endeavor and endurance captured in a single, powerful frame.