Welder with his Wife and Baby, Atlas Steel Casting (Working People series) 1978 - 1979

Milton Rogovin’s photograph captures a welder with his wife and baby, printed on paper to a modest size. It is one of many in his series “Working People.” The image is carefully composed, a domestic interior that feels both posed and natural. The floral curtain acts almost like a painting in its own right. I love the way the background patterns almost swallow the figures. But it’s the details in the foreground that catch my eye, like the little vase of flowers or the kitsch cameo picture hanging on the wall. There is almost a sort of collage effect that comes together. There is a stillness to the image, almost a weight, especially in the serious faces of the parents, which reminds me of August Sander. It leaves me wondering about the stories, the lives, and the labor that are not immediately visible. It feels so poignant to witness them together in this one frame.