This app shows over 1500 photographs taken by Ben Shahn for the Farm Security Administration (FSA) from 1935 to 1941.
You can view photos in an grid (with complete Library of Congress captions), one-by-one, and as a slideshow. You can also order prints.
Shahn was more than just a remarkably talented Farm Security Administration (FSA) photographer—he helped shape the FSAs whole approach. As the Library of Congresss essay on Shahn recounts:
"Once, Shahn recalled in 1964, he had explained to [FSA head] Stryker that a certain photograph of soil erosion would not have a strong impact on viewers. Look Roy, Shahn said, youre not going to move anybody with this eroded soil--but the effect this eroded soil has on a kid who looks starved, this is going to move people."
Shahn was born in Lithuania in 1898 and emigrated to New York at the age of 6. He started his career as a commercial lithographer, and had become an established muralist and artist by the time he joined the FSA in 1935. He learned the basics of photography from Walker Evans, with whom he shared a studio. While Shahn never considered the camera as more than a note-taking device for his paintings, theres ample evidence in the photos shown by this app that he was an excellent photographer.
Shahn believed that his art should be used to advance his political and social agenda, a view that fit perfectly with the spirit of the FSA under Roy Stryker.
Ive arranged the photos here by location. Most of the photos are smaller than the iPad screen, but still large enough to enjoy and study. About 300 of them are larger, so Ive repeated them in the Large Photos group so you can view just them if you want.
Start with a slideshow of the Large Photos group (a few are shown as screenshots), and youll be convinced that Ben Shahns FSA photos are indeed exceptional.
