CONTEMPORARY REFLECTIONS

The exhibit Changing Views highlights four of today’s contemporary photographers who follow in the tradition of Dorothea Lange. The four reflected on how Lange’s life and work inspired, motivated or shaped their own work as contemporary photographers. Here are their observations:

Nīa MacKnight — image courtesy of Mark Comon

Nīa MacKnight (Lakota / Anishinaabe / Scottish) — Torrance, California
“Dorothea Lange’s photographs highlight the raw beauty of humanity. Her approach to photography was not focused on compositional perfection, it was instead guided by empathy and curiosity. My use of the camera as a tool in understanding others is guided by the same forces, and I believe that photographers often photograph the people that they seek to connect with the most. To live in a time and place where one can express themselves is a privilege, and her photographs capture the desire we share as photographers to create a space for others to be seen.”

Mary Inhea Kang – image courtesy of Miranda Barnes

Mary Inhea Kang — Brooklyn, New York / Austin, Texas
“Dorothea Lange’s works largely center on emotions, empathy, connection, and collaboration over aesthetics. That is also what I hope to embody in my works. Everything else, such as aesthetics — although important — can be secondary.”

Josué Rivas — image courtesy of Josué Rivas

Josué Rivas (Mexica / Otomí) — Portland, Oregon
“Now every person with a cell phone or an app can document something and even have documentation that can be pivotal for history. I do think that with all that access and all that capacity that we are building, there comes a lot of responsibility. I think that Dorothea Lange had a sensitivity for that — she was ahead of her time to a certain degree. One image or even a set of images cannot change the world. But if we make them with intention, maybe those images change something within ourselves.”

Wildstyle Paschall — image courtesy of Wildstyle Paschall

Wildstyle Paschall — Indianapolis, Indiana
“I very much follow in the footsteps of Dorothea Lange’s brand of photography, as she had little interest in classifying her photography as art but made them to effect social change. I’m very much the same way as a photographer. I always have a purpose when I make images, and a set of actions I want the viewers to take after seeing them. I truly believe the pen is mightier than the sword, but a picture is worth a thousand words.”

Image from previous page:
Dorothea Lange, Resettlement Administration photographer, in California, 1936
Farm Security Administration – Office of War Information Photograph Collection (Library of Congress)

Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared in the February 2023 issue of Storyteller magazine.

Watch a video interview with Wildstyle Paschall on WFYI Public Media in Indianapolis, at this link.