On March 17, 1930 a construction marathon began to build the tallest skyscraper on the planet. The erecting of a building that was even before its termination determined to become an American landmark was of course an interesting working field for contemporary photographers like Alfred Stieglitz and Lewis Wickes Hine. But while the first pictured the gigantic buildings in New York, the latter took a different focus in his work. In the same way as in his earlier photographs of immigrants entering Ellis Island and children working day and night in American factories, Hine focused on the people in his later work. In his book“Men at Work: Photographic Studies of Modern Men and Machines”he portrayed the workers constructing the Empire State Building and he looked behind the walls and steel beams to honor the people who made such an architectural wonder possible.
Other aspects of his late project nevertheless appear contradictory comparing them to his early landmarks of social photography. In the“Men at Work”pictures he praises the modern worker as the centre of a new technologic, clearly capitalist era, neglecting the social reality of the Great Depression. How can Lewis Hine suddenly promote capitalism, without showing the other side of the medal - the unemployed, the socially excluded, the poor? For what reason did he not continue to portray the under-dogs of the system, picturing broke farmers in the Mid-West or unemployed workers lining up on New York’s streets, but instead started promotion work for big capitalist like John Jakob Raskob? This paper will look at four pictures from Hine’s“Men at Work”series on the construction of the Empire State Building taken during a six-month-period between 1930 and 1931. It will interpret them in their social context, trying to point out the intention of the photographer. Hine’s portraits will be discussed looking for reasons for the change of focus in his work. To conclude the paper, the question will be asked if this late series is really a break in his work or not rather a completion of an overall task. The photographs discussed in this paper were taken from Lewis Hine’s book“Men at Work: Studies of Modern Men and Machines”and the pictorial “The Empire State Building” edited by Claudine Weber-Hof.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. The Construction of the Empire State Building and the Great Depression
3. Interpretation of Representative Pictures From Lewis Hine’s “Men at Work” Series
3.1 “Icarus Atop Empire State Building”
3.2 “Guiding a Beam”
3.3 “Portrait of an Unidentified Worker Holding a Bucket”
3.4 ”Taking a Break High Above Manhattan”
4. Conclusion
Research Objective and Core Topics
This paper examines Lewis Hine’s "Men at Work" photographic series, specifically focusing on how his portrayal of construction workers during the building of the Empire State Building aligns with or departs from his earlier social documentary work, while analyzing the socio-political context of the Great Depression.
- Visual analysis of representative photographs from the "Men at Work" series.
- The portrayal of the construction worker as a heroic American archetype.
- The contrast between Hine's glorification of labor and the reality of the Great Depression.
- The role of cultural codes and visual aesthetics in shaping public perception.
- Hine’s transition from social reformist photography to the celebration of industrial progress.
Excerpt from the Book
3.2 Guiding a Beam
In “Guiding a Beam”, like in the last picture, a male construction worker is portrayed. There are certain similarities that can be noticed between the two pictures. Like “The Sky Boy”, this photograph is in a horizontal shape. A man is again looking up, holding a rope in his hands. But while in the last picture, the figure was pictured rather small and the background extensively to be able to show the viewer the worker’s dangerous position high above Manhattan, the person in “Guiding a Beam” is depicted throughout the whole format, taking up the majority of the photograph. In the background, a street of houses, two other ropes and part of a building site can be noticed. Everything is totally blurred and turns the viewer’s attention to the worker – the only interest in the image.
The construction worker portrayed is probably in his mid-thirties. He is depicted so sharply that even small details like for example the creases on his forehead can be made out by the viewer. The figure is positioned in the right-mid part of the picture. Only the upper part of his body is shown. He is wearing a white undershirt on which a sweat stain can be made out on his breast. Additionally sweat drops can be noticed on his forehead pointing out that the man is doing physically hard work. The employee wears gloves while he is pulling on a rope. Through this act, his immense arm muscles stand out and strike the viewer’s eyes. This indicates that the man is doing physically strenuous tasks regularly and has through his work already built up massive muscles.
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: This chapter introduces Lewis Hine’s work on the Empire State Building and poses the central question of whether this series represents a break from his earlier social photography or a continuation of his mission.
2. The Construction of the Empire State Building and the Great Depression: This section provides the historical context of the skyscraper’s construction amid the economic collapse of the 1930s, highlighting the contrast between the building's prestige and the workers' precarious reality.
3. Interpretation of Representative Pictures From Lewis Hine’s “Men at Work” Series: This core chapter analyzes four specific photographs, examining how Hine utilizes visual cues to frame the worker as a hero and an embodiment of industrial progress.
4. Conclusion: The concluding chapter summarizes the argument that Hine’s work acts as a form of "aesthetic education," while acknowledging the criticism that his romanticized view of labor often obscured the social hardships of the era.
Keywords
Lewis Hine, Men at Work, Empire State Building, Great Depression, Social Photography, Construction Workers, Industrialization, Masculinity, Visual Culture, Aesthetic Education, American Icon, Labor, Heroism, Documentary Photography.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this academic paper?
The paper explores Lewis Hine's photographic series "Men at Work" and evaluates how his imagery of Empire State Building construction workers functions as a representation of social and industrial ideals during the Great Depression.
What are the central themes discussed in the study?
The study centers on themes of labor heroism, industrial progress, the construction of masculinity, the role of the photographer as a mediator of reality, and the dichotomy between aesthetic beauty and socio-economic hardship.
What is the main research question?
The paper investigates whether the "Men at Work" series marks a fundamental shift away from Hine’s earlier commitment to social reform or if it can be understood as a logical adaptation to the changing political climate of the 1930s.
Which methodology does the author employ?
The author uses a qualitative visual analysis approach, interpreting selected photographs from the series within their social and historical context while referencing secondary literature on visual culture and American history.
What does the main body of the work cover?
The main body consists of an analysis of the historical construction context of the Empire State Building and a detailed, piece-by-piece interpretation of four key photographs from the series.
How is Hine's work characterized in this text?
The paper characterizes Hine’s work as a blend of social documentation and artistic promotion, noting that while he successfully gave an identity to laborers, he also arguably fell short of capturing the full reality of the Great Depression.
How does the paper relate Hine's work to the "Icarus" myth?
The paper discusses how the title "Icarus Atop Empire State Building" serves as both a literal descriptor of height and a metaphorical warning about overreaching, which Hine later distanced himself from by titling the work "The Sky Boy".
How does the author interpret the photograph "Taking a Break High Above Manhattan"?
This photograph is interpreted as a significant departure from the rest of the series because it introduces a depressive, solitary atmosphere that contrasts with the active, heroic nature of the other images.
- Quote paper
- Janine Schildt (Author), 2005, Men at Work: Lewis Hine's Photographs of the Workers who Constructed the Empire State Building, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/67182
