Photography as a tool for social reform is Stange's topic. But though the power of the pictures she has selected is clear, she explains their value as social motivators in a complex, even leaden prose apparently intended for an academic audience. As a result, the relation of the images of human suffering produced by Jacob Riis, Lewis Hine, Walker Evans, Dorothea Lange, Ben Shahn, Russell Lee, et al. to viewers' response never comes alive. A pity, for this subject deserves a wider circle of readers who would expect the tight connection between disturbing image and collective response to be broadened rather than concealed in dense text. For academic libraries.
- David Bryant, Belleville
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review
'Whether one agrees or not with the main thrust of Stange's argument, in its detailed and insightful discussion of the relationship between reform ideology and images, between social imagery and photojournalism, between real and ideal, Symbols of Ideal Life is an important contribution to our understanding of the evolution of the documentary style in photography.' Art Journal
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