Reading for March 8

Revolutionary Spaces: Photographs of Working-Class Women by Esther Bubley 1940-1943
Author(s): Jacqueline Ellis
Source: Feminist Review, No. 53, Speaking Out: Researching and Representing Women
(Summer, 1996), pp. 74-94
Published by: Palgrave Macmillan Journals
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1395662 .
Accessed: 13/08/2011 12:34
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Revolutionary Spaces:
Photographs of Working-class Women by Esther Bubley
1940-1943
Jacqueline
Ellis
Abstract
This articlehad severalpurposes.First,I wantedto highlightthe work of
ffi
EstherBubley,an Americanphotographer
whose documentary
work for the
^- FarmSecurityAdministration
and the Officeof WarInformation
in the early
X
1940sis largelyunknown.Second,I wantedto showhow herimagescomplicated
^^
and undermined
the traditionalthemesof Depressionera photography
in the
^
UnitedStates.Third,by lookingat her imagesof women,my intentionwas to
3
revealhow she workedagainstdepictionsof femininityduringthe Depression,
and in confrontation
with one-dimensional
portrayalsof womenas America
enteredthe SecondWorldWar.In conclusion,I contendthat Bubley'simages
z
werefundamentally
portrayals
of working-class
femininityrepresented
as being
>
an individual- ratherthan a symbolic- experience.Most specifically
in the
imagesI have examined,Bubleydeconstructs
an ideologicalimageof female
working-class
identitywhichwas centralto documentary
photography
in 1930s
America.For example,unlikein photographs
by DorotheaLange,Bubleydid
not portrayworking-class
women as metaphoricsites of passiveendurance
which would eventuallylead to the rejuvenation
of Americannationalism.
Rather,she showedworking-class
womento be potentiallysubversivein the
ways they definedthemselvesagainstthe legacyof 1930s photography
and in
oppositionto the ideologicalimpositionsof wartimepropaganda.
As a result,
Bubley'simagesof working-class
womenwaitingin barsfor lonelysoldiers,or
lookingfor a futurebeyondthe confinesof their boardinghouse existences
whileremainingoutsidethe middle-class
boundaries
definedby capitalistconsumerism,
set out a pictorialfoundationfor working-class
femaleidentitywhich
existsbeyondthe contextin whichthe photographs
weretaken.Consequently,
Bubley's
workhighlights
individual
self-identity,
personalempowerment
andselfconsciousdesirein working-class
womenwhichwas - andstillis - confinedand
repressedby economicdisadvantage
and systematicmarginalization
from an
- American
societydefinedfroma middle-class
pointof view.
*
*.
|
74
Keywords
Bubley;photography;
workingclass;women;American;
1940s
arrived,
traversing
three
quarters
ofacentury,
attheimage
ofachild
.................................................
Of>
Classand contemplation
Startingfromher latestimage,takenthe summerbeforeher death. . .
O
I
,°,,
courseI was thenlosingher twiceover,in her finalfatigueand in her first o
photograph,
for me the last, but it was also at this momentthateverything *
turnedaroundandI discovered
her.
z
(Barthes,
1984:71)
>
The house seemedempty.'Else,Ben,'she calledsoftly.No-one answered. *
Slowly,she pulledherselfup and edgingalong the wall, pushedopen the lz
doorintothe frontroom.It lay in shadow,andout of an old enlargedphoto,
a veryyoungAnnawith a babyWill in her armssmileddown upon her.
Herfacecontorted.Quicklysheclosedthe door.
(Olsen,1980:65)
In CameraLucida,RolandBarthesfollowsan emotional,photographic
trackin an attemptto come to termswith his mother'sdeath.In so
doing,he identifiestwo elementswhichforman individualreactionto a
particular
image.'Studium'
connotesa generalculturalresponse,a provocationof historicalsympathy,a politicalcommitment,
or an enthusiasm
for a certainevent or particularset of poses. Withinthis what one
mightcall a rationalresponse,Barthesidentifiesthe conceptof 'punctum',a reactionhe describesas the element'whichrisesfromthe scene,
shootsout of it likean arrowandpierces'(Barthes,1984:26). Punctum
disturbscontemplation
with an injectionof irrationality,
an interruption
whichdesignatesthe unfixableemotionof the image.Punctumsignifies
thatelementin photography
whichmadeDorotheaLangeuncomfortable
with the classification
of her work as factualor merelydocumentary:
'thatmagicalpower. . . that makespeoplelook at it againand again
andfindnewtruthswitheachlooking'(Ohrn,1980:35).
As Barthessearchedthroughmanyphotographs
of his motherhis general
responsewas one of studium.He recognized
herreproduced
imagebuthe
'missedher being'- the elementof punctum(Barthes,1984:66). At last
in one photograph,takenwhen she was a childin a wintergardenin
1898, Barthesfound what, for him, was the 'truth'of his mother's
image.He does not reproducethe wintergardenpicturein Camera |
Lucida becausethe elementof punctumexistsonly for himself,as the
son of the younggirl portrayednow dead.For the generalreadership,
Barthes'motherexistsonly in the realmof studiumwhere,he concludes,
therecan be 'no wound'(Barthes,1984:73).
The secondpassagequotedat the beginningof this article,fromTillie
Olsen'snovelYonnondio: From the Thirties, servesas a usefulillustration 1 755
I^
a
X
^
3
=
X
-
of Barthes'theory,wideninghis view beyondindividualreactionsto
specificimagesintoa responsewhichidentifiesthe relationship
of photographyto capitalistideologyand its prescriptive
notionsof class,race
andgender.In the novel,Anna,a working-class
motherof fourchildren,
iS strugglingto survivethe Depression.Her existencehas become
engulfedby community
pressures
andthe socialdemandsof motherhood.
ForAnna,motherhoodis a day-to-daytortuousstrugglefor survivalin
whichanysenseof self-identity
has beendestroyed.Heronlyrecognition
of herindividuality
comeswhenshe collapsesfromexhaustion,andconsequentlyhas timefor self-reflection.
Sheis remindedof the demanding
necessitiesof her role by a photographof herselfas a youngwoman
with one of her babies.The immediacyof this image- its elementof
punctum- forcesherto resumethe arduoustaskof makinga betterlife
for herchildren,'to whichherbeingwas bound'(Olsen,1980:271).
In contrast,as Bartheslooks at his mother'spicture,he embarkson a
long,complicated
reverieof self-signification.
His privileged
classposition
is madeclearin oppositionto Anna,whosebriefsenseof self is suffocatedas she facesher reproduced
image.Forher,the act of recognition
initiatesa negativeresponse.Anna'seconomiccircumstances
and the
demandsof motherhoodengulfthe driftof consciousness
whichshould
contextualize
punctuminto studium.Lookingat the picture,she is not
remindedof happiertimes;she does not see herchild'ssmileor herown
youth;she does not respondwith nostalgia,or regretthat time has
takenits toll and her hopes have not been fulfilled.In this sense the
photograph,and Anna'srelationship
to it, do not commentdirectlyon
the politicaland economiccircumstances
that haveensuredher oppression. Instead,the photographenshrinesAnna'sinsignificance.
It is a
manifestdenialof her need for self-expression
and self-definition.
As
such, the photographdoes not engageAnna.In her deprivedmaterial
contextshe is repelledby the elementof punctum.Withinthe politicsof
representation
she does not exist. As a working-class
womanshe can
onlyeverbe a subject.
Working-class subjects/working-class viewers
76 s
I hesitateto drawtoo emphatica conclusionfromthiscomparison,
since
Yonnondiois a work of fictionand thereforeno less problematic
as a
formof representation
thana photograph.
However,I feelit is legitimate
to useOlsen'sworkas a startingpointsinceit providesa rareinstanceof
a working-class
womanin the positionof viewerratherthanas framed
subject(in this case she is both). It is the absenceof this perspective
whichis mostpertinentto the followingdiscussion,sincethe majorityof
imagestakenfor the UnitedStatesgovernment
between1934 and 1945
underthe auspicesof the FarmSecurityAdministration
(FSA)and,later, O
the Of:fice
of WarInformation
(OWI),depictedworking-class
peopleand o
the socialand economicupheavalswhichhavecome to representtheir >
.
.
.
su rlectlvlty.
0
O
Thephotographs
takenfor theFSA/OWI
offera comprehensive
surveyof ,,
povertyduringthe Depressionera and the earlyyearsof the Second <-l
WorldWar.In imagesmade by DorotheaLange,for example,the ->
desperatecircumstances
of thoseportrayedweremadeveryclear.In the S
liberalcontextof FranklinRoosevelt'sNew Deal, it would have been S
difficultfor a viewer of one of the more than 200,000 FSA/OWI
photographs
to arguethat migrantworkersand tenantfarmersdid not
requirefinancialassistance.Publicsympathywas elicitedby imagesdisplayedin officialreports,politicalsurveysand photographic
magazines
such as Life and Look. Popularconcernwas subsequently
voiced,and
the Americanpeople who were not the focus of FSA/OWI images
responded- politically,financiallyand with a senseof moralresponsibility- to the needthatwas displayedbeforethem.Thecentralmessage
containedin documentary
photographsof this periodwas clear:that
povertywas not an acceptablepart of Americansocietyand therefore
mustbe eased- if not eradicated
- for the mutualbenefitof both the
subjectand the viewerof FSA/OWIimages.In this way government
photographyseemedto serve a practicalpurposein the 1930s and
1940s,not onlyin makingvisibleandattempting
to resolvetheproblems
of economicand socialdeprivation,
but also in apparently
bridgingthe
psychological
distancebetweenpovertyand securitythroughthe visual
dynamicof documentary
photography.
In so doing,FDR's government
could claim that even despitethe factualevidencerepresented
in the
images,the economicdifferencebetweensubjectandviewerwas secondary to the metaphoricequalityevokedby the images.The construction
of this ideologicalfacadeis particularly
relevantto the way in which
working-class
identitywas represented
to a middle-class
audience.
This iniquitousconcentrationaway from the working-classsubject
suggeststhat FSA/OWI
documentary
represented
a realisticportrayalof
the sufferingandendurance
of its framedsubjects,therebyjustifyingthe
needfor intervention
of the exactkindprovidedby a sociallyconcerned,
liberalgovernment.
In this scenario,subjectpositionsareclearlydefined.
Working-class
identity- a tenantfarmeror a migrantworker,preferably
with additionaltoothlesswife and scrawnychildren- was depicted,in
WilliamStott'swords,as 'helpless,guiltless. . . and thoughhelpless,yet
unvanquished
by the implacablewrath of nature'(Stott, 1986: 58).
In this respect,the appealto a middle-class
audiencewas unsubtle,and
was designedtO arouseenoughguilt and pity to inducea sufficiently
7,'7
charitablepartingwith tax dollarson the subject'sbehalf.At the same
time,middle-class
superiority
- bothmoraland intellectual
- was reconfirmedin FSAphotography.
The photographsdo not show anger,nor
do they presenta threatto theirintendedaudience.Instead,the photographs imply a simple gratitudeat Christiangenerositywhich is
expressedas a nalveassurancethatCIwill workfor fivedollarsa month
if I haveto'. In thisrespect,as MarenStangesuggests,'thedocumentary
mode testifiedboth to the existenceof painfulsocial facts and the
reformers'expertisein amelioratingthem, thus reassuringa liberal
middle-classthat social oversightwas both its duty and its right'
(Stange,1992:XIII).
Despitehaving the appearanceof being a vastly detailed,although
simplistically
conceivedsurveyof Americanlife in the 1930s and early
1940s,FSAJOWI
photography
performed
a distinctpurpose.Theimages
wereintendedto reflectthe politicalethosof theNew Deal,andin particularthe policiesof the FarmSecurityAdministration.
The ideological
impetuswhichunderscored
the documentary
projectwas promotedby
Roy Stryker,the head of the historicalsectionwhich controlledFSA
images,who was in turn a prodigyof RexfordTugwellwho had
conceivedthe FSAas beinga way of replanningand reorganizing
the
agricultural
economy.Bothmensoughtto advancethe ideaof a technocratic,capitalisteconomywhichwould eliminateclass distinctionsand
so createsocialequilibrium.
'Economic
efficiency'
and'technical
progress'
were the watchwordsof FSApolicy,phraseswhichdisplayedan ideological directionthat ironicallyunderminedthe agrarianmythologies
capturedin the photographs.
Thispoliticalincongruity
was transformed
intoideologicalclarity,whichwas madeconcretein thewaysFSAphotographswere used to illustratethe intent,and thus the success,of FSA
.
.
po lcles.
78
3
Sincethe 1930s and 1940s,the FSA/OWI
filehas cometo representone
of the most comprehensive
documentsever accumulatedin American
history.At the sametime, however,the imageshave becomedetached
from their perniciousideologicalcontext and have been transformed
into a powerfullynationalistic
culturaliconography.
As a result,the file
itself- held in a specialcollectionat the Libraryof Congress,whereit
might be viewed by anyone with a slegitimateresearchpurpose'has effectivelyreconstituted
historicalfact into mythologizednarrative.
Consequently,
the personalizedhistoriesof the working-classsubjects
portrayedhave been appropriated
into configurations
of middle-class
aestheticism,
wherethe photographer's
socialpurposehas beendevalued
and the positionof the framedsubjecthas been, in MarthaRosler's
words, 'shaded over into combinationsof exoticism,tourism and
voyeurism,
psychologism
andmetaphysics,
trophyhuntingandcareerism' OX
(Rosler,1989:306).
o
In these ways, FSAIOWIdocumentary
photography,examinedin its O
contemporary
contextandfromthe perspective
of historicnostalgiaand X
artisticsentimentality,
has repressed
working-class
identitywithinframed z
subjecthood.Certainly,in passing,working-class
subjectivityhas been 2
freedwithinthe contextof representation;
butthispoliticallyenlightened view of a carefullycontextualized
imagedoes not constitutematerial >
equality.Social and economicpower are essentialrequirements
for z
physicaland psychological
freedomwhichare,in turn,fundamental
for
developinga senseof self-recognition,
creativity,politicalempowerment
and the abilityto see oneself beyondrepresentation.
A commentby
JohnBerger,readin comparisonwith anotherpassagefromYonnondio,
illustrates
thispoint:
Onecanlie on the groundandlook up at the almostinfinitenumberof stars
in the nightsky,butin orderto tell storiesaboutthosestarstheyneedto be
seen as constellations.
The invisiblelines whichconnectthem need to be
assumed.
(Berger
andMohr 1982:284)
sStars,'she beganswhatare they now?Splintersoff the moon I've heardit
said.>
He laughedthenhe toldherhowthestarsseemeddancing. . . theGreekswho
hadnamedthesestarsandhadfoundin theirshapesimagesof whatwas on
earthbelow.... Shescarcelylistened... onlythe auraof them,of timelessness, of vastness,of eternalthingsthat had been beforeher and wouldbe
afterherremained,
andenteredintoherwitha greathurtandlonging.
(Olsen,1980:190)
ForJohnBergerthe starsare a metaphorfor the way photographs
are
perceivedby the viewer.He speaksparticularly
of how imagesbecome
resonantwhen the viewerreactsto the framedsubjectwith his or her
experienceknowledgeand imagination.The viewer'spositionis not
fixedandin dialecticalinteraction
with the image;bothbecomeopento
a pluralityof meaningsand interpretations.
The multiplicity
of possible
meaningsavailable,both to the imageand to the viewer'sperception,
removesthe needfor an explanatory
text whichwouldnarrowthe fluidity of interpretation,
and imposea repressivenarrativeon the photograph. This interactiveprocess betweenimage and viewer connotes
Berger's
sinvisible
lines'betweenstars.
In his argumentBergerstates that the existenceof the invisiblelines
smustbe assumed'.However,beforethis assumptioncan be madeit is
759
>l
=
2
importantto be awareof the distancebetweenthestars;thatis, thespace
betweenimageandviewerwhichsignifiesa materialsocialcontext.Carol
Schlosshas notedthat Cthespacebetweenwho is framedand the one
"- who framesis a placeof politicalaction'(Schloss,1987:256). Making
3
the connectionis thereforean ongoingpoliticalprocesswhich,like any
:-. otherin capitalistsociety,is constrainedand manipulated
by issuesof
class,raceandgender.
z
-
Usingthe passagefrom Yonnondio,the inadequacyof Berger'stheory
is madeclear.Maizie,the 6-year-olddaughterof Anna,is told how indi* vidualstarsarepartof constellations
whichhelpexplainthe meaningof
heridentity.However,hereconomiccircumstances
andlackof education
meanthat she is unableto makethe connectionfor herself.Instead,she
can feelonlystheaura'of thewords,anda senseof 'greathurtandlonging' at her inabilityto articulatetheirmeaningfor herself.In this sense,
Maizie'sinabilityto recognizeand understand
the literalmeaningof the
constellationsnot only underminesBerger'stheory,but also ironicizes
WalterBenjamin's
suggestionthat photographyis an implicitlyradical
artisticmediumwhich,in its endlessreproductions
of images,removes
the exclusive'aura'of middle-classaestheticismthrougha processof
mass consumption.In Maizie'scase the dialecticprocessis not so
straightforward.
Her desireis not to achievea sense of collectively
formedrevolutionary
or proletarianconsciousness,but to be able to
comprehendculturalmeaningfor herself,as an individualfrom a
working-class
background.
Thusthe tragedyof Maizie'spointof viewin
relationto theconstellations
is givenpoliticalsignificance
beyondBerger's
andBenjamin's
theoriesin that- as an individual
working-class
girl- the
possibilityof self-signification
on her own termscannoteven enterher
consciousness.
-
|
80 1
My aim in the followingpages is to examinephotographsby Esther
Bubley,a relativelyunknownphotographer
who workedforthehistorical
sectionof the FarmSecurityAdministration
and for the Officeof War
Information
between1941 and 1943. My investigation
beginswith the
view that theoreticaldiscoursesconcerningself-signification
and the
deconstruction
of ideologicalnarratives
throughan intricateexamination
of specificcontextsis unhelpfulunlessprefacedwith an understanding
of the materialcircumstances
necessaryto freeoneselffromthe impositions of representation,
and so be able to take up the positionof the
viewer.Furthermore,
I wantto placeherphotographs
withinthe context
of the politicalimperatives
thatbeginthistext;thatis, the needto establish a basis of representation
againstwhichworking-class
womencan
identifythemselvesand consequently
findthe meansfor self-expression.
In contrastwithothergovernment-sponsored
photographs
of thisperiod, Io
Bubleyconstructed
herimagesin waysthatallowedhersubjectsto 'speak o
for themselves',challengingthe social and materialcontextsin which >
theywereplaced.As such,herimagesportraya disconnection
andisola- O
tion fromsocietywhichis disturbingto the viewer,and whichdistorts fi
the impositionof a conventionallymiddle-classnarrativeon to the zz
image.Acceptedpoints of interactionbetweensubjectand viewerare ,
subsequently
undermined
and rearranged
in a way that allows for the possibilityof a working-class
point of view.At the sametime,subjecthoodis not fixedwithinthe framesinceherphotographs
provokea reac- z
tion whichis uncomfortable,
unsureand necessarily
incomplete.In these
ways,herphotographs
do not sit easilywithpopularandgovernmentally
sanctionednotionsof working-class
femaleexperiencein officialimages,
nor are they includedwithinthe mythologizedaestheticism
whichhas
come to denotethe visualhistoryof the 1930s and early 1940s. As a
result,Bubley'simagesare able to releaseworking-class
identityfrom
framedsubjecthood,and subsequentlyare able to provide a space
withinthe imagewhichallowsfor the possibilityof a self-significating
processbegunfromthe subject's pointof view.
The Greyhound bus trip
EstherBubleywas bornin 1921 in Superior,
Wisconsin,whereherfather
was the managerof an automobilesupplyshop. Beforebecominga
photographer
she studiedpaintingat the MinneapolisSchoolof Design.
In 1940, aged19, she movedto New YorkCitywhereshe got a temporary studiojob with Vogue. In 1941 she movedto Washington,
DC and
beganwork as a microfilmer
in the NationalArchives.Laterthat year
she was hiredas a laboratorytechnicianby Roy Stryker(Strykerand
Wood,1973:55).
In theserespects,EstherBubley'sphotographic
apprenticeship
was very
differentfromthatof otherwomenwho had workedfor the FSAin the
1930s. Bubley'ssmall town, lower-middle-class
backgroundpales in
comparisonwith DorotheaLange'sintrepiddocumentaryadventures
acrossthe country.Bubleyalso did not have the advantageof Marion
Post Wolcott'sbohemianeducationin GreenwichVillageand Vienna.
Furthermore,
unlikeher femalepredecessors,
Bubley'spreFSA photographicexperiencewas in commercialand fashionphotographyrather
than in sociallyconcerneddocumentation,
like Lange,or with photojournalism,
likePostWolcott.Bubleydid not evenhavea driver'slicence.
Her photographic
projectsfor the FSAwere thereforeconfinedto the
Washington,
DC areaand the outskirtsof Virginia.Whenshe travelled,
it was not for thousandsof milesthroughthe Southernstatessolo with
811
>@
2
^
°
,F
2
-
an axe in hertrunk;nor was it acrossthe Midwestand Californiaconsumedby a visionto reconstruct
a socialandeconomichistoryof agriculturalproductionin the UnitedStates.Instead,EstherBubleytravelled
fromWashington,
DC to Memphison an overcrowded
Greyhound
bus.
Herviewof Americain the 1940swas not of an unobscured
roadheading west seenfromthe roof of hercar,but lookingawkwardlythrough
the busdriver'swindscreen.
Shestoodin the aisle,precariously
balanced
as the bus movedalong,tryingnot to get in the driver'sway. Consequently,Bubley'svisionwas a littlelopsided,herviewnot quitesquarely
framed.
The apparentlack of clarity in Bubley'sapproachappearedto be
balancedby the subjectmatterof FSA/OWIphotography
in the 1940s
which,accordingto Stryker,was decidedlyless complicatedthan had
been the case in the previousdecade.As Americaenteredthe Second
WorldWarthe focusof government
photography
shiftedfromimagesof
ruralpovertyandDepressioneraeconomicsas exemplified
in FSAwork,
to a concentration
of the nation'swealthand on the wideravailability
of consumerproducts.As a result,imagesmadeunderthe auspicesof
the Officeof WarInformation
depicteda populationwhichappearedto
be homogeneously
middleclass.Thischangein directionis highlighted
by Roy Stryker's
commentsto RussellLeeandArthurRothstein:
We must have at once:picturesof men, women and childrenwho appearas if
they reallybelievein the USA. Get people with a little spirit.Too many in our
file now paint the US as an old people'shome, and that just about everyoneis
too old to work and too malnourishedto care much about what happens.
(Strykerand Wood, 1973: 88)
82
Thematically,
Bubley'sphotographic
projectsfor the FSA/OWIreflected
Stryker's
outlookandalso fittedthe governmentsdemandsfor a positive
wartimeimageof mutualsacrificeandabsolutefaithin American
victory.
To this end, as well as the Greyhoundbus trip whichwas intendedto
show the effectivityof gasolineand rubberrationing,Bubleyphotographedcrowdsgatheredat patrioticparadesto celebrateMemorial
Day and cheeringcivil defencevolunteers.She also documentedhigh
school studentssupportingtheir colleaguesas they joined the armed
forces,and as they studiedto preparefor the brightfuturewhichwas
assuredby the guaranteeof Americanvictory.Reflectingthis patriotic
purpose,Bubley'simagescapturedsoldiersand theirsweethearts
visiting
nationalmonuments,enshriningheterosexuallove and family values
alongsidethe symbolicconstancyof Americanhistory.In the sameway,
Bubley'sphotographs
of womenlivingin boardinghouseswhileworking
for the wareffortalso emphasized
wartimereification
of the familyunit.
Even while their husbands,sons, brothersand fianceswere absent,
visionsof home and familywere maintainedpsychologically
through
each woman'ssupportfor another.Unlike other FSAIOWIphotographers,however,the apparentlybenignnatureof these imageswas
radicallytransformed
by Bubley'sabilityto criticallyexaminethe narratives of wartimerepresentation,
and at the same time deconstructthe
impositionsof its conclusionsaboutwhatofficiallyconstitutedworkingclassidentityin the early1940s. In this respect,Bubleyutilizedgovernment propagandamessagesin which patriotism,nationalismand the
inevitability
of victoryweresymbolizedin imagesof whitemiddle-class
families,usuallywith a perfectlydomesticated,
yet stronglycommitted
womanat theircentres.Bubleyironicizedsuch portrayalsby showing
how those-marginalized
from OWIcampaigns- working-class
women
and non-whitepeople- interactedor, mostsignificantly,
undermined
the
facade of governmentpropagandato revealits economicand racial
prejudices.
The followinganalysisreflectsBubley'sapproach.AlthoughI
have concentrated
here on her imagesof white working-class
women,
my investigationcould be equally applied to her photographsof
African-Americans.
O
o
>
O
X
z
c)
3
z
Bubley'sGreyhound
bustripbeganin September
1943. Thedistanceshe
covered,beginningin New York City and endingin Memphis,was
reminiscent
of the geographicscopeof an FSAassignment.
The various
subjectsof herimagesalsoreflectedthegeneralfocusof 1930sdocumentary photography.She photographed
women with their children,old
peopleandpeopleof differentraces.Sincetheywereall crampedtogether
on the bus, she also depictedthe circumstances
of theireconomicdisadvantage.Shephotographed
peopleperforming
meniallabour:unloading baggageand cleaningthe insideof the bus. Most obviouslyin line
with FSAtradition,however,Bubleymade imagesof a populationon
the move- dozensof peoplecrowdedtogetheron the bus,hundredsof
thempushedtogetherin stationwaitingrooms,restroomsand on platforms.Her photographs
of the physicalityof humanmovementinferred
a senseof visualassociationwiththe migrantpopulationsphotographed
in the 1930s. This portrayalof a fundamentalhistoricalcontinuity
betweenthe 1940s travellersand the-class and race divisionsof the
previousdecadeundermined
the wartimeimageof optimisticrenewal
andnationalunity(Dieckmann,
1989: 55-61).
Within her visual revisionof wartimeimagery,Bubleyrepresented
working-class
subjects- particularly
women- in waysthatwereradically
differentfrompreviousFSAphotographers.
Forexample,in one photographshe portraysa womancleaningthe interiorof a bus (Figure1).
The woman'sbody is constrictedby the tight frameof the image,and
833
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*_
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k1_
w
_
w
:F
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8
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Figure
duced
1 'Woman
from
the
l
_l
cleaning
collections
the interior
of a Greyhound
of the Library
of Congress
a
bus.'
Repro-
she is alsophysicallyconfinedby the seatson eithersideof the aisle.She
pushesthemopin frontof heras shemovestowardsthe backof the bus.
Fromthe viewer'sperspective
the womanseemsto be recedinginto the
darkbackground,
whileher mop and the seatsshe has cleanedappear
huge in comparisonwith her ever decreasingbody size. In effect,the
womanis graduallydisappearing
intothe centreof the photograph.
This
senseof imminentabsenceis compounded
in relationto Bubley'sother
photographsin the Greyhoundbus series:of the stationfull of people
waitingto get on the bus, or of passengersfillingthe bus whilecollectivelyparticipating
in the wartimeconservation
of fuel and rubber.By
takingthis photographin such a context,Bubleyhas establishedthe
essentialbut inevitablyabsent presenceof a working-classwoman
withinofficialnarrativesof wartimeinformation.
At the sametime,as
Bubleyfocuseson the lightfallingon the woman'sarms,she highlights
the way the womanpushesthe mop with a certainamountof strength
and purpose.Thereis a definiteforwardthrustwhichcounterbalances Os
herbackwardmovement.In capturingthisoppositional
dynamic,Bubley o
has enabledthe working-class
womanto quietlysubvertand invadethe >
physicalspaceoccupiedby the patrioticpassengers,
a contextwhichwas O
fundamental
to documentary
photography
in the 1940s.
*
Bubley'ssubversion
of OWIimperatives
was extendedin herradicalpor- o
trayal of working-classsubjectsin relationto FSA tradition.Unlike o'
photographs
by DorotheaLangeor MarionPostWolcott,who routinely *
photographed
povertyin wayswhichwerereassuringly
otherthanthose l B
of the viewer,EstherBubleyusedthe unifyingrhetoricaldevicesof wartimeinformation
ironicallyto show the personalized
proximityof racial
injusticeand economicinequityto every individualAmerican.Thus
oppressionand injusticein Bubley'sGreyhoundbus imagesare not
visiblyreceivedas exclusive'whitesonly'signpostsor as depictionsof
'theothersideof the tracks',but as beingfundamentally
intrinsicto the
actualbodies,psychological
sensibilities
and intimatedesiresof boththe
working-class
subjectandthe middle-class
viewer.
The Sea Grillbar
Bubleyused the enclosedspaceof the Greyhoundbus to highlightthe
ways in whichwhite,middle-class
- particularly
female- bodieswere
closelyguarded,politicallyprotectedspacesin Americanculture.This
point was extendedwithin the context of OWI imagessince white,
middle-class
femaleidentitybecamesymbolicof the war'spurpose.Men
foughtto protectAmericafor theirwives,mothersand daughters,
while
womenremainedat home,loyal and chaste,so that the mencould be
welcomedhomein a satisfyingfashion.To this end punitivelegislation
wasenactedin orderto reinforcethissuggestively
gendered,economically
andraciallyspecificrhetoric.
KarenAndersonhas notedthat a 'renewedvigilanceon femalesexual
conduct'becamean integralpart of officialinformationin the 1940s
(Anderson,1981: 140). Her studyconcentrates
on a wartimehousing
projectin Seattle,wherewomenwereroutinelyarrestedfor prostitution
underthe auspicesof the SocialProtectionDivisionof the Officeof
CommunityWar Services.The divisionled a campaignto searchfor
'incipientand confirmedsex delinquents'
(Anderson,1981: 104). Their
powersextendedto a broaddefinitionof sexualmisconductapplying
only to women,whichincluded'promiscuity:
i.e. sexualactivitywithout sincereemotionalcontent;or endangering
moralsafetyor health:
i.e. frequentingbars, loiteringetc., withouta male escort'(Anderson,
|
8S5
^
=
1981:105).Thepenalties
forsuchcrimesincluded
mandatory
testingfor
sexuallytransmitted
diseasesand a jail sentencewhileresultswere
s
awaited,whichin somecasescouldbe up to fivedays.Anderson
con^
cludesthatas a result,between1940and1944,therewasa 95 percent
¢
increase
in womencharged
with'moralviolations',
andin Seattlealone
,-l threehundred
womenweredetained
everymonth.
-
ul
Thereis a clearclassbiasin suchmoraljudgements.
Thesentences
given
to womenarrested
formoraldelinquency
required
themto 'work,livea
cleanand temperate
life, keepgood company,
and stay awayfrom
undesirable
places'(Anderson,
1981:107).Themiddle-class
standards
whichunderscore
suchstatements
areemphasized
in Anderson's
study,
whenonenotesthatthethreatof moraldeclinein Seattlewas blamed
on the influxof migrantworkerswho livedin poverty-stricken
war
housing
projects.
A comment
madebythePoliceChiefin a Seattlenewspapermakesthispointclear:'Theareais floodedwithwarworking
families
whohavecomeherefromtheMidwest.
Parents
arebusyworking and the kidsrunwild.The youngfeliowsaremakingtoo much
money'(Anderson,
1981:97). His statement
was compounded
in an
editorial
whichexpressed
the trepidation
of themiddle-class
suburbof
Dentontowardsthe housingproject,whichtheyperceived
as beinga
veritable
hotbedof moraldeclineandmisbehaviour:
'Theyoungpeople
[in the housingproject]hadaccessto liquorandthrowpromiscuous
partieswhichwouldonlyadmitgirlsif theyhadsex withall themen'
(Anderson,
1981:10).
Suchfearswerefuelledbyanunderlying
needforestablished
middle-class
communities
to maintain
a psychological
classhierarchy
withina city
whichwassupposed
to beunitedbythewareffort.Thelegislative
effect
of suchmiddle-class
fearsensuredthe victimization
of working-class
people- especially
women- underthe government's
moralitypolice.
Onemightpresumethat it was not only working-class
womenwho
tookadvantage
of theirhusbands'
absences,
yetit wastheworking-class
housingprojects
thatweremostvigorously
policedandit wasworkingclasswomenwhowereleftout of theloyal,hardworking,
efficient
and
capableimageof womenduringthewar.Thusofficially
morallyreprehensiblefemalesexualexpression
was effectively
transposed
on to the
bodiesof working-class
women.
86
Reflecting
thisprocess,in March1943EstherBubleytooka seriesof
photographs
at The Sea Grill,a restaurant
bar in Washington,
DC.
Shemadeportraits
of the barmanand the waitresses
as well as the
manycustomers
- soldiersand civilians- but she focusedon one
womanin particular.
Theyoungwomanis firstphotographed
alone,
Ie i : } : S i. *
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for a pickup.'
alone in the Sea Grill waiting
Figure 2 'Girl sitting
of the Library of Congress.
Reproduced
from the collections
and thenlaterlaughingand drinkingwith two soldiers.The firstphotoby a caption,selected
graphof the womanon her own is accompanied
|
by Bubleyfromthe youngwoman'sown words:
alone,mostlywithanothergirl,we drink
I comehereprettyoften,sometimes
beer,and talk,and of coursewe keepour eyesopen.You'dbe surprisedat
how often nice lonesomesoldiersask Sue, the waitress,to introducethem
to us.
(Fisher,1987:95)
Bubleyalso addedthe additionalcaption,'Girlsittingalone in the Sea
Grillwaitingfor a pickup'(Figure2). Thevieweris not givena senseof
the woman'sage, maritalstatus,backgroundor moralstandards,but
fromherown wordsit is at leastclearthatshe intendsto meeta soldier
as she doeson frequentnights,andeasehis lonelinessby showinghima
good time.Whateverthe mightimplysexually,the womanis certainly
makingherselfavailablefor the attentionof 'nicelonesomesoldiers'.
|
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In termsof government
sponsoredrepresentation
then,thiswomanis on
the edge of what was definedas socialacceptability.
Indeed,in certain
statesshe wouldhavebrokenlawsdesignedto maintainthe moralunity
of Americanfamilylife. As such,even if her presencein the Sea Grill
bar was not illegalin the Districtof Columbia,it was certainlymade
illegitimate
by the rhetoricof government
information.
Nevertheless,
the
way that Bubleyhas constructedthe photographdetractsfrom any
suggestionof seedinessor moralsuspicion.The atmosphere
is certainly
moody,but not in any way disturbing.Lightfallson the woman'sface,
makingher seem beautiful,almostfragile.This feelingis enhancedby
her look away from the camera,perhapsin an expressionof selfpossessionS
butalso of self-protection.
Herlegsarecrossedandherarms
foldedin front of her, placingher beyondthe reachof the camera's
gaze - and consequentlythe viewer'smoraljudgement.Her apparent
obliviousness
is compounded
whenone notesthat thereis a man'sface
behindthe woman,lookingthroughthe windowfromthe street,through
the blindscoveringthe window,over the woman'sheadand, with one
eye, apparently
noticingand confrontingthe camera.Evenfromsucha
distance,the man seemsto be moreawareof beinglookedat thanthe
woman.Thiscontrastis ironicsincefromherstatedintentionthe viewer
mightassumethat the womanwantsto be lookedat, that she has put
herselfon display,and that she consequently
deserveswhateveraction
or judgement
sucha displaymightinvite.Conversely,
in the construction
and lightingof the photograph,Bubleyhas undercutthe powerof the
viewer'sgaze and as a resulthas revealedthe pejorativeclass bias of
officialrepresentation.
To this end, Bubleyhas usedher trainingin fine
art andcommercial
photography
to complicatethe woman'sself-identity
beyondpredesignated
socialandpoliticalmeaning.
Bubley'sperspectiveis clearlyevocativeof EdwardHopper'spainting
'Automat'(1927). Thereis the same sense of disaffectionand social
detachment.
The womanis waitingalone in the cornerof the booth,
whilethe restof the seatingareatakesup almostone-thirdof the frame.
Thedistancebetweenherhandbagandcrumplednapkinleavesan available spacefor somebody,but the senseof isolationis so profoundthat
one gets the feelingthat the absencewill neverbe filled.Indeed,when
the photographis interpretedusing the Hopperesquevisual language
evokedby Bubley,the fleetingattachments
made by this womaneach
nightbecomeinfusedwitha senseof pathosandnihilism.In contrastto
1930s applicationsof paintingto documentary
photography,
wherea
working-class
subject'sidentitywas submergedbeneaththe impositions
I of artisticmisrepresentation,
Bubleyhas used Hopper'swork to reveal
S I an emotionaldepthto this womanwhich the viewermightotherwise
-
88
refuseFurthermore,
by coveringtheimagewiththe metaphysical
auraof O
a paintingsBubleyhas enabledthe woman- who is real- to play the o
partof one of Hopper'sfemalesubjects.Consequently,
her realidentity
is neverexposedto the viewer.
lO
The conscioussense of unrealityand disguisein this photographis °
extendedfurtherby Bubley.Althoughthe womans face is brightlylit, o
she is evidentlysittingamongshadows.This,togetherwithherpose,her , >
appearance
and the way she holds her cigarette,is consistentwith the conventionsof a filmnoir heroine.In this guise,the womanis able to transgress
socialcodesand acceptablespacesthatwouldhaveotherwise
placedherin politicizedsexualjeopardy.
Followingthenarrative
progress
of the filmiclanguageher appearance
evokes,she is placedbeyondthe
reachof middle-class
wartimemythology.Likemost of Bubley'sphotographicsubjees, she can exist betweenrepressivewartimenarratives
andbeyondthe conventions
of documentary
photography.
Theboardinghouse
EstherBubleyexploresthe radicalspacenegotiatedin the construction
of
theSeaGrillbarphotograph
furtherin a seriesof imagestakenat Arlington farms,a residencefor womenwho workedfor the US government,
and at a boardinghouse in Washington,DC. The majorityof the
womenlivingin boardinghousesandresidencehallswerelowermiddleclassand working-class
womenwho had cometo the city in searchof
well-paidclericaljobs, as well as for excitementand romanceonly
dreamedof in theirruraland midwestern
homes.Oftenthey wouldbe
disappointed
and returnhome.Otherwisetheywouldstay,strugglingto
survivedepressed
livingconditionsandexploitative
worksituations.
Likemigrantfamiliesin FSAimagesof the 1930s,thesewomenformeda
constantstreamof expendablelabour.Unliketheircounterparts
of the
previousdecade,however,officiallysponsoredrepresentations
showed
thesewomenas aspiringto an appearance
of middle-class
sophistication
which,in reality,provedverydifficultto maintain.In Bubley'sboarding Z
house images,the processthroughwhich working-classidentitywas
constructed
in this contextis exploredMoresignificanthoweveris her
portrayalof the way thesewomenlivedbeyondmiddle-class
conventions
of acceptability
and appearance,and createdtheir own individualized
sensesof identityandpersonalself-expression.
In thefirstinstance,Bubleywas acutelyawarethatin the 1940sfemininity was portrayedas beingfundamentally
acquisitiveand thusconstitutive of materialprivilege.An individualwomanhad to be ableto 'buy'
a suitablymiddle-classappearancein orderto be consideredsocially
89
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3 'Girls window
Reprodueed
from
the
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of Congress.
1943.'
acceptable.In 1940s systemsof representation,
this was not simplya
matterof acceptingthe vestigesof bourgeoissnobbery,but of beingable
to participate
fullyin an economic,socialandpoliticalcontextin which
middle-class
values,beliefsand appearances
were institutionalized
and
disseminated
by the government.
The connectionbetweeneconomicexclusionand the politicizationof
middle-class
appearance
is madeclearin one image,'Girlswindowshopping,Washington,
DC, December1943' (Figure3). In this photograph,
threeyoung women are gatheredarounda shop window lookingat
clothesdisplayedon a femalemannequin.Significantly,
they are physically separatedfrom the objectsof their collectivedesireby a glass
barrier.Sincethey do not have the meanswhich would allow them
entry,Bubleyhas establishedan economicdivisionin this photograph.
From this position, she has also constructedan elementof social
hierarchy
betweenthe consumeritemson displayin the windowandthe
threewomenwho remainoutside.The mannequin
is positionedclose to
the foregroundof the frame,making'her'appearmuchlargerthanthe
real women,who standto the left of the photograph's
centre.Almost
two-thirdsof the frameis takenup by the windowdisplay.Moreover,
the mannequin's
left arm is poised as if to move towardsthe three
women.In contrast,the womenstandclose together,almosthuddled,
theirhandscrossedin frontof themselves,
eyesloweredwithoutmeeting
the gaze frozenon the mannequin.This oppositionendowsthe welldressedmannequin
with morephysicalspace,moresenseof movement,
moreheight,even more self-possession
than the real women.What is
more, the mannequinis bettergroomed,more attractivelymade up,
and is dressedwith moresophistication
than the threewomenoutside.
The mannequinrepresents
the manifestation
of the middle-class
appearancedesiredby the women,but becauseof theireconomicpositionthey
are marginalized
from the materialand social power over which the
mannequln
preslces.
None the less,becauseBubleyhas chosento portrayeconomicexclusion
in the guiseof a storemannequin,
she is ableto showthe artificiality
of
middle-class
identity.It is this senseof insubstantiality
whichallowsfor
the possibilityof imitation,infiltrationand possiblesubversionby the
economically
underprivileged
women.Reflectingthis possibility,it is not
clearwhetherBubleyhas takenthe photographfrominsideor outside
the shop window.The reflectionfromthe glasscuts acrossthe viewer's
perspective
and placesthe womenin the artificialspaceoccupiedby the
mannequin.
Fromthis pointof view,the realwomenare empoweredin
relationto the mannequin;
they now possessthe abilityto deceivethe
viewer'sgaze.It is this power- to defythe viewerand retaina senseof
self-identity
despiteideologicallyinscribednotionsof classpositionand
aspiration- that is most radicaland importantin Bubley'sboarding
house images. Her approachremovesher subjectsfrom the visual
expectations
of traditionaldocumentary
photography
and also fromthe
narrativeprocessof wartimeimageryand politics.In so doing,Bubley
capturesthe self-identified
subjectiveprocessesof the boardinghouse
women,and simultaneously
complicatesthe visualconnectionbetween
the viewerandthe depictedsubject.Thewomenin Bubley'sphotographs
constructtheirown personalnarratives,
despitetheireconomicdisadvantages, in such a way that their subjecthoodexcludesthe middle-class
viewenThe complexityof this construction
is madeclearin one image,
an apparentlysimpleportraitof a young womanlookingout of her
window,staringat a largehouseacrossthe street(Figure4). Thephotograph is captioned'Boardersoften speculateon the identityof the
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speculate
often
4 'Boarders
Figure
like to think
They
the street.
across
the house
line.'
steamship
American
of a South
president
of Congress.
of the Library
the collections
of
of the owner
to the
it belongs
from
Reproduced
ownerof the houseacrossthe street.Theyliketo thinkit belongsto the
steamshipline'.
presidentof a SouthAmerican
9
2
In this photograph,the woman who is the subjectof the image is
portrayedin silhouetteto the far rightof herframe.Onlyherheadand
armsarevisibleto the viewer.To the left of the picturethereare a few
- whichpresumably
articles- a lamp,a bottleof wateranda newspaper
belongto the woman.At the top left- and right-handcornersof the
photographthereare some lacy curtains.But the centralfocus of the
by treesand a
imageis the largehouseoutsidethe window,surrounded
pillarentrance
a
stone
with
huge,
is
certainly
lawn.Thehouse
manicured
and a sweepingdrivewaywith a shinyblackcar parkedoutside.The
and
viewermakesthe connectionbetweenthe captionof the photograph
the housewhlch1S the centraltocus.Tnls pomt 1S vltal.WnatDuDley
has photographed
is not the woman,or herroom,or the bighousewith
the car outsideit, but the daydreamed
thoughtsof the womanlooking
out of the window,or at leastBubley'simaginings
of whatthe woman's
thoughtsmightbe. In eithercase, Bubleyhas given a mentalprocess
physical shape and depictedthe self-consciousness
of the woman
Certainly,the caption offers the viewer some idea about what the
womanis thinking,but Bubley'sconstruction
is morecomplicatedthan
that.The vieweris providedwith the materialevidenceof the woman's
speculationabout the big house, but the directionof the gaze leads
beyondthe house,and followsthe roadout of the frameof the image
This sense of unfixablemovementis compoundedby the car which,
fromthe viewer'sperspective,
is only half visiblethroughthe trees,but
which,to thewoman,mustbe unobscured.
Thetrainof reverieis accelerated in equationwith the car;consequently
alongwith it, the woman's
self-conscious
individuality
is allowedto exist beyondthe frameof the
image.
In her bookLet Us Now PraiseFamous Women,AndreaFisherlabelled
the elementof psychologicaldynamismin Bubley'swork 'the drift of
reverie'(Fisher,1987: 15). I feel this analysisto be unconsciousof the
radicalmateriality
of Bubley'sphotographs,
whichI havetriedto convey
in my analysis.In comparison
with otherFSAand OWIphotographers,
Bubleywas uniquelyableto representeconomically
oppressedpeoplein
ways that are potentiallyliberatingand implicitlyrevolutionary.
In the
1940s,she was ableto workbetweenthe officialimagesof narratives
of
wartimerepresentation.
In so doing, she exposedthe class and race
biases which were centralto the rhetoricalsuccess of governmentsponsoredinformation.
At the sametime,she was ableto createa space
in her photographs
for the self-identified
presenceof her subjects- but
she did not exposethem.Sheallowedthemto createtheirown subjecthood,to disguisethemselves,
to hide,to confusethe viewer.Mostsignificantly,however,the peopleshe portrayedin her imagesdo not remain
withinthe frame.Theyarepresentedin a waythatdemandsa dialectical
processof narrativeconstructionbetweensubjectand viewerfrom the
subjectvspoint of view. As a result,Bubleyradicallycomplicatednot
only whatit meantto be the subjectof a documentary
photograph,but
also whatit meantpolitically,sociallyand subjectively
to be a workingclasswomanin the 1940s- and beyond.
93
.
Note
^
u
2
JacquelineEllis completedher Ph.D. in AmericanStudies at the Universityof
,^,, Hull. She is now living in the United Stateswhere she is hoping to publishher
o
book, Silent Witnesses:Representationsof Working-classWomen in America
3
1933-1 945.
-
z
u
.
References
I
11
-
-1-
-
-
ANDERSON,Karen(1981) WartimeWomen:Sex Roles) FamilyRelationsand
the Status of WomenDuring World War Two Westport,CT: GreenwoodPress.
BARTHES,Roland (1984) CameraLucidaLondon:Flamingo.
BERGER,John and MOHR, Jean (1982) Another Way of TellingNew York:
Pantheon.
BOLTON,Richard(1989) editor The Contestof Meaning:CriticalHistoriesof
PhotographyCambridgeMA: MIT Press.
DECKMANN, Katherine(1989) 'A nation of zombies:governmentfiles contain
the extraordinaryunpublishedphotographsthat EstherBubleytook on one long
bus ride acrossAmerica'in Art in America(November1989).
FISHER,Andrea (1987) Let Us Now Praise Famous Women:WomenPhotographersfor the US Government1935 to 1945 London:Pandora.
OHRN, KarinBecker (1980) Dorothea Lange and the DocumentaryTradition
Baton Rouge:LouisianaStateUniversityPress.
OLSEN,Tillie (1980) Yonnondio:from the ThirtiesLondon:Virago.
ROSLER,Martha (1989) 'in around and afterthoughts(on documentaryphotography)'in Bolton editor.
SCHLOSS,Carol (1987) In VisibleLight:Photographyand the AmericanWriter
184Q-1940 New York:Oxford UniversityPress.
STANGE,Maren (1992) Symbolsof Ideal Life:SocialDocumentaryPhotography
in AmericaNew York:CambridgeUniversityPress.
STOTT, William(1986) DocumentaryExpressionand ThirtiesAmericaAustin:
Universityof TexasPress.
STRYKER,Roy and WOOD, Nancy (1973) In This Proud Land: America
1935-1943, as seen in the FSA PhotographsNew York: New York Graphic
woclety.
94