I was first introduced to Van Der Zee's photographs while looking through a book on the art of the Harlem Renaissance. There was something about his photographs that had me drawn. At the moment, I had not known what it was until now. It is the essence of the photographs, the contradictions, the fabricated nostalgia. I love Van Der Zee because of his ability to juxtapose American society with glamorized nuance.
The photograph I most enjoy is A Couple Wearing Raccoon Coats with a Cadillac. This photograph embodies every part of the fabricated nostalgia Van Der Zee is known for-- the shiny black cadillac and long, fur jackets representing black America during the 1930's is in sharp contrast with the society that was truly prevalant during that era. This is a "return" to a highly glamorized, sensationalized, and mostly unexperienced home.
Photographs by Sebastiao Salgado speak of lamenting a passing era. His collection of photographs from Sahel: The End of the Road speak of the horrific living qualities during a drought in the 1980's that swept through central Africa. The pictures are haunting. The figures are mere skeletons. The photographs speak of the horrors that accompany a society when they are stripped of everything.... literally everything. It is difficult to look at the photographs without feeling ill. For this reason, I do not believe it was Salgado's intent to glamorize this passing era.
Similar to Lorna Simpson, I believe he was using his photographs as a projector in which to voice the hardship and to lay to rest an era that so many have already forgotten.
