Entertainment, TV, Celebrity, Culture

Follow @2Paragraphs
  • Daily Edition
    • Barack_ObamaBarack Obama Warns Not To Separate Black History, “We’re The Enslaved People”
    • Bernie SandersBernie Sanders Says This “Greedy” Enemy Unites Even Divided Americans
    • Barack_ObamaBarack Obama Links To Tyre Nichols $1 Million Fund, Speaks Out On Tragedy
  • Business
    • Elon_MuskMusk, Tesla Passed Over As Netflix EV of Choice, GM Steps Up Streamer Profile
    • Ph.D. student Omar Samara of UC Davis with an agrivoltaic farmAgrivoltaic Farming Trend Surges, Success Stories Around The Globe
    • Dwayne_Johnson by Eva Rinaldi [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia CommonsDwayne Johnson Knocks On His Wooden Head After $100 Million Annual Sales
  • Culture
    • Elizabeth banksElizabeth Banks Jumps Off Cliff in Strapless Bikini, ‘Cocaine Bear’ Exclusive BTS
    • Madelyn Cline, Outer Banks, photo: Curtis Baker/NetflixMadelyn Cline Poses Topless In Sheer Hosiery, “Undeniable Force of Nature”
    • Serena Williams 2020 US OpenSerena Williams Finally Speaks On Will Smith: “I’ve Been There”
  • Sports
    • JJ Watt by Jeffrey Beall [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia CommonsJJ Watt Trolls Tom Brady On NFL Retirement, How To Spend His Money
    • Kyrie_IrvingKyrie Irving Says He Still Believes, But “We Can’t Just Be One Of Those Teams”
    • Tom_BradyTom Brady Plans To Torment Haters By Never Going Away
  • Food
    • Jennifer GarnerJennifer Garner Reveals Her Favorite ‘Dry January’ Treat at Home
    • Dark ChocolateAre Dark Chocolate Fears Overblown? Cadmium, California, and “Ouch, Ouch” Disease
    • Wendy's restaurantWendy’s New Riddle Stumps Social Media — “Chili in Philly?”
  • Interviews
    • Cranberries_in_a_bucketDo Cranberries Really Help UTI? A Doctor Answers With New Evidence
    • Lauren Lovett The Speech Ring InventorVideo: The Speech Ring Inventor on Overcoming Fear of Public Speaking
    • Surge first out gay superhero in the moviesFirst Out Gay Movie Superhero Surge Speaks on Humor, Responsibility
  • Cool Stuff
    • Ice-T on LAW & ORDER: SVU (Virginia Sherwood/NBC)Ice-T’s Wife Flaunts Brand New Range Rover With Front Seat Refrigerator
    • Bergdorf Goodman 5th Avenue store in NYCChristian Louboutin Reveals 3.5″ Spring Mules With ‘Vibrant Red’ Nail Polish
    • Cardi_BCardi B Says She Hit Jackpot With $30,000 Chanel Slot Machine Bag
  • People
    • Bradley_Cooper,Bradley Cooper’s Net Worth Wealth Soars, $100 Million Plus
    • Barbara CorcoranWho Is Barbara Corcoran’s FBI Agent, Football Star Husband?
    • Israel Del ToroWatch ESPYS Pat Tillman Recipient MSgt. Del Toro Talk About Resilience
  • Contact

  • Steve Pyke

  • Cig Harvey

  • Rebecca Norris Webb

  • Hendrik Kerstens

  • Michelle Ott

  • Gregory Vershbow

  • Tabitha Soren

  • David Goldes

  • Michelle Aldredge

  • Kurt Tong

  • Rachel Perry Welty

  • Tom LeGoff

  • Karen Ostrom

  • William Lamson

The 2Paragraphs Interview Answer

Michelle Aldredge photographer, writer

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • More
  • Linkedin
  • Reddit
  • Email

When I was a girl, my father kept a book on documentary photography in his office. I remember sneaking in, sliding the book from the top shelf, and looking. There were certain images I returned to again and again: Matthew Brady’s photo of dead Civil War soldiers on the battlefield of Antietam; Jacob Riis’s picture of squalid living conditions in New York City’s slums; Walker Evans’s image of poor sharecroppers in Hale County, Alabama; and Nick Ut’s famous photograph of a screaming, naked, 9-year-old Vietnamese girl running toward the camera after a napalm attack burned her village, clothes, and body. Growing up in a strict, religious household in Georgia (before the Internet), these forbidden photographs were riveting and disturbing, their effect nothing less than sandpaper against my skin. I knew my father had been to Vietnam, though he never spoke of it. Was this the kind of violence he saw? Was this what the larger world was like? A strange mix of awe, fear, pity, and outrage welled up inside me.

What happened next is what happens with most famous images in our culture–the photographs became so familiar that they lost their bite. What was once radical became commonplace. But two years ago, when I first saw these rare color photographs taken by Farm Security Administration photographers in the early 1940s, I was reminded of that book in my father’s office. Russell Lee’s photograph of a homesteading family in Pie Town, New Mexico, stung me like a hornet. In vibrant Kodachrome, these migrant workers, Japanese Internment Camp prisoners, farmers, and families seemed more contemporary. More real. More like us. The gulf of time and over-familiarity closed. Suddenly, it was 1940 and I was sitting right across from Jack Whinery and his family in their radiant calico, suspenders, and stripes. The writer Lewis Hyde once said that we’re only alive to the degree that we can let ourselves be moved. This quality also defines great art. Whether an image makes us feel pleasure, discomfort, or outrage, it temporarily lifts us from the apathy of our daily routine. It’s like a pinch on the back of the arm. When we feel it, we know that we’re awake.

aldredge familyJack Whinery, homesteader, and his family. Pie Town, New Mexico, October 1940. Photo by Russell Lee. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress

Michelle Aldredge is a writer, photographer, and the creator of Gwarlingo, a popular website about art, ideas and the creative process. From 1999-2012 she worked at The MacDowell Colony, the nation’s oldest artist retreat. 

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • More
  • Linkedin
  • Reddit
  • Email

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Solo Interviews

  • Cranberries_in_a_bucketDo Cranberries Really Help UTI? A Doctor Answers With New Evidence
  • Lauren Lovett The Speech Ring InventorVideo: The Speech Ring Inventor on Overcoming Fear of Public Speaking
  • Surge first out gay superhero in the moviesFirst Out Gay Movie Superhero Surge Speaks on Humor, Responsibility
  • Arrow shooterKatniss Everdeen Votes Trump or Clinton? ‘Hunger Games’ Expert Reveals
  • gatsby 2paragraphsWhy The Great Gatsby Would Have Voted For Clinton, Not Trump
  • ArchitectAyn Rand’s Howard Roark — A Vote For Trump or Clinton? 
  • See more solo interviews here

Recent Interviews

  • Trending
  • Popular
  • Recent
  • Hailey BieberHailey Bieber’s Cousin, Brooks Baldwin, Is Modeling, “Beauty Like Mama”
  • Joe_BidenJoe Biden Viral Video: “Blank Stare” or Disgust and Surprise?
  • Elle KingElle King’s Party Crashed by 3 Real Housewives, ‘Drunk (And I Don’t Wanna Go Home)’
  • Gronk Game OnRob Gronkowski Reveals His 2023 Boston Marathon Team, Tom Brady Reacts
  • Blake_LivelyBlake Lively Gets Celeb Fans Emotional, “Balling My Eyes Out”
  • Elon_MuskElon Musk Puts ‘KKK’ In Tesla Boast, Gets Called Out For Dog Whistle
  • Matt Dillon in Wayward Pines (FOX screengrab)Matt Dillon Plays Creepy Jazz Musician in Dark Romantic Thriller, Haunted Heart
  • Brook LopezBrook Lopez Proves NBA Plus/Minus Stat Should Be Laughed Out Of The Gym
  • Tom PettyTom Petty’s Daughter Is Co-Parenting With Bob Dylan’s Drummer
  • Lynda CarterLynda Carter Twinning With Gorgeous Daughter in Strapless Corset, “Wonder Women”
  • Elizabeth banksElizabeth Banks Jumps Off Cliff in Strapless Bikini, ‘Cocaine Bear’ Exclusive BTS
  • Barack_ObamaBarack Obama Warns Not To Separate Black History, “We’re The Enslaved People”
  • Madelyn Cline, Outer Banks, photo: Curtis Baker/NetflixMadelyn Cline Poses Topless In Sheer Hosiery, “Undeniable Force of Nature”
  • Serena Williams 2020 US OpenSerena Williams Finally Speaks On Will Smith: “I’ve Been There”
  • Madison Bailey, Outer Banks 3 (Netflix)Madison Bailey Parties in Sheer Mini Dress, Rihanna Approves
2paragraphs on APPLE NEWS | 2paragraphs Amazon Shop | SEE MORE 2paragraphs ARTICLES
  • About 2paragraphs
  • Privacy
  • Terms of Use
  • Dedication
  • Map
  • Fresh
  • Law
  • How-To
  • Personal
  • Books

© 2012-2023, 2paragraphs Productions, LLC

  • Buffer
  • Diggit
  • Email
  • More
  • Facebook
  • Flattr
  • Google+
  • Linkedin
  • Pinterest
  • Print
  • Reddit
  • Stumble
  • tumblr
  • Twitter
  • VK
  • WhatsApp
  • Yummly
  • Xing