At The Time Of Louisville Flood Analysis

"Migrant Mother" and "At The Time of the Louisville Flood" were two works published during the Great Depression which have some similar and different messages and ideas.

To start off, both are 35mm film images with a purpose to depict the despair and poverty of the Great Depression. As I'm sure the photographers extensively photographed the period, these are two of the most famous images of the period. The facial expressions of the subjects match their tattered, dirty clothes and the photographs effectivefly display the worry and uncertainty the people felt that the Great Depression brought about.

These images do contrast quite a bit. "Migrant mother" shows 3 subjects, which 2 are turned away, while "Louisville flood" shows many. The

photographer of "Migrant Mother" was probally trying to depict a single personal expression of the Great Depression while the photographer of "Louisville flood" photographed many people in a cut off line, in order to show how many people were affected by the Great Depression. Possibly, the photographer of "Migrant Mother" also wanted to depict a mother with her kids, but with the kids leaning on her seeming as if she has not only herself to worry about, but them as well. While "Migrant Mother" also seems as if the mother is in deep thought, the subjects in "Louisville flood" seem as if they are waiting for food. "Louisville flood" also places a large emphasis of contrasting lifestyles. The billboard in the background was probally created before the Great Depression and so the photographer wanted to capture subjects in despair contrasting with such an idealistic billboard. The photographer especially wanted to show "World's Highest Standard of Living" in the photograph to contrast the falseness of that quote of the time.

So overall, the "Migrant Mother" portait was photographed with the audience in mind. The photographer wanted the audience to look deep into the mother's eyes and experience the emotion and pain she is feeling. The photographer of "At the TIme of the Louisville Flood" wanted to contrast what is, and what once was of the economy and how the Great Depression affected many people.