August Sander Working Student Essay

Right off the bat when you type in the name, “August Sander,” intricate yet simple photos

pop up. Sander was a German Photographer and was born on November 17th, 1876. Sander was

brought up with his dad being a mine carpenter, then soon after his family ran a small area of

farmland. When Sander started photography and started to utilize the camera as a true

photographer would, there was a picture that caught my personal attention. The picture I believe

to be called, “Working Students,” was a picture of the Weimar Republic from Berlin Germany.

They were apparently considered the elite Nazi’s to my understanding. This caught my eye

because all of his photography is black and white and of people who seem to have little to no

emotion when portrayed. The four

boys in the photo seem to have a “poker face,” which is why I
think it seemed to grab my attention. Something about their poise and innocents with no emotion
almost makes me question what was on their mind at the time of the photo.

There was another

a picture that was taken by Sander called, “National Socialist.” Again with the black and white

and basically no emotion, but this one, in particular, is a side profile, and it is very apparent that

the reasoning for this is because of the swastika symbol on the jacket the man had on. This also

shows the dark but true history of the Holocaust. To know that the man in the picture was

working for one of the most dangerous men in history, committing a crime he may or may not

have thought was a good deed for his society, is mind-boggling to think about. I think Sander’s

approach was to teach the viewer that the statement, “a picture can say a thousand words” is

very true. You can physically teach someone about a life experience, whether is personal, it’s

History, or it’s a claim for the future. Whatever it may be, Sander kept his photos neutral, which

the viewers had to sort of pick the information they were given by his technique themselves.

Sander’s technique seemed to use the face of a person like a canvas. It’s blank; there is no

emotion. The actions shown, the items worn, even the appearance of the subject tells the

bigger,
the universal, the moral of the story. I also learned that there was a photo that Sander was
working for his whole life! He named it, “Farmer Child.” I thought the name was interesting
considering what the background he came from. I think this picture is showing his initial roots
from childhood, and now he and this subject have a connection on a more personal level. As of
now, you would never think that this was a portrait sort of trying to “document Germany.” I don’t
think of farming when I think of Germany. Like many others, my mind goes to the Holocaust.
The seven groups he documented Germany in was very intriguing because it all had to do with
work. Men or Women, which was a stretch for that time period. Overall, his photography is now
one of my favorites to look at because you can clearly see his personality. The reflection of it is
very cool to see because most photographers shoot to tell another person's story. Sander is telling
his.