Documerica

I found out about the Documerica set on the US National Archives Flickr site on Liebemarlene and it is really fantastic. In the 1970s, the EPA sent out about 70 freelance photographers to "photographically document subjects of environmental concern," much like the Farm Security Administration did durning the Great Depression. Many of the photographers, who were well know at the time, took this direction loosely and created some very beautiful and artistic depictions of everything from inner city pollution to wildlife in the Alaskan wilderness to everyday small town life. 

Most of the photographers, I haven't heard of, so scrolling through the archives was a great way to find out about some artists. There were amazing shots of northern wilderness and western deserts, but I was really drawn to the gritty New York City photos (surprise, surprise). I especially like the work of Erik Calonius, who shot New York, but also in California and rural Ohio. I'm sure there will be more posts on this series and I definitely want to do some research on these photographers.