Description
Book SynopsisThe work of nearly every photographer of consequence since the nineteenth century is captured in this collection of photographs of California farmworkers, raising moral questions about the exploitation and colonization of an entire class of people.
Trade Review"[Street's]
Photographing Farmworkers records lives in beautifully stark, often haunting and at times poetic visual representations....Street's book, which includes his own stunning photography, goes beyond an anthology of photographs of farmworkers; he provides a historical overview and technical commentary at the beginning of every chapter."—
California History"
Photographing Farmworkers in California is a marvelously rich, thoughtful piece of scholarship that takes its readers on an exploration of the emotionally powerful body of photographic work relating to the lives of California's agricultural laborers. . . . [Street's] passion for the subject is matched by his expertise, and he has produced an unusual work that simultaneously draws the reader into the histories of twentieth-century documentary photography, California agriculture, and the labor struggles of farmworkers"—
Agricultural History"Perhaps Street's most original achievement lies in combining a photographer's acute and sophisticated awareness of the constructed nature of every image with an historian's drive to reconstruct an accurate—and truthful—narrative of the past. In these two works, he invites us to reflect on the nature of image and texts as modes of knowledge and historical understanding in order to better come to terms with the extraordinary and moving history of California farmworkers."—
History Workshop Journal"Richard Street's two books offer a new benchmark in the history of agricultural labor, with a perceptive, fascinating Californian focus. Only 1,283 pages? I wanted to look and read further."—
Anthropology of Work Review
