Catalog for The Rise of a Landmark: Lewis Hine and the Empire State Building exhibition at the Thomas J. Walsh Art Gallery, September 12 - November 26, 2013.https://digitalcommons.fairfield.edu/hine-ephemera/1003/thumbnail.jp

Deupi, Jill J.

Ross, Ed

English

Fairfield University: DigitalCommons@Fairfield

Fairfield University DigitalCommons@Fairfield The Rise of a Landmark - Ephemera The Rise of a Landmark: Lewis Hine and the Empire State Building Fall 2013 The Rise of a Landmark: Lewis Hine and the Empire State Building Exhibition Catalog Jill J. Deupi Fairfield University Ed Ross Fairfield University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.fairfield.edu/hine-ephemera Recommended Citation Deupi, Jill J. and Ross, Ed, "The Rise of a Landmark: Lewis Hine and the Empire State Building Exhibition Catalog" (2013). The Rise of a Landmark - Ephemera. 4. https://digitalcommons.fairfield.edu/hine-ephemera/4 This item has been accepted for inclusion in DigitalCommons@Fairfield by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@Fairfield. It is brought to you by DigitalCommons@Fairfield with permission from the rights-holder(s) and is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses, you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/or on the work itself. For more information, please contact digitalcommons@fairfield.edu. The Rise of a Landmark: Lewis Hine and  the Empire State BuildingThe Rise of a Landmark: Lewis Hine and the Empire State BuildingFrom a bedrock pit to the colossus of the Manhattan skyline, photographer Lewis Wickes Hine (American, 1874-1940) documented every foot of the construction of the monumental Empire State Building. In 1930 Hine began the treacherous ascent—safety  belt in place and camera in hand—with the expectation of creating an ideal portrait of modern architecture. However, his resulting photographs of this yearlong project speak more of the integrity of the workers who toiled to perfect the structure than of the glorification of the building itself. Before receiving the Empire State Building commission, Hine established himself as a champion of social reform. His extensive portfolios depicted the holding rooms of Ellis Island, child labor-driven industries, and European survivors of the First World War, earning him the title “The Father of Documentary Photography.” Hine’s Empire State photographs build on this theme of the human condition amidst the quickening pace of early 20th-century society. Here he reveals each worker’s individual dignity and inherent link to the fabric of the towering structure. The gestures, the expressions—the presence—of people in the images remind us that buildings, and the cities they shape, are only built under the direction and innovation of humankind. The Lewis Hine collection at George Eastman House is the most frequently requested body of work in the Museum’s archives. It consists of nearly 10,000 original photographs, negatives, and artifacts. The Photo League of New York donated the work to the Museum in 1955. The photographs in this exhibition are modern gelatin silver prints made from copy negatives and were printed by Barbara Galasso, head of the Museum’s Photographic Services Department. Cities do not build themselves, machines cannot make machines, unless back of them all are the brains and toil of men. We call this the Machine Age. But the more machines we use the more do we need real men to make and direct them. -Lewis W. Hine, Men at Work (1932)The great American photographer Lewis Wickes Hine was committed to the expository nature of his craft. More than an art form, photography was for Hine a critical instrument, capable of promoting enlightenment and education by exposing prejudice, marginalization, and exploitation. A teacher by nature (he taught botany and nature studies at New York City’s Ethical Culture School from 1901 until 1908), Hine used his lens to highlight the bleak realities of a nation caught in the thrall of progress and mechanization. He championed the oppressed on whose backs industry was built and from whom modernity exacted a very high price, in human terms. Intensely committed to the cause of social welfare, the rather introverted photographer focused his Graflex on child laborers, immigrants, and the working poor (three categories that frequently overlapped), immortalizing their plights and ennobling their lives. The fact that many of Hine’s photographs were commissioned by investigatory bodies, including the National Child Labor Committee, the Tennessee Valley Authority, and the American Red Cross, may encourage a documentary reading of his work. Look a bit closer, however, and you will discover carefully composed shots with individuals whose faces, bodies, and gestures tell the stories of their lives. It is revealing, in this regard, to learn that Hine himself referred to his photographs of the working poor – including those on view in The Rise of a Landmark: Lewis Hine and the Empire State Building – as “work portraits” (emphasis added); a nod to his steadfast desire to capture character as well as historical fact.  Indeed the nearly 1,000 exposures he took of the mammoth skyscraper as it rose wondrously from the ground are as much about the men who created it as the impressive structure itself. In this Hine was demonstrating his commitment to memorializing mankind’s capacity for “productive” energy (his term), interwoven with an innuendo of moral judgments and social imperatives. The result, to which this exhibition bears ample witness, is a visceral record of the collision of man, nature, and technology. The Thomas J. Walsh Art Gallery is delighted to present The Rise of a Landmark, which was organized by George Eastman House (Rochester, N.Y.). We extend our sincere thanks to the Eastman House staff for their collegial assistance with this project, above all, Olivia Arnone, manager of traveling exhibitions. We are equally grateful to our sponsors, Whole Foods Market and Moffly Media, as well as to our colleagues at the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts, without whose support such projects would not be possible.Jill Deupi, J.D., Ph.D.Director and Chief Curator of University MuseumsLewis Wickes Hine, Engineer with Level, ca. 1931. Courtesy of George Eastman House.Cover Image: Lewis Wickes Hine, Icarus Atop Empire State Building, 1931. Courtesy of George Eastman House.Lewis Wickes Hine, Guiding a Beam, Empire State Building, ca. 1931. Courtesy of George Eastman House. Lewis Wickes Hine, Welder at Work in Empire State Building, ca. 1931. Courtesy of George Eastman House. This exhibition, which was on view at Fairfield University’s Thomas J. Walsh Art Gallery from September 12 until November 26, 2013 was originally organized by George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film, Rochester, New York.  1. The “Best Brick-Layer in N.Y.”    High up on The Empire State,    ca. 1931    From the series: Empire State    Bricklayers, 1930-1931    Gelatin silver copy print    Original photograph gift of the Photo    League, New York;    ex-collection Lewis Wickes Hine  2. Welder at Work in Empire State    Building, ca. 1931    From the series: Empire State    Welders, 1930-1931    Gelatin silver copy print    Original photograph gift of the Photo    League, New York;    ex-collection Lewis Wickes Hine   3. Portrait of Worker, ca. 1931    From the series: Empire State    Portraits, 1930-1931    Gelatin silver copy print    Original photograph gift of the    Photo League, New York;    ex-collection Lewis Wickes Hine  4. Worker, Empire State Building,    ca. 1931    From the series: Empire State    Portraits, 1930-1931    Gelatin silver copy print    Original photograph gift of the Photo    League, New York;    ex-collection Lewis Wickes Hine   5. Worker with Bucket, Empire State    Building, ca. 1931    From the series: Empire State    Portraits, 1930-1931    Gelatin silver copy print    Original photograph gift of the Photo    League, New York;   ex-collection Lewis Wickes Hine  6. Glimpse of Empire State from    Subway, ca. 1931    From the series: Empire State Views    of New York, 1930-1931    Gelatin silver copy print    Original photograph gift of the Photo    League, New York;    ex-collection Lewis Wickes Hine  7. Looking up Façade of Empire    State Building, ca. 1931    From the series: Empire State Views    of New York, 1930-1931    Gelatin silver copy print    Original photograph gift of Photo    League, New York;    ex-collection Lewis Wickes Hine  8. Empire State Building From Street    Level, ca. 1931    From the series: Empire State    Views of New York, 1930-1931    Gelatin silver copy print    Original photograph gift of the Photo    League, New York;    ex-collection Lewis Wickes Hine  9. Night View of City and Empire    State Building, ca. 1931   From the series: Empire State    Views of New York, 1930-1931    Gelatin silver copy print    Original photograph gift of the Photo    League, New York;    ex-collection Lewis Wickes Hine The Rise of a Landmark: Lewis Hine and the Empire State Building CHECKLISTAll works by Lewis Wickes Hine (American, 1874-1940) 10. View of Empire State Building    Under Construction, ca. 1931    From the series: Empire State Views    of New York, 1930-1931    Gelatin silver copy print    Original photograph gift of the Photo    League, New York;    ex-collection Lewis Wickes Hine  11. Empire State Building Under    Construction, ca. 1931    From the series: Empire State Views    of New York, 1930-1931    Gelatin silver copy print    Original photograph gift of the Photo    League, New York;    ex-collection Lewis Wickes Hine  12. Empire State Building Under    Construction, ca. 1931    From the series: Empire State Views    of New York, 1930-1931    Gelatin silver copy print    Original photograph gift of the Photo    League, New York;    ex-collection Lewis Wickes Hine  13. Quarry Bar Driller, Empire State    Building, ca. 1931    From the series: Empire State    Foundation Men, 1930-1931   Gelatin silver copy print    Original photograph gift of the Photo    League, New York;    ex-collection Lewis Wickes Hine  14. Derrick Man, ca. 1931    From the series: Empire State    Derrick Men, 1930-1931    Gelatin silver copy print    Original photograph gift of the Photo    League, New York;   ex-collection Lewis Wickes Hine  15. Derrick Man Empire State     Building, 1931    From the series: Empire State    Derrick Men, 1930-1931    Gelatin silver copy print    Original photograph gift of the Photo    League, New York;   ex-collection Lewis Wickes Hine  16. Derricks Empire State Building,    ca. 1931      From the series: Empire State    Derrick Men, 1930-1931      Gelatin silver copy print      Original photograph gift of the Photo    League, New York;   ex-collection Lewis Wickes Hine  17. Man on Derrick, Empire State    Building, ca. 1931    From the series: Empire State    Derrick Men, 1930-1931    Gelatin silver copy print    Original photograph gift of the Photo    League, New York;    ex-collection Lewis Wickes Hine  18. Avenue of Girders, Empire State    Building, ca. 1931    From the series: Empire State    Derrick Men, 1930-1931    Gelatin silver copy print    Original photograph gift of the Photo    League, New York;    ex-collection Lewis Wickes Hine  19. Men on Derricks, Empire State    Building, ca. 1931    From the series: Empire State    Derrick Men, 1930-1931   Gelatin silver copy print    Original photograph gift of the Photo    League, New York;    ex-collection Lewis Wickes Hine  20. Riveting at the Top of Mooring    Mast Empire State Building, 1930    From the series: Empire State    Riveters, 1930-1931    Gelatin silver copy print    Original photograph gift of the Photo    League, New York;   ex-collection Lewis Wickes Hine 21. Heating Rivets, Empire State    Building, ca. 1931    From the series: Empire State    Riveters, 1930-1931    Gelatin silver copy print    Original photograph gift of the Photo    League, New York;    ex-collection Lewis Wickes Hine  22. Plumbers with Large Pipe Elbow,    ca. 1931    From the series: Empire State    Plumbing/Heating, 1930-1931    Gelatin silver copy print    Original photograph gift of the Photo    League, New York;   ex-collection Lewis Wickes Hine  23. Plumbers Using Pipe Threader,    Empire State Building,    ca. 1931    From the series: Empire State    Plumbing/Heating,    1930-1931    Gelatin silver copy print    Original photograph gift of the Photo    League, New York;    ex-collection Lewis Wickes Hine  24. Sheet Metal Worker with Heating    Duct, ca. 1931    From series: Empire State     Plumbing/Heating, 1930-1931   Gelatin silver copy print    Original photograph gift of the Photo    League, New York;    ex-collection Lewis Wickes Hine  25. Man on a Hoisting Ball, Empire    State Building, 1931    From the series: Empire State With    the  Ball, 1930-1931    Gelatin silver copy print    Original photograph gift of the Photo    League, New York;    ex-collection Lewis Wickes Hine  26. Two Men in a Derrick Lift, ca. 1931    From the series: Empire State With    the  Ball, 1930-1931    Gelatin silver copy print    Original photograph gift of the Photo    League, New York;    ex-collection Lewis Wickes Hine 27. Man on Girders, Mooring Mast,    Empire State Building, ca. 1931   From the series: Empire State    Laying Beams, 1930-1931   Gelatin silver copy print    Original photograph gift of the Photo    League, New York;    ex-collection Lewis Wickes Hine  28. Putting its Cap on. The Highest    Point Ever Reached on a Man-   Made Structure, ca. 1931    From the series: Empire State    Mooring Mast, 1930-1931    Gelatin silver copy print    Original photograph gift of the Photo    League, New York;    ex-collection Lewis Wickes Hine  29. Steel Work, Mooring Mast, Empire    State Building, ca. 1931    From the series: Empire State    Mooring Mast, 1930-1931    Gelatin silver copy print    Original photograph gift of the Photo    League, New York;    ex-collection Lewis Wickes Hine  30. Steel Work, Mooring Mast, Empire    State Building, ca. 1931     From the series: Empire State    Mooring Mast, 1930-1931    Gelatin silver copy print    Original photograph gift of the Photo    League, New York;    ex-collection Lewis Wickes Hine  31. Climbing Up The Beams on the    Empire State-100 Stories Up,    ca. 1931    From the series: Empire State    Mooring Mast, 1930-1931    Gelatin silver copy print    Original photograph gift of the Photo    League, New York;    ex-collection Lewis Wickes Hine  32. View of New York City from     Empire State Building, Looking    South, ca. 1931    From the series: Empire State Views    of New York, 1930-1931    Gelatin silver copy print    Original photograph gift of the Photo    League, New York;   ex-collection Lewi Wickes Hine  33. Workmen with Flag, Mooring    Mast, Empire State Building,    ca. 1931    From the series: Empire State    Groups, 1930-1931    Gelatin silver copy print    Original photograph gift of the Photo    League, New York;    ex-collection Lewis Wickes Hine  34. Group of Workers, Empire State    Building, ca. 1931   From the series: Empire State    Groups, 1930-1931    Gelatin silver copy print    Original photograph gift of the Photo    League, New York;   ex-collection Lewis Wickes Hine  35. Steel Workers Setting Beams,    Empire State Building, ca. 1931    From the series: Empire State    Miscellaneous Workmen, 1930-1931   Gelatin silver copy print    Original photograph gift of the Photo    League, New York;    ex-collection Lewis Wickes Hine  36. Eighty-Sixth Floor, Steel     Worker, Empire State Building    Construction, ca. 1931    From the series: Empire State    Miscellaneous Workmen, 1930-1931   Gelatin silver copy print    Original photograph gift of the Photo    League, New York;   ex-collection Lewis Wickes Hine  37. Carpenter Laying Down Walking    Platform, ca. 1931   From the series: Empire State    Miscellaneous Workmen, 1930-1931   Gelatin silver copy print    Original photograph gift of the Photo    League, New York;   ex-collection Lewis Wickes Hine  38. Steel Worker Standing on Beam    Gives Illusion of Touching Tip of    Chrysler Building, ca. 1931    From the series: Empire State    Miscellaneous Workmen, 1930-1931   Gelatin silver copy print    Original photograph gift of the Photo    League, New York;    ex-collection Lewis Wickes Hine  39. Icarus Atop Empire State Building,    1931    From the series: Empire State    Miscellaneous Workmen, 1930-1931   Gelatin silver copy print    Original photograph gift of the Photo    League, New York;    ex-collection Lewis Wickes Hine  40. Guiding a Beam, Empire State    Building, ca. 1931    From the series: Empire State    Miscellaneous Workmen,    1930-1931    Gelatin silver copy print    Original photograph gift of the Photo    League, New York;    ex-collection Lewis Wickes Hine  41. Man with Rope and Pulley,    ca. 1931    From the series: Empire State    Miscellaneous Workmen, 1930-1931   Gelatin silver copy print    Original photograph gift of the Photo    League, New York;    ex-collection Lewis Wickes Hine  42. Man on Beam, Empire State    Building, ca. 1931    From the series: Empire State    Miscellaneous Workmen,    1930-1931    Gelatin silver copy print    Original photograph gift of the Photo    League, New York;    ex-collection Lewis Wickes Hine  43. Men with Derricks, Empire State    Building, ca. 1931    From the series: Empire State    Derricks at Work, 1930-1931    Gelatin silver copy print    Original photograph gift of the Photo    League, New York;    ex-collection Lewis Wickes Hine   44. Unloading Trucks, ca. 1931    From the Series: Empire State    Derricks at Work, 1930-1931    Gelatin silver copy print    Original photograph gift of the Photo    League, New York;    ex-collection Lewis Wickes Hine   45. Bob Long, Hoist Engineer, Empire    State Building, ca. 1931    From the series: Empire State Hoist    Engineers, 1930-1931    Gelatin silver copy print    Original photograph gift of the Photo    League, New York;    ex-collection Lewis Wickes Hine  46. Engineer with Level, ca. 1931    From the series: Empire State    Engineers, 1930-1931    Gelatin silver copy print    Original photograph gift of the Photo    League, New York;    ex-collection Lewis Wickes Hine  47. Bronze Tablet in Empire State    Building, ca. 1931    From the series: Empire State    Miscellaneous, 1930-1931    Gelatin silver copy print    Original photograph gift of the Photo    League, New York;    ex-collection Lewis Wickes Hine 48. Man with Cutting Torch on     Girders, ca. 1931    From the series: Empire State    Burners, 1930-1931    Gelatin silver copy print    Original photograph gift of the Photo    League, New York;    ex-collection Lewis Wickes Hine  49. Burners Enlarging Holes on     Girder, Empire State Building,    ca. 1931    From the series: Empire State    Burners, 1930-1931    Gelatin silver copy print    Original photograph gift of the Photo    League, New York;    ex-collection Lewis Wickes Hine  50.  Portrait of Lewis Hine, ca. 1931    From the series: Personal Photos,    1935    Gelatin silver copy print    Original photograph gift of the Photo    League, New York;    ex-collection Lewis Wickes Hine  51. From the Chrysler Building,    Construction of Empire State    Building, ca. 1931   From the series: Empire State Views    of New York, 1930-1931    Gelatin silver copy print    Original photograph gift of the Photo    League, New York;    ex-collection Lewis Wickes Hine Lewis Wickes Hine, Man on a Hoisting Ball, Empire State Building, 1931. Courtesy of George Eastman House.Lewis Wickes Hine, Derrick Man, ca. 1931. Courtesy of George Eastman House. Lewis Wickes Hine, Eighty-Sixth Floor, Steel Worker, Empire State Building, ca. 1931. Courtesy of George  Eastman House.

The Rise of a Landmark:  Lewis Hine and the Empire State Building Exhibition Catalog

https://digitalcommons.fairfield.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1003&context=hine-ephemera

The Rise of a Landmark: Lewis Hine and the Empire State Building Exhibition Catalog

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