Having recently picked up a new zine called Stryker, I wanted to delve more into him and his work for the Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information (FAS/OWI).
The FSA was a new deal program which was a series of programs enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1939. The FSA was created in 1937 to combat rural poverty during the Great Depression in the United States.
The FSA is famous for its small but highly influential photography program, 1935–44, that portrayed the challenges of rural poverty. The photographs in the FSA/OWI Photograph Collection form an extensive pictorial record of American life between 1935 and 1944.
The photographic collection contains about 175,000 Black & White negatives. There is also around 1600 colour slides which can be viewed on Flickr.
Roy Stryker was not a photographer himself but a passionate advocate for photography's potential to convey social issues and inspire change. In 1935, he was appointed as the head of the Historical Section of the Resettlement Administration (later known as the FSA). Under his guidance, photographers like Dorothea Lange, Walker Evans, and Gordon Parks captured some of the most iconic images of American life during the 1930s and 1940s.
Roy Stryker was not just an administrator; he was a visionary who shaped the direction of the project. He believed in the "camera as a historian" and meticulously guided the photographers, instructing them to capture not just faces and places, but also the emotions and stories of their subjects. His guidance often led to the creation of photographs that transcended mere documentation and became artful expressions of the human experience.
The one part of the collection which is most intriguing is the killed negatives, section which contains around 4000 negatives with holes punched in them.
Stryker's keen eye for storytelling and social issues led him to experiment with film negatives in a unique and unconventional way. He started puncturing holes in negatives to "kill" or mark unusable images. This practice, though seemingly destructive, served a specific purpose within the broader context of the FSA project.
Stryker's hole-punching technique was straightforward but deliberate. When reviewing contact sheets of negatives, he would use a hole puncher to create holes through the frames of images he deemed less compelling or less relevant to the project's mission. The criteria for marking negatives as "unusable" could vary, but often it was because the image lacked the emotional impact or storytelling power he sought.
The reasoning behind this seemingly harsh approach was twofold. Firstly, Stryker had limited resources for printing and archiving photographs. By selectively "killing" certain images, he ensured that precious time, paper, and space were reserved for the most powerful and socially relevant photographs.
Secondly, this practice was a manifestation of Stryker's editorial control over the narrative conveyed by FSA photographs. He believed that every image had a role to play in telling a story, and hole-punching was his way of emphasising this editorial authority. He wanted to ensure that the images he selected for publication would have the greatest impact on the public's perception of the era.
Roy Stryker's hole-punching technique has sparked both admiration and controversy. Some argue that this approach allowed him to curate a more compelling visual narrative of the Depression era, emphasising the human suffering and resilience of those affected by it. Others, however, see it as a form of censorship, critiquing the fact that he had the power to erase moments captured by photographers who had ventured into the field.
Roy Stryker's hole-punching of film negatives remains a fascinating and polarising aspect of his work within the FSA photography project. While his intentions were rooted in a desire to create a powerful and impactful visual narrative, the practice raises questions about editorial control, censorship, and the role of the curator in shaping our historical understanding through photography. Regardless of one's perspective, there's no denying that Roy Stryker's approach to photography has left an indelible mark on the history of documentary photography.
Interesting read and I learn more about Stryker’s work within the FSA. Thanks 😊