Week 6 - 2020
Lewis Hine (1874-1940) Waiting for returning health in a Massachusetts Institution, 1920-1930 ca. Preus Museum Collection.
Fragile strength
“Waiting for returning health in a Massachusetts Institution” is the title of this image taken by the American photographer Lewis Hine (1874-1940). Hine was a pioneer within the documentary photography genre, and to him the camera was a tool for documenting social injustices and poverty in the beginning of the 1900s.
As a young man Hine supported himself by working in a furniture factory. Here he experienced firsthand the harsh reality of a factory worker. This part of his life was undoubtedly a great motivator and catalyst for his photographic work later in life. It is uncertain during what occasion this specific photo was taken, though we see the location is far from the blaring noise of a factory. If we could measure images in decibel, this portrait would score very low. The title suggests to us that the woman is sick, waiting for her health to return. Her gaze is directed straight towards us or to the photographer. There is something tender and vulnerable about the woman; the way her hands are positioned in her lap, the knitted sweater, the unofficial meeting and the little pelargonium in front of the window. At the same time the image exudes a form of strength, the woman is sitting upright with her gaze directed towards us.
The portrait gives us no clues to her illness. Instead, the photo might serve as a form of reflection on what it means to live, healthy or sick. It is fragile, it is strong. It’s about being human, and sometimes it's about waiting. World Cancer Day was marked on the 4th of February, with an aim to strengthen the global fight against cancer. Cancer affects people in every country. However, the majority of cancer related deaths happen amongst the poor, where the lack of treatment is severe. This social perspective could have been an angle of interest explored by Hine, had he been alive today.