The Vernacular - Walker Evans

Walker Evans was a prolific American photographer who was prevalent during the Great Depression. Documentary photography wasn't really about in America at this time and Walker Evans was a great documenter of the Vernacular.

He started collecting postcards when he was just 12 years old, and developed a collection of 9000 in 60 years!

"Street Scene, Vicksburg, Mississippi" (1936), I really like people interacting within a location, it's like they add life to it. The three men seem to be looking into the camera, and it's almost intimidating. They are in between two doors which makes us question where they belong, is the man on the right the owner of the Barber Shop? Is he just waiting for another customer so he'll have enough money to get food for the evening? The depression was a difficult era for America and it hit the Southern states hard.

"Lunchroom Window, New York" (1929), I think this photograph is really interesting as something has caught the eye of the two men on the left, it even has one stop eating. However the man on the right is paying close attention to Walker Evans, these men are in suits and could possibly be rich men of Wall Street, what's interesting is that this photograph was taken in 1929, the year of the Wall Street Crash.

"Church, Beaufort, South Carolina" (1936), the loneliness of the church really affects the overall mood of this photograph, churches are meant to be places for community and have a social spirit to them, the fact that there's no one within in make the atmosphere moody and eerie.