Mind's Eye, Mind's Truth

"[Curtis] challenges the conventional belief that documentary photographs are realistic because they are not consciously arranged images." oReviews in American History "Curtis' brilliant, revolutionary study of 82 photos probes a central paradox: documentary photography at times derives its power from artful manipulation." oPublishers Weekly "Curtis offers provocative readings of the FSA's most famous pictures...never less than absorbing." oThe Philadelphia Inquirer "By looking closely at the pictures and the visual culture of which they were a part, Curtis finds evidence that 'documentary' did not necessarilyoor even generallyomean 'real' or 'true': more often, the documentary photograph documented the values, prejudices, beliefs, and hopes of the people pointing the cameras, and the audience they wished to reach. In the process of seeing the photography of the 1930s from behind the lens, Curtis proves that documents of material culture, when interpreted with respect for their own conventions and codes of meaning, can fundamentally alter our understanding of history. Mind's Eye, Mind's Truth opens our eyes to a brand new New Deal era." oKaral Ann Marling, Professor of Art History and American Studies, University of Minnesota "An outstanding contribution to a subject much written-about and yet as Curtis demonstrates, much misunderstood Mind's Eye, Mind's Truth is one of the most brilliant analyses of how to use photographs as evidence for cultural history I have ever read. This book will make a major contribution to our understanding of FSA photography and what it says about the ways Americans in the 1930s tried to make sense of their own society. Curtis' pioneering techniques of analysis are sure to influence all who attempt to use documentary photographs to explain historical events." oDavid Culbert, Professor of History, Louisiana State University

• Preface 1. "Introducing Americans to America": Roy Stryker and the Creation of the FSA Photographic Project 2. "An Art for All That": Walker Evans and Documentary Photography 3. "The Contemplation of Things As They Are": Dorothea Lange and Migrant Mother 4. Flight from Reality: Arthur Rothstein and the Dust Bowl 5. "The Last Frontier": Russell Lee and the Small-Town Ideal Notes A Note on Sources Index