El Museo de Oakland de California lanza un nuevo archivo digital dedicado a la mundialmente conocida fotógrafa documental Dorothea Lange
(OAKLAND, CA) Agosto 5, 2020—Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) announces the launch of the Dorothea Lange Digital Archive, a new site showcasing the work of world-renowned documentary photographer Dorothea Lange. Drawn from Lange’s personal archive, which was gifted to OMCA over 50 years ago in 1965, and made possible by a generous grant from the Henry Luce Foundation, the Digital Archive brings together a curated selection of photographs, personal quotes, and historical context illustrating some of Lange’s most notable documentary projects.
As the keeper of Lange’s personal archive—the most complete collection of Lange’s work anywhere, containing 40,000 negatives, 6,000 vintage prints, field notes, and personal memorabilia—OMCA has the unique opportunity to display Lange’s most iconic and career-defining photographs. The Dorothea Lange Digital Archive curates and interprets a selection of Lange’s work for the first time in a digital format, following the success of OMCA’s internationally-traveled 2017 exhibition Dorothea Lange: Politics of Seeing and the 2020 opening of Dorothea Lange: Photography as Activism in OMCA’s Gallery of California Art. The Digital Archive was organized by OMCA Curator of Photography & Visual Culture Drew Johnson and Mellon Curatorial Fellow S. Topiary Landberg.
Through the lens of her camera, Dorothea Lange (1895-1965) documented American life with riveting, intimate photographs that captured the human face of major social issues of the 20th century. The Dorothea Lange Digital Archive highlights Lange’s socially conscious photographic work, organized into four main sections: her powerful documentation of the Great Depression from Dust Bowl migrants to tenant farmers in the Jim Crow South; life during World War II on the Homefront, including shipyard workers and the injustice of incarcerated Japanese Americans; Post-War life in California and across the nation; and her personal and early portrait work.
The Digital Archive features more than 600 items from the collection, including both well-recognized and rarely seen photographs. Direct quotes from Lange combined with historical information also shed light on the context and intentions behind the images. The Digital Archive also contains features such as contact sheets, film negatives, and links to related materials as additional resources for the many curators, scholars, and general audiences accessing Lange’s body of work.
“OMCA is fortunate to have Lange’s extraordinary personal archive in its collection,” said curator Drew Johnson. “Though rooted in historical moments, Lange’s photographs make powerful connections to important themes and events of today. We are thrilled at the opportunity to share her enduring work beyond the walls of our galleries through this first-ever digital experience.”
“As the holder of Lange’s extraordinary personal archive, OMCA has the unique opportunity to share her work even more broadly through the Dorothea Lange Digital Archive,” said Valerie Huaco, OMCA Deputy Director & Chief Content Officer. “OMCA is dedicated to presenting profound stories of California’s people and places—whether in our galleries or in a digital space—and there is no artist who better demonstrates the enduring power of visual storytelling than Dorothea Lange.”
The Dorothea Lange Digital Archive will launch to the public on Agosto 10 and will be available online at museumca.org/lange. Press may access an image gallery with select works here.
The Dorothea Lange Collection Project is supported by a generous grant from the Henry Luce Foundation.
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ABOUT THE OAKLAND MUSEUM OF CALIFORNIA
The Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) tells the many stories that comprise California, creating the space and context for greater connection, trust, and understanding between people. Through its inclusive exhibitions, public programs, educational initiatives, and cultural events, OMCA brings Californians together and inspires greater understanding about what our state’s art, history, and natural surroundings teach us about ourselves and each other. With more than 1.9 million objects, OMCA brings together its multi-disciplinary collections of art, history, and natural science with the first-person accounts and often untold narratives of California, all within its 110,000 square feet of gallery space and seven-acre campus. The Museum is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year as a leading cultural institution of the Bay Area and a resource for the research and understanding of California’s dynamic cultural and environmental heritage for visitors from the region, the state, and around the world.
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