Blake Andrews recently reminded me about Chauncey Hare, one of photography's great riddles, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma- a person both very much at odds with, and yet highly attuned to his fellow man. There is no doubt that he lived, breathed and practiced photography for a very intense period of his life- and yet, eventually walked away from it without looking back. A man who won three Guggenheims and never sold a print in his life- because it would have dishonored those photographed; a man who boycotted the Windows and Mirrors group show he was in at SFMOMA because of a tobacco sponsor, and in so doing, knowingly doomed any chance of his dream to teach photography. His work appears spawned from the loins of the FSA itself, and yet, his dated images still manage to remain uniquely fresh and original- and his influence can be seen even in those working in color to this day. No, they don't build 'em like that no more...
For all working people*
These photographs were made by Chauncey Hare to protest and warn against the growing domination of working people by multinational corporations and their elite owners and managers.
*(Intro to Chauncey Hare's Protest Photographs)
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