A New Deal: Hands and The River

355 Roth Way,Stanford CA 94305

06 April, 2023

Description

Please join us for a special film screening presented in conjunction with the exhibition Reality Makes Them Dream: American Photography, 1929–1941. The exhibition presents 1930s photographers including Ansel Adams, John Gutmann, Helen Levitt, Wright Morris, and Edward Weston to illuminate how American artists used photography to spark the imagination. Representing cinematic experimentation from the same time period, Hands (1934) and The River (1938) will be screened in their original format on 16mm film for this program. Produced for the Works Progress Administration and the Farm Security Administration, respectively, these two films capture the spirit of the New Deal by suggesting the power of the individual to contribute to society. A close study of hands in action is presented in the 1934 film with direction and photography by Ralph Steiner and Willard Van Dyke, and a sweeping survey of the role of the Mississippi River in American life is captured in the 1938 film written and directed by Pare Lorentz. If you need a disability-related accommodation like ASL, please contact [email protected]. We ask that requests be made at least one week in advance of the event date. Image Credits: Still from the 1934 film Hands by Ralph Steiner & Willard Van Dyke, depicting two hands grasping a rope Still from the 1938 film The River by Pare Lorentz, depicting a construction worker at a dam Still from the 1938 film The River by Pare Lorentz, depicting a river winding through a forest