Political Poster, Massachusetts Village 1929

Curator: This compelling black and white photograph, “Political Poster, Massachusetts Village,” was captured by Walker Evans in 1929. The photographic print portrays a poster displayed in a window, and immediately strikes me as quite melancholic. Editor: It does have a sombre quality, doesn’t it? The tight framing—the grid of the windowpanes cutting across the image, obscuring a clear view— creates a feeling of confinement, or at least a restricted perspective. Curator: Absolutely. Windows have served for centuries in art to show boundaries, division between two worlds or as metaphors of opportunity. Here, what we are seeing is an appeal to action being sealed in behind panes of glass and small town austerity. The effect is a separation from political will, a cultural commentary about access, influence and change in small town America. Editor: The textures, too, contribute to this feeling. The weathered wood of the window frame contrasts with the slick, manufactured image of the poster itself, yet is unified by Evans' decision to create an image completely absent of color. This opposition creates depth. Can you read into any further meaning related to the material quality or construction of the image? Curator: Certainly. The subject of the poster, a political figure, is adorned by flowers. He is shown as worthy of memorial, of adoration and praise, though it looks as though this photograph has been captured well past his campaign date. He almost feels mythologized in his framing. We could imagine a conversation about the psychology of heroes as well. How people in small villages might view figures of power, or even try to access their authority. Editor: I hadn’t considered the flowers! Very poignant, giving the composition both a funereal air and the celebratory mood of a parade float, perhaps. Curator: Right! I find it incredible that a relatively simple composition can elicit so many interpretations. This photograph holds its cultural memory, even now. Editor: It's an object that truly embodies what is compelling in modern realism through its careful arrangement of objects and symbols, as well as its layered visual components that invite deep analysis.