Untitled, Shenango Ingot Molds (Working People series) 1978 - 1981

Milton Rogovin took this photograph as part of his ‘Working People’ series. In the photograph, two figures are shown working closely with Shenango Ingot Molds. I’m wondering what it was like for Rogovin to take this photograph and what it was like for the workers in the steel industry who devoted their lives to this labor. I can only imagine the heat of the molten metal and the dirt in the air. It's a slice of life, an image of people doing a hard job, that is a metaphor for so many other workers at that time. Rogovin's work reminds me of other artists such as Jacob Lawrence, whose work has a similar interest in the lives of working-class people. Ultimately, what I love about art is its potential to make us feel, to imagine, and to empathize.