DOCUMERICA: The Photographers
DOCUMERICA PHOTOGRAPHER, DAVID HISER, AT DEAD HORSE POINT, 05/1972
David Hiser, photographer*
For the DOCUMERICA project, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) hired nearly 100 freelance photographers to capture images relating to environmental problems, EPA activities, and everyday life in the 1970s. A panel of these photographers discuss their work shown in the exhibit, “Searching for the Seventies: The DOCUMERICA Photography Project,” including Jack Corn, Lyntha Scott Eiler, Tom Hubbard, Michael Philip Manheim, and John C. White. Presented in partnership with the Environmental Protection Agency.
Thursday, April 18, at 7 p.m. at the National Archives William G. McGowan Theater. (Enter the National Archives Building through the Special Events entrance on Constitution Ave. )
(*Note that David Hiser will not be on the panel, but this is one of the few self-portraits in the DOCUMERICA series.)
The Twin Towers of the World Trade Center officially opened 40 years ago on April 4, 1973. At the time of their completion they were the tallest buildings in the world.
These photos, taken shortly after the World Trade Center was completed in the early 1970s, are part of the DOCUMERICA series, a program sponsored by the Environmental Protection Agency to photographically document subjects of environmental concern in America during the 1970s.
Find more images from DOCUMERICA at “Searching for the Seventies: The DOCUMERICA Photography Project,” now open at the National Archives in Washington, DC.
We just got back from the special preview of the latest exhibition at the National Archives: Searching for the Seventies: The Documerica Photography Project - it opens tomorrow, March 8!
HITCHHIKER WITH HIS DOG, “TRIPPER”, ON U.S. 66. U.S. 66 CROSSES THE COLORADO RIVER AT TOPOCK, 05/1972
Item from Records of the Environmental Protection Agency. (12/02/1970 - )
Bad fashion, odd fads, and disco dance music sum up the 1970s for many Americans. We contrast those years to the politically committed 1960s and economically booming 1980s. The decade of the seventies is remembered as one of soaring inflation, political corruption, and loss of prestige around the world. But the1970s were much more than leisure suits, streaking, and disco. Their importance goes beyond high gas prices, Watergate, and Vietnam. During the seventies, profound changes took root in our politics, society, environment, and economy.
“Searching for the Seventies: the DOCUMERICA Photography Project,” an exhibition opening Friday, March 8, 2013, at the National Archives in Washington, DC, offers a new look at the 1970s through the lens of an astonishing Federal undertaking. DOCUMERICA was a nationwide photography project run by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The exhibition showcases 90 images from this multi-year program. Each day of the exhibition’s run, this site will feature one of the more than 21,000 other images in the collection.Source:http://go.usa.gov/2W2T
DOCUMERICA - one of our favorite series gets an exhibit of its own!
Here’s a behind-the-scenes peak at the what our Exhibits staff are working on!
Bad fashion, odd fads, and disco dance music sum up the 1970s for many Americans. But “Searching for the Seventies: The DOCUMERICA Photography Project” takes a new look at the decade’s trends, fashions, and cultural shifts through color photographs taken for Project DOCUMERICA, a Federal photography project.
The exhibit opens March 8 and runs through September 8, 2013, at the National Archives in Washington, DC. Admission is free!
Coming Soon to the National Archives:
Searching for the Seventies: The DOCUMERICA Photography Project
DOCUMERICA fan? Get a behind-the-scenes sneak peek at the National Archives’ latest exhibit on Pinterest.
DETAIL OF A WALL IN AN EXPERIMENTAL HOME BUILT OF ALUMINUM BEER AND SOFT DRINK CANS NEAR TAOS, NEW MEXICO…08/1974
David Hiser, photographer. From the EPA’s DOCUMERICA series.
So not everyone can build a beer can house, but what are your plans for America Recycles Day?
Sea Otter Awareness Week: September 23-29!
Eric Vance, photographer. From the Wildlife Photographs file of the Enviornmental Protection Agency.
Sea otters face a variety of hazards, including man-made disasters such as oil spills, as this letter we posted several months ago illustrates:
Happy Canada Day to our Neighbors to the North!
“FISH-EYE” CAMERA VIEW OF UNITED STATES-CANADA BOUNDARY LINE ON RAINBOW BRIDGE, WHICH SPANS THE NIAGARA RIVER JUST BELOW THE FALLS. THE BRIDGE JOINS NEW YORK STATE AND THE PROVINCE OF ONTARIO, 05/1973
Photograph from the EPA’s Documerica series
April is National Frog Month - RIBBIT!
It’s also National Poetry Month - have you got an ode for this toad?
Did you Pitch in on Earth Day?
Since it first started in 1970, Earth Day has been a way to bring awareness and show appreciation for the earth’s natural beauty and resources. It is no coincidence that the DOCUMERICA collection from the 1970s, now held at the National Archives, provides a glimpse into the environmental scene of the times.
If you took these “Clean up” photos to heart on Earth Day, share your photos with the EPA’s State of the Environment Flickr group to participate in the Environment in a Day project. (via NARAtions » Pitch In on Earth Day!)
What did you do to Pitch in on Earth Day?
Environment in a Day from the EPA
PHOTOGRAPHY IN ARCHES NATIONAL PARK, IN THE HEART OF THE REDROCK COUNTRY OF SOUTHEASTERN UTAH.
David Hiser, Photographer
The National Archives and the Environmental Protection Agency have been working together to bring awareness to the 1970s DOCUMERICA photo collection. The EPA’s State of the Environment project on Flickr asks people to upload their environmental photos to a group as a Documerica for the current generation.
Share your best photo of the day for Earth Day. Take a photo any time during the twenty-four hour period of April 22 where you are, then upload it to your Flickr account to share it with the State of the Environment group »
Spread the word. Get outside. Have some fun and capture the moment where humankind celebrates our planet Earth. (via NARAtions » Environment in a Day from the EPA)
How are you observing Earth Day?
“Save the Bees” by Ishani G. was chosen as the finalist for the Graphic Art age 13-15 category in the Documerica-inspired Document Your Environment Contest.
Judge Michael Philip Manheim, one of the original Documerica photographers, evaluated artwork in the Graphic Art category. Michael chose Ishani’s piece because of its strong message:
“The honey bees on which we depend upon for ‘honey, fruits and flowers’ are disappearing at a fast rate. Our attention is focused on the larger wild cats and animals and these bees have been neglected. It is time we put our hands together to save the honey bees.”
Ishani chose this photo by Marc St. Gil as her inspiration: Milk Wort and Butterfly in the Texas Countryside, near San Antonio, 06/1973
This piece “Some things haven’t changed” by Diane G. was chosen as the finalist for the Graphic Art age 16-18 category in the Documerica-inspired Document Your Environment Contest.
Judge Michael Philip Manheim, one of the original Documerica photographers, evaluated artwork in the Graphic Art category.
“For this entry I used the pictures that I took when making my video.The idea is the same in both; that it is important that some things in our environment be left alone so that they may influence future generations.”
Michael chose this entry because he “liked the concept of retaining what is important, emphasized by mirroring the original photograph.” The original Documerica photo by Frank Aleksandrowicz is titled “Corn and Pumpkins on Farmland Near the Cuyahoga River…09/1975.”
Students! Need a project over Winter Break? There are still 17 days left to enter the Documerica-inspired “Document Your Environment” Student Multimedia Challenge, sponsored by the National Archives and the EPA.
