Rothstein

I choose a photograph of “an African family at Gee’s Bend Alabama” by Rothstein (1915 – 1985).This  photograph depicts an African American family in the early nineteenth century. The color shade of the picture is a mix of fading black and white which are supposed to show the age of the picture. In the Foreground there is a man ahead of the others. Being immigrants from Africa this shows the man is the head of the family and they respect him. There is total number of fifteen people behind the man. At the top left of the picture there is a branch which form the picture  seems to have a sack hanging from it. This probably was meant to show the limited space they have. The small and few houses also depict this as in comparison to the total number of persons in the photograph. The compound structures are mainly wooden. The houses are erected with wood; the fence at the far back is also Put up using timber this is to illustrate that the available source of building was timber for the lowly classed in the American society at that particular time. The family’s living situation is also shown to be Poor and wanting since in comparison to the number of people that are supposed to be residents, as per the picture is very large. The ratio of persons per room is very high. The roofs of the houses are done  very poorly and this is supposed to demonstrate the illiteracy of the people. Were they with any knowledge of house construction the roofs would be better, unless they do know how to but the resources are lacking once again a sign of poverty. Generally the architecture used in the construction of the structures are old. Age is derived from this yet again. The houses are lifted off the ground to illustrate an ancient African building structure. This was used as a formula to avoid wild animals from entering the house e.g. snakes. Floods were also avoided in the same way. The earth is dry and cracked. This is evidence of a dry spell for quite some time. The hanging sack Probably is as a result of this dry spell as it could be used to store food stuffs another popular African method of storage back in the day. The family members seem to be bare footed with the exception of the man at the front, the woman to his left in a checked dress and two boys at the back. This shows that there is a hierarchical flow of authority and respect. Those with shoes are ranked higher than the girls. In traditional African the girl child was marginalized due to the assumption that she would get married and move to her husband’s  house, and thus, it was not necessary to invest in her.  There is a woman in the back line who is carrying a child. The artist wanted to show the importance of families as far as children are concerned for this ensures continuity of the community. With the fact they were immigrants forcefully moved from their home they need to procreate to attain a large number so that their kind could survive. The vegetation of the area is characterized by an almost died up tree just behind the family members.  This also supports the earlier point on the weather of the area in the recent past.  The tree is even used For other purposes as we see a sack hanging from one of its branches. This tree is barren and very few twigs are even visible. The background vegetation seems to be better than that of the compound. There  seems to be more trees in the far back this may prove the fact that the residence may be this way since it is the residence of an African American man with his family who were slaves. The family posses for this picture in tattered clothes. This may mean they were either not prepared for  the picture as they may have been working. They may also have been ready for it but did not have anything else to throw on and this sows the suffering they were exposed to during the period. visible .there are a number of trees in the background. The vegetation of the area looks dense. Several of the family members strike the same pose for the picture. The folding of hands is assumed to show respect. Given that these are slaves it should not come as a surprise that they fold their hands in this fashion in the presence of their masters or other white people. This trait is observed from the family Members those are old enough to work or at least have the physical capability to work. Thus, it is a sign of humbleness and respect as considered the photographer was an white American.