Dec 7, 2016
Eleanor Milder
Man Drinking Water From His Hands
1936
Gelatin silver print
The image was photographed during the United States’ Great Depression. The Dust Bowl heat wave during this time caused crop failure and severely limited access to water. This devastating event had a huge toll on the people of the United States. Knowledge of the severe impact the heat wave had on agricultural communities reached a large public because the Farm Security Administration of the United States funded photographers to document the people struggling during the Great Depression. Milder’s photograph provokes viewers to ponder the relationship of water in our lives and the power struggles that dictate the availability of water and the long history of that power.