The Radical Camera

"The Photo League, an organization founded in New York in the 1930s that sought to pull photography away from purely aesthetic concerns and into chronicling issues related to poverty and inequity. The exhibition could not be more timely. It kicks off with a 1930s newsreel that shows laborers demanding unemployment as a title card reads: “Two billion dollars of relief for the bankers and industrialists.” (Sound familiar?) Over the course of roughly 150 black-and-white photographs, the exhibit chronicles the grinding poverty of the Depression, daily life during World War II and the rise of 1950s consumerism as viewed through the eyes of everyday people." (culture.wync.org)

This exhibit highlighting the New York Photo League, 1936-1951 may be worth a trip across the river to see:

 

more images here