man&machine
Powerhouse Mechanic Working on Steam Pump, 1920 by Lewis Hine
After analyzing this photograph, Powerhouse Mechanic Working on Steam Pump by Lewis Hine,
piece until the closest one to the camera is framing the man, making it seem like a womb
there is much to discuss. Through this process, I dove deep into the photograph, and un-
that encircles him, and therefore uniting him with the steam pump. The framing creates
raveled it to find ideas that might not have been apparent at first glance. This photograph
a beautiful, flowing composition, which is one aspect that makes the photograph so strong.
drew me in from the beginning. What I loved about the photograph was the beauty in its
simplicity. At first glance, we see a handsome man, the machine that he is working with, his
All these elements add up to the deepest and most meaningful level of the photographs.
tank top, hunched over back, pants, strong arms, the wrench he is using, the nuts and bolts
Now, the womb created by the shapes and frames in the photograph is understood to be
of the machine, which is a steam pump, and the light shining right on him.
an emphasis on the fact that the worker is in unity with his machine because he was in
essence a part of the machine and constrained by it. He did a job that has now been re-
With this information I was able to move further into my analytical process. We have no
placed by newly invented pieces to complete the machines in the factories. It is also clear
information on the man that is there in the photograph. What I can say about him, however,
now why it does not seem like the man is working that hard with a lot of energy. If the
is that by noticing his clean cut look with his hair done, closely shaved to his neck, and his
mechanic was full of energy it would not make sense—he is essentially a machine. He uses
face freshly shaven, it is possible that Hine had posed this man and set everything up for the
his arms continuously each throughout the day to tighten these bolts over and over again.
photograph. This man could have truly worked with a steam pump, but it is questionable
whether or not this was a photo illustration or pure documentary; It is possible that it is
This factory worker was not the only one that Lewis Hine shot. In fact, he did a complete
somewhere in between. Another detail I could point out to support my theory that this
series of photographs called “Work Portraits” on workers in factories,stressing child labor.
photograph is a photo illustration, is the lighting and the man’s positioning. Everything
Hine was a photographer as well as a sociologist, and humanist. During the 1920s, around
seems slightly too perfect. Again, the lighting could have been sunlight shining through
the time of the Industrial Revolution and the Great Depression, people did not yet have
a small window above him instead of studio lights. His position, however, is just right. His
the technology in factories to have machines work on their own so they people were
body is perfectly centered with the large wheel of the steam pump with his back curving
given very low wages to work with heavy and dangerous machinery. The worker, aside
at the angle of it as well; the folds in his clothing create a right angle, and while his arms
from the immigrant, was one of Hine’s favorite themes. His idea behind documenting child
are also bent in that angle, they also run parallel to lines within the wheel itself.
labor was to persuade authorities to make it come to an end. Eventually, Hine’s aspiration
with photography led to the establishment of child labor and safety laws for all workers,
One of the details I began to notice was the framing throughout Hine’s photograph. It seems
as though each part of the steam pump frames another
and became so widely admired that they were published in many newspapers.