16 Photographs That Capture the Best and Worst of 1970s America
A new exhibit at the National Archives highlights an interesting decade—one that gave rise to the environmental movement and some awkward fashion
- By Megan Gambino
- Smithsonian.com, March 08, 2013
(“Children play in yard of Ruston home, while Tacoma smelter stack showers area with arsenic and lead residue.” Gene Daniels, Ruston, Washington, August 1972. Credit: National Archives)
Gifford Hampshire, or “Giff,” as he was called, was a farm kid living in Kansas during the 1930s. Dust Bowl scenes were familiar to him, so it is not surprising that he was taken with iconic images, like Dorothea Lange’s "Migrant Mother,” from the Farm Security Administration’s photography project in the 1930s.
“All his adult life, Hampshire had hoped to do something comparable,” says Bruce Bustard, a senior curator at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.
Hampshire studied journalism at the University of Missouri in the late 1940s, where he rubbed shoulders with former FSA photographers, and, in the mid-1950s, he nabbed a prized position as a photo editor at National Geographic. But, it wasn’t until 1971, after he had joined the newly created Environmental Protection Agency, that Hampshire launched the national photography project that would become his legacy—DOCUMERICA.
“DOCUMERICA was born out of the environmental awakening of the 1970s,” explains Bustard. The EPA, for which Hampshire worked as deputy director of public affairs, invited photographers, from students to Pulitzer Prize winners, to pitch series that focused on “subjects of environmental concern.”
These proposals ranged from the overtly environmental—chronicling the goings-on at a car inspection station in Ohio—to looser, artistic explorations of tourism and suburban sprawl. Hampshire and his colleagues then doled out assignments, ranging from weeks to months in length. “The job paid $150 a day, plus expenses, and all the film you could shoot,” says Bustard.
Comments (5)
The 70s--whether socially, sartorially, ecologically, or anything elseally--a time for doing less with more.
Posted by Wayne A. Silkett on April 18,2013 | 04:08 PM
To see photos of 1970 ,early 1970 too is interesting .Kind of strange for me seeing early 1970, can't help it ,I was born that year.Thank You ,I got to see the earliest part of 1970.
Posted by Tina Summers on April 4,2013 | 02:09 PM
Dear Smithsonian.com: Either put all the pictures on one page, or learn technologies like Ajax or HTML5 so the entire page doesn't have to load again just for me to see the next picture. It's too slow, plus I have to scroll to see the picture every time the page reloads. Poor design. Thank you Roger
Posted by hiru on March 18,2013 | 03:45 PM
I came to age in the 1970's. While I'm not terribly nostalgic for that decade, I remember it as a period of greater freedom, increased critical thinking, and less gullible acceptance of whatever came out of the District of Columbia and news agencies. As for "awkward fashion" during the 1970's, that's rather subjective isn't it? Does the editor think today's clothing is superior because it appeals to a 'modern' demographic? As a poor boy who worked through college I dealt with my share of fashion snobs who looked down on my old levis and work boots. It seems those same elitists with their shallow notions of 'hip' found their way to the Smithsonian. Good riddance.
Posted by Marvin on March 10,2013 | 07:56 PM
Dear Smithsonian.com: Either put all the pictures on one page, or learn technologies like Ajax or HTML5 so the entire page doesn't have to load again just for me to see the next picture. It's too slow, plus I have to scroll to see the picture every time the page reloads. Poor design. Thank you,
Posted by Roger Waters on March 10,2013 | 04:18 PM