Larry Fink is a famous American photographer, born in the year 1951 in Brooklyn, New York. His dream was to give people back the creativity and imagination that they lost throughout childhood due to society’s “commercial nature.” He was well on his way towards achieving his dream by the 1970’s. This is the time period when he began working on what he called “Social Graces.” This project consisted of a series of photographs that showed people interacting throughout their everyday lives. His subjects range from people in the lowest form of poverty all the way up to the more privileged people in our society. It has been said that “no matter who Fink elects to portray, he shows a warmth and sensitivity towards his subjects.” In 1977, he attended a birthday party for an eight year old girl in Martin Creek, Pennsylvania where he took the photograph that he later named “Girls on Porch, Martin Creek, PA.” This photo is now displayed in the Daum Museum of Contemporary Art in Sedalia, Missouri. Although Larry Fink has taken an outstanding number of photographs so far during his lifetime, “Girls on Porch, Martin Creek, PA” is one of the most diverse and most interesting pieces due to the feelings it can provoke, the homeliness and simplicity of the subjects in the photo, and also the characteristics of the photo itself.

When first seeing this photo, the viewer could feel a wide variety of emotions. Some common emotions that could be expressed are disgust, sympathy, and hope. The feeling the viewer gets would mostly reflect his or her inner character. One emotion this photo could provoke is disgust. Disgust would be caused by the viewer feeling like he or she is better than the people in the photo due to ethnic backgrounds, wealth, and social status, among other things. The people in the photo look very poor and lower class because of their fashion and their style of home. This could also be felt by a person of the same social class if he or she were the type of person that had high hopes and dreams and was absolutely disgusted by his or her surroundings. Another emotion that could be felt when viewing this photo is sympathy. The viewer could feel sorry for the family because of their simplicity in their clothing and their home. If someone were in the same situation as the people in the photo he or she may or may not be able to relate to the difficulty of being in the lower class. The final and most optimistic emotion that could be provoked is hope. Although the subjects are low class and not wealthy which could cause them to have difficult lives, regardless of their situations, they all look very happy. They appear to be carefree, living in the moment, and truly happy, which is what most of our population really wants; to be happy.

The second reason that “Girls on Porch, Martin Creek, PA” is a great photo is because of the simplicity and homeliness conveyed in the photo. Larry Fink has captured a precious moment in time for the subjects. The simple, lower class family is not what photographers normally portray in their work. The photo is more like one that would be seen in a family photo album instead of an art gallery. The photo shows homeliness in the way that all the members of a family have gathered together for an event. They are sharing memories and simply enjoying the day together at their home. The event in which this photo was taken was a birthday party. Knowing this information also helps the feeling of homeliness and family because it is a gathering for close family and friends to come and celebrate the birth of a loved one.

The third reason that this photograph is a wonderful piece of art is because of the characteristics of the photo itself. The medium of the photo is Gelatin Silver Print, which is basically a very nice black and white photo. Most of Larry Fink’s photography is in Gelatin Silver Print, and also most of his photography shows people in their natural candid states. The grayscale effect helps with the emotion and antiquity that was meant to be shown in this photo. An unusual quality about the photo, as previously stated, is the fact that it is the type that would be in an album instead of a gallery. When seeing the photo the viewer may not feel all of the homeliness that was meant to be felt or the same homeliness that the subjects involved in the photo would feel. Instead of being in an album in someone’s home and being seen sitting around by a lamp on the couch, it is displayed in the gallery, framed and in perfect condition, hanging on the wall with clear bright lights overhead that help the viewer to see the photo better. This takes away from the emotion that was originally meant to be felt. The space in the photo was used very well. The subjects completely cover the full frame and do not leave any negative space that throws off the viewer’s eye or focus. The focal point begins with the elderly woman in the back and moves forward towards the viewer until he or she reaches the young girl on the far left.

In conclusion, Larry Fink is an amazing photographer whose works are intriguing due to their simplicity, homeliness, and joy expressed. “Girls on Porch, Martin Creek, PA” is a great photo because of the feelings it can provoke, the homeliness and simplicity of the subjects in the photo, and also the characteristics of the photo itself.

Works Cited

Charles, Bill. “Photography Faculty: Larry Fink.”

The Powerhouse Gallery. “Larry Fink: The Forbidden Pictures.”