I was searching for a picture that would be related to the WPA in the 1930s, but also where I could see the use of new technologies. I was expecting a combination of both. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I decided to focus on the Folk Music. I found this photograph, a portrait of Sidney Robertson Cowell, copying California Folk Music Project recordings for the Library of Congress<\/a>. Cowell convinced the Northern California WPA Office in San Francisco that her project<\/a> was one that was appropriate for WPA consideration <\/span>1<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n She was passionate by Folk Music as she said, \u201cThe first ingredient was an itching heel\u201d<\/a>. Throughout her portrait, we can perceive her hard work and strong will to create one main collection of California Folk Music recordings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This image<\/a> emphasizes the use of technology. Indeed, she was using a recorder and an engraver in order to accomplish her task. Those were heavy machines at the time, one must be courageous and applied to create good result. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Like I explained in my annotations, this portrait of Cowell working in the project office on Shattuck Ave., Berkeley, California in early 1939, intentionally justifies her work to her sponsors (co-sponsored by the Music Department of the University of California, Berkeley and the Library of Congress). <\/p>\n\n\n\n The picture was taken in an angle which propels us in the room and in Cowell\u2019s hard work. The photo is black and white, but it depicts the use of new technologies. It brings an atmosphere where new challenges old. This is a good representation of the 1930s when the New Deal hustles the former era. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There are piles of recordings on the table next to Cowell. It shows the work getting done, but more importantly, a growing collection of gathered Californian Folk music and preserved for many years to come. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Cowell had a great journey collecting Folk Music for her state-based project. How did her journey influence her? She met Folk groups and learned about their life <\/span>2<\/sup><\/a><\/span>. What was Cowell\u2019s motivation for building her project? What is the importance of technology within Cowell\u2019s work? <\/p>\n\n\n\n Not so long ago, I remember using transparency paper to annotate images and interpret them. If the light bulb was dead, then I could not project any image. If I did not have the pen to write on the transparency paper, then nothing could get done. Using a digitized photo, annotating it thanks to a software and being able to share it on the web is a great step forward. It is also extremely useful in order to get feedback at any time, comments, and ideas about the image in question. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The glitching method is new to me. It is surprising for sure. Humans have always evolved following another human\u2019s idea. Since we created artificial intelligence, we can wonder what it could bring us. As a matter of fact, the glitching process is a kind of pre-step in the artificial intelligence interpretation. We still need to interact to understand what the glitch could bring us, but it helps us to have a different perspective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the glitched image of Cowell\u2019s portrait, it is interesting to see that half of the frame was covered by a white band. It brings the audience to focus on the engraver, the recorder and Cowell herself. We can see on her face how focused and passionate she is with her work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It also helps us not to think of the sponsors, because the glitched side of the image makes the university office room blurry. It also removes the interest of showing her work for the sponsors and instead, we can appreciate her work for itself. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The annotation\nand glitching methods were efficient in order to interrogate my historical\nquestions. It brought a dynamism and bounced me between resources, readings,\nand the image. It brought a better understanding of the atmosphere and\nenvironment in which the photo took place. It felt like we could dive-in the\nscene and be taken on Sidney Robertson Cowell\u2019s journey. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n . \n\n\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I was searching for a picture that would be related to the WPA in the 1930s, but also where I could see the use of new technologies. I was expecting a combination of both. I decided to focus on the Folk Music. I found this photograph, a portrait of Sidney Robertson Cowell, copying California Folk … Continue reading “Sidney Robertson Cowell for a Folk Music Project”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-684","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-image"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jessicadoeshistory.com\/courseblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/684","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jessicadoeshistory.com\/courseblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jessicadoeshistory.com\/courseblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jessicadoeshistory.com\/courseblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jessicadoeshistory.com\/courseblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=684"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/jessicadoeshistory.com\/courseblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/684\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":694,"href":"https:\/\/jessicadoeshistory.com\/courseblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/684\/revisions\/694"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jessicadoeshistory.com\/courseblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=684"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jessicadoeshistory.com\/courseblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=684"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jessicadoeshistory.com\/courseblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=684"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}