02 - Arthur Rothstein, Copper Pit, Bingham, Utah

Arthur Rothstein
American, 1915–1985

Copper pit. Bingham, Utah
1940
Gelatin silver print
Gift of Marie Eccles Caine Foundation, NEHMA
1987.89

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One of the hallmarks of a Photojournalist is to portray the subject of the photograph in an impartial way. This photograph of the Bingham Copper Mine does exactly that. You can see Rosenstein’s clear, factual style. Although the subject is quite unusual and magnificent, the photograph does not seem to aim to exploit or exaggerate any of its characteristics. The subject is directly depicted. You can get a sense of the enormous scale by looking at the power line towers descending into the pit.

Arthur Rothstein was an exceptional photojournalist.  He was well known for his technical ability and direct style of imagery. This photograph, like the others in this series, were part of the Farm Security Administration project. This government supported photography project aimed to document everyday American life during the great depression. This photograph and others show a careworn and sparsely populated Utah during the late 1930's.