Reassessing Paul Strand's Mexican Period Through 1934 Documentary The Wave

Stephanie Schwartz's 2013 essay Paul Strand's Living Labor reinterprets the photographer's Mexican period from 1932-1934. Challenging established narratives that position this time as a departure from his 1920s formalism, the analysis centers on Strand's 1934 documentary film The Wave. This film examines labor conflicts in post-revolutionary Mexico. Schwartz argues The Wave continues Strand's earlier exploration of human-machine relationships first seen in his 1921 film Manhatta. The essay focuses on Strand's use of close-ups and portraiture. It rejects binary frameworks that separate his New York and Mexican work, his film and photography practices, and modernist versus documentary approaches. The article was published on October 5, 2013, and is available through MIT Press with subscription access. Schwartz organizes an alternative history of Strand's 1930s-1940s output that emphasizes continuity rather than rupture.