Workers
1972 — 1974
« In 1974, I started going into factories to photograph workers. I was moved to do this series because people spend most of their time at work, but very few artists follow them there. I also wanted to contribute to the great American tradition of photographing labor done before me by Jacob Reiss and Lewis Hine. I also felt very strongly about working people. They produce everything around us: clothing, food, shelter, yet they were at the bottom of the ladder. Politically they had little power. Economically, they were underpaid if not exploited. It seemed as if there was very little social justice as far as workers were concerned…Yes, my Workers series is my paean of praise, a long heroic poem in homage to working and salaried people everywhere. It was as if I wanted the lyricism of Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel brought down to earth, finding it in the everyday factory. » LS

Furniture Worker, Long Island City, 1972-74 – Gelatin silver print © Louis Stettner Estate

Garment Worker, New Jersey, – Gelatin silver print © Louis Stettner Estate

Attaching Fender, Chrysler Automobile Assembly Plant, Delaware, 1972-74 – Gelatin silver print © Louis Stettner Estate

Bingo Factory, Long Island City, 1972-74 – Gelatin silver print © Louis Stettner Estate

Pneumatic Drill Operator, Broadway, Manhattan, 1974 – Gelatin silver print © Louis Stettner Estate

Assembly Line Worker, Long Island City, 1972-74 – Gelatin silver print © Louis Stettner Estate

Tony, Laying Sewer Pipe, West End Avenue, Manhattan, 1974

Worker, Bingo Factory, Long Island City, 1972-74 – Gelatin silver print © Louis Stettner Estate

Chrysler Automobile Assembly Line Worker, Delaware, 1972-74 – Gelatin silver print © Louis Stettner Estate

Aluminium Foundry, USSR, 1975 – Gelatin silver print © Louis Stettner Estate

Dam Construction Worker, USSR, 1975 – Gelatin silver print © Louis Stettner Estate
