Otto Hagel
Encyclopedia
Otto Hagel was a photographer and filmmaker, He and his wife Hansel Mieth
were part of the school of socially conscious documentary photo-journalists that included Dorothea Lange, Imogene Cunningham, Peter Stackpole and Robert Capa. In the early 1930s, Hagel was a member of the San Francisco Film and Photo League
.
Hagel's photographs of waterfront workers are the basis of two books published by the West Coast ILWU: "Men and Ships: A Pictorial of the Maritime Industry" (1937); and "Men and Machines: A Story About Longshoring on the West Coast Waterfront" (1963).
Hagel and Mieth photographed the inside of the Heart Mountain Japanese American internment camp for LIFE in 1943, but the photographs were not published by LIFE, In the 1950s, the couple was blacklisted for refusing to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee
.
Hagel and Meith bought a working ranch in Santa Rosa California in 1941, and raised chickens for some years. A book with photographs from the period was published, as well as a pictorial in LIFE magazine called “The Simple Life.” During World War II, Hagel, still a German national, was under detention at home.
An image by Hagel was included in Steichen’s Family of Man exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in 1955.
Hansel Mieth
Hansel Mieth was a German-born photojournalist who worked on the staff of LIFE Magazine. She was best known for her social commentary photography which recorded the lives of working class Americans in the 1930s and 1940s....
were part of the school of socially conscious documentary photo-journalists that included Dorothea Lange, Imogene Cunningham, Peter Stackpole and Robert Capa. In the early 1930s, Hagel was a member of the San Francisco Film and Photo League
San Francisco Film and Photo League
The San Francisco Film and Photo League was one of the associated groups of the Workers Film and Photo League. Active from 1933-1934, the San Francisco General Strike ended their activity in 1934, with the disappearance of equipment and films during vigilante raids associated with the strike...
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Hagel's photographs of waterfront workers are the basis of two books published by the West Coast ILWU: "Men and Ships: A Pictorial of the Maritime Industry" (1937); and "Men and Machines: A Story About Longshoring on the West Coast Waterfront" (1963).
Hagel and Mieth photographed the inside of the Heart Mountain Japanese American internment camp for LIFE in 1943, but the photographs were not published by LIFE, In the 1950s, the couple was blacklisted for refusing to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee
House Un-American Activities Committee
The House Committee on Un-American Activities or House Un-American Activities Committee was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives. In 1969, the House changed the committee's name to "House Committee on Internal Security"...
.
Hagel and Meith bought a working ranch in Santa Rosa California in 1941, and raised chickens for some years. A book with photographs from the period was published, as well as a pictorial in LIFE magazine called “The Simple Life.” During World War II, Hagel, still a German national, was under detention at home.
An image by Hagel was included in Steichen’s Family of Man exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in 1955.