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Truck into house at 2461 North Eastern Ave, 1958
1media/44-51069-thumb.jpg2020-10-20T14:56:27-07:00Curtis Fletcher3225f3b99ebb95ebd811595627293f68f680673e3815123 images. Truck into house at 2461 North Eastern Ave, 20 March 1958. Mrs. Nellie Reading; Gerald Reading (damage to their home); Walter Matthews (fireman); Clarence Appleby (truck driver - injured); Ernie Hargis (ambulance driver).; Caption slip reads: "Photographer: Wesselmann. Date: 1958-03-20. Reporter: Decker. Assignment: Truck into house. 2461 North Eastern Ave. 3: Mrs. Nellie Reading and her son, Gerald, look over damage to their living room by invading truck cab at their home 2461 North Eastern Ave. at 3:30 a.m. 4: L. A. Fireman Walter Matthews, right, looks at damage to house by invading truck cab. 5: Truck driver Clarence Appleby shown suffering from shock while trapped for almost and hour in cab of truck that ran into house and wedged his doors. 6: Truck driver Clarence Appleby being treated by ambulanceman [sic] Doug Brown, with flashlight, as ambulance driver Ernie Hargis looks on".plain2020-12-03T08:57:51-08:00USC Digital Library3/20/58negatives (photographic)photographsWesselmannCurtis Fletcher3225f3b99ebb95ebd811595627293f68f680673e
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1media/44-51069.jpg2020-11-12T17:26:09-08:00Truck into house at 2461 North Eastern Ave., Los Angeles, March 20, 19589This image taken by Wesselmann shows to viewers an accident that had taken place: a truck had driven into a house and caused the damage shown in the photo.plain2020-11-24T19:36:27-08:00
This image taken by Wesselmann shows to viewers an accident that had taken place: a truck had driven into a house and caused the damage shown in the photo. Aspects of the image represent the photographic technology of the time. Despite being taken indoors, the photo is brightly lit and various textures in the image are made visible. The light source was intense, as suggested by the shadow cast by the man. This use of light in this image enhances the realization of various textual details that can be seen where sections of the truck are exposed through the destroyed wall. Metal and crumbles of concrete present themselves in a range of distorted shapes. The chaotic foreground contrasts what seems to be a rather calm background, strengthening the composition of the image and putting more emphasis on the accident. The photograph is journalistic because it portrays something that is not accessible to the public. There is a spectacular nature to accidents which people who are not involved with are unlikely to be able to gain access to; hence the ability of the public to gain knowledge of the accident is heavily dependent upon “insiders” like photographers. Because of the evolution of photojournalism, the public was then able to witness social issues and public happenings even without personal physical presence. The image also has a candid nature to it: neither subjects of the image look towards and acknowledge the camera. Rather, they continue to observe the scene and seem to ignore the presence of the photographer. This again highlights the photograph’s significance at the intersection between candid photography and photojournalism.