This article examines the photographs that Paul Strand made in the American Southwest between 1930-32, marking his crystallization as a photographer of interconnected people, objects, and places. Using Group Theatre director Harold Clurman’s appellation of ‘historical documents’ for these photographs, I argue that Strand’s photography witnessed the fluidity of the nascent discourse of documentary. I situate temporality as a principle interpretative theme for interpreting his photographs, invoking the geological notion of ‘deep time’ to characterize his sustained examination of these symbiotic forms amidst the region’s rich topography. I explore the significance of his favouring of the earlier photographers David Octavius Hill and Eugene Atget, and explore his retention of outmoded apparatus and slow printing methods. I consider these factors in concert with his coeval political radicalization, concluding that Strand’s Southwest photography sacrificed the topicality of ‘social documentary’ to concentrate on, in Clurman’s terms, ‘man’s age-long struggle’.

中文翻译：

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记录“长期斗争”：保罗·斯特兰德在美国西南部的时光

本文考察了 Paul Strand 于 1930 年至 32 年间在美国西南部拍摄的照片，标志着他作为一个将人物、物体和地点相互关联的摄影师的结晶。使用团体剧院导演哈罗德·克鲁曼 (Harold Clurman) 对这些照片的“历史文献”称谓，我认为斯特兰德的摄影见证了纪录片新生话语的流动性。我将时间性作为解释他的照片的主要解释主题，援引“深度时间”的地质概念来描述他在该地区丰富的地形中对这些共生形式的持续研究。我探讨了他偏爱早期摄影师 David Octavius Hill 和 Eugene Atget 的重要性，并探讨了他对过时设备和慢速印刷方法的保留。