In 1948, the United States Information Service produced The Photographer, a 26-minutes documentary based on the life and works of American photographer Edward Weston. Shot and directed by Weston’s apprentice Willard van Dyke, the documentary follows the co-founder of f / 64 in his Wildcat Hill, California’s home. Weston tours among the places he photographed, such as Point Lobos or Yosemite.
The film is also an interesting political case to look at. Unofficially conceived during the Second World War, then made official in 1953 and closed in 1999, the United States Information Service was considered to be a public information service by the United States. During the Cold War, the service provided propaganda-like information domestically and internationally, promoting a reassuring image of the United States and its culture, including the Voice of America radio program. The documentary filmed on Edward Weston illustrates this logic and shows that photography and its artists could also serve a political cause.
