At Work

        "We spend the better part of our lives
          on the job in a factory, an office or
                                 somewhere else in the assembly line
                                 of service and commerce."

Shot over a period of 16 years, Friedlander captured American workers in locations as diverse as factories, offices, telemarketing centers and corporate offices. The images examine the relationships between objects, people and places and connect together the mundane bits and pieces of our lives in new, surprising and often  comedic manner. I find them both alluring and slightly odd. The banality of the framing works well with the message that the work we do shapes us into the people we are today. Work gives us the freedom to grow, earn, meet new people and develop in ways we sometimes don't expect, the other side to this is one can get trapped into a position which stops the very freedom we need to grow and full fill our true potential. The expression or lack of in these images reflect this, these people look lost and robotic, have they forgotten who they are or where they really want to be?