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Stock pile of coal and iron ore, Hanna Furnaces of the Great Lakes Steel Corporation, Detroit, Michigan 
Cleaning out loose coke after removing a door, preparatory to putting door back, Hanna Furnaces, Great Lakes Steel
Coke being pushed into a quenching car, Hanna Furnaces, Great Lakes Steel 
Coal tower atop coke ovens, Hanna Furnaces, Great Lakes Steel 
Hanna Furnaces of the Great Lakes Steel Corporation, Detroit, Michigan. General view showing tank which stores gas from the coke oven. Square building and extension in middle ground is where coal is fed to a feeder belt and then transferred to a storage place on top of the coke oven. The coal is then dropped into three inverted bottle-like containers and from there fed directly into the coke ovens.
Coal feeder on tip of coke ovens, Hanna Furnace, Great Lakes Steel 
Coal tower atop coal ovens, Hanna Furnaces, Great Lakes Steel 
Coal pusher apparatus with coal ovens, Hanna Furnaces of the Great Lakes Steel Corporation
I lifted them into my Furnaces; to form the spiritual sword.
That lays open the hidden heart...
William Blake: from Jerusalem: The Emanation of the Giant Albion (1804-1820)
Photos by Arthur Siegel, Detroit, Michigan, November 1942 (Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information Collection, Library of Congress)
These photos are both darkly and extraordinarily beautiful (they summon up memories of all the incredible "industrial films" I've seen in my life, especially during my childhood when local tv stations would run them as early Saturday morning programming for children for some reason), as well as my experiences working for companies with large manufacturing plants. Viewed in conjunction with the Blake poem, they are emotionally overpowering and literally leave me speechless.
ReplyDeleteCurtis, I too found Siegel's Great Lakes Steel portfolio heroic and terrifying. The Blake echo seemed unavoidable.
ReplyDeleteAnother very great photographer.
For more on him, plus further samples of his work:
Arthur Siegel