Church Organ with Pews / The Church Organ, Alabama / Church Interior, Alabama

We live in a part of the country that some call The Bible Belt. Most folks around here go to church regular. Many of my friends have to go on Sunday and again on Wednesday Night.

These words from a thirteen-year-old boy aptly describe the area where Walker Evans photographed this church interior. Worship was and is central to the lives of many Southerners. Evans spent a month in the South with the writer James Agee, interviewing local residents and making images of their way of life for a Fortunemagazine story on sharecroppers.

Rather than photographing the church full of worshippers, Evans showed it empty to emphasize its bare-bones simplicity. The ornate imported organ contrasts with the homemade plank pews and unadorned window. A small sign on the wall sets out six goals for the "100 percent pupil"--presumably a bible student--awarding ten points for offerings, something few actually could have made at this time. An adjacent blackboard records attendance at class, including several picturesque misspellings.