Right: Eagle Barbershop, 1938.
Left: Coca-Cola Goddess, 1947.
Rudolph Burckhardt was not only a photographer and he mixed all kind of disciplines. These photos are not to document what they are portraying. Take a look at the titles and you will have a glimpse of Rudy's intention.
Deborah Garwood wrote a good introductory text about his work, a pop artist avant la lettre, at Artcritical and this are some excerpts:
"Rudy Burckhardt’s career dates from 1935 to 1999. Working in the mediums of photography, art films, and collaborative dance and theatre experiments while continuing his own, less well known realist painting, his work has found an important if underground niche in American 20th century modernism. The mix of disciplines was not a good gestalt in this era; by temperament he eluded definition; yet he became something of a cult figure during the heyday of the New York School. The value of his versatility and its relationship to cross-disciplinary practices by later artists remains to be measured more fully."Burckhardt reputedly got more out of the live moments of shooting than darkroom work. Titles like Haircut 20 cents, Waffles, and Sidewalk IV convey a burlesque routine of eating, reading, walking, and riding not unlike life today except for the props."
Read the entire article.