Chapter 2.5 Photography PART 2 MEDIA AND PROCESSES PHOTOGRAPHY - Recording the Image
. “Photography” derives from two Greek words, “drawing with light”
photos means “light” and graphein means “to draw” . Collecting the image
Film: negative and positive
Digital: pixels, computer . Camera vs. human eye
Today, the camera is a mechanical recorder and an artistic tool
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, M. Kathryn Shields Chapter 2.5 Photography PART 2 MEDIA AND PROCESSES
The History of Photography . Camera obscura
Projection of outside scene
First drawn, then captured on light-sensitive material
Room-sized then portable (eighteenth-century) camera obscura . Negative/positive processes
Cyanotype-blue line on white background
Calotype-a negative image is turned into a positive one using sunlight circa 1841
Daguerreotype . Digital Processes
Pixels, digital files, display, manipulation Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, M. Kathryn Shields Rainer Gemma-Frisius, first published illustration of a camera obscura, 1544. William Henry Fox Talbot, The Oriel Window, South Gallery, Lacock Abbey, 1835 or 1839. Photogenic drawing negative, 3¼ x 4¼”. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York Chapter 2.5 Photography PART 2 MEDIA AND PROCESSES Portrait Photography . One of photography’s popular uses
Substitute for more costly painted portraits
People could eventually take their own pictures
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, M. Kathryn Shields Nadar, Sarah Bernhardt, 1865. Albumen print, Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, France Chapter 2.5 Photography PART 2 MEDIA AND PROCESSES Nadar, Sarah Bernhardt . Sarah Bernhardt was a famous actress this would have been “in vogue and cutting edge” in her time . Nadar’s distinctive style:
When posed scenes and elaborate props were common at the time, he avoids a busy setting
Focuses on the sitter: • Wrapped in fabric, leaning on a column, with a plain backdrop • Highlights Bernhardt’s elegance and her introspective side
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, M. Kathryn Shields Chapter 2.5 Photography PART 2 MEDIA AND PROCESSES Landscape
. Pictures of the land and its natural features
Scenic records
Can highlight ecological concerns . How might such images be used?
By organizations like the Sierra Club (dedicated to preserving America’s wilderness)?
Other possibilities?
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, M. Kathryn Shields Ansel Adams, Sand Dunes, Sunrise—Death Valley National Monument, California, c. 1948 Chapter 2.5 Photography PART 2 MEDIA AND PROCESSES Ansel Adams, Sand Dunes, Sunrise Death Valley National Monument, California
. Black-and-white photography . Adams’ style (“zone system”)
Arranges black, white, and gray tones
Creates a balanced effect
Entire picture in clear focus - a hallmark of his style
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, M. Kathryn Shields Still Life Photography
Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre, The Artist’s Studio, 1837. Whole-plate daguerreotype. Chapter 2.5 Photography PART 2 MEDIA AND PROCESSES Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre, The Artist’s Studio
Exposure times in mid-nineteenth-century photography were long
Over 8 minutes for indoor scenes (low light=long exposure) so it was nearly impossible to photograph a living person
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, M. Kathryn Shields
Chapter 2.5 Photography PART 2 MEDIAPhotojournalism AND PROCESSES . The use of photography to tell a news story
Dates back to the Civil War
Now we accept that photographs only give a partial view • They can be manipulated, altered, cropped and can distort, exaggerate, even lie
Photography was once believed to be inherently truthful • Credibility is crucial for news reportage • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XONXeUndHl8 Has partially led to the media blitz today and is being led by it, too
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, M. Kathryn Shields Chapter 2.5 Photography PART 2 MEDIA AND PROCESSES
Matthew Brady
Lincoln granted permission in 1861 with the proviso that Brady finance the project himself. His efforts to document the the war, bringing his photographic studio right onto the battlefields earned Brady his place in history. He employed traveling darkroom and had 17 fellow photographers to go out and photograph scenes from the Civil War. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koLnFvPaya0
PowerPoints developed by CreativeMyndz Multimedia Studios
Lewis Wickes Hine, Ten Year Old Spinner, Whitnel Cotton Mill, 1908. Photographic print. Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Chapter 2.5 Photography PART 2 MEDIA AND PROCESSES Lewis Wickes Hine, Ten Year Old Spinner, Whitnel Cotton Mill
Used photography to tell the story of child labor
Impersonated a salesperson, inspector, etc., to get access
Took careful notes about the working conditions
Published the photos to inform the public
Resulted in laws protecting young children
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, M. Kathryn Shields John Filo Kent State University Nick Ut June 1972 1970 Pulitzer-Prize Photo Near Trang Bang Vietnam Pulitzer-Prize Photo Chapter 2.5 Photography PART 2 MEDIA AND PROCESSES The Art of Photography
. A Great Debate
Record of “reality” or artform? . Does photography have to be one or the other? . Contemporary art
Photo-based art is very widespread as stand alone work and as tool
Fine-art museums began collecting photos in the 1980s
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, M. Kathryn Shields Chapter 2.5 Photography PART 2 MEDIA AND PROCESSES Making “Artistic” Photographs . How do methods used in other media relate to photography? . What effects are distinctive to the medium of photography? . Other ways to make “artistic” photography
Clarity and realism
Optical effects
Photocollage and photomontage
Colorizing or altering the image in some way
Message and/or strength of the image?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpJOA4J57o4
Basic photo developing -
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, M. Kathryn Shields
The Photography as Fine Art Debate When is the line? How much does the equipment get in the way? Brian Lukas Hurricane Katrina The Rescue Boats 2012 Chapter 2.5 Photography PART 2 MEDIA AND PROCESSES Photocollage and Photomontage
. Collage
Both the process and the product
Created by gluing together separate materials on a single support
Can be made with photo-based materials • Called photocollage
Photographs, text, pre-printed materials
Unique product
Photomontage • Made to be mass-produced • Layered beforehand, re-photographed, or scanned
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, M. Kathryn Shields Oscar Gustav Rejlander, The Two Ways of Life, 1857. Albumen silver print, 16 x 31”. Royal Photographic Society, Bath, England Chapter 2.5 Photography PART 2 MEDIA AND PROCESSES Oscar Gustav Rejlander, Two Ways of Life . Steps to make the combination prints in the darkroom:
Rejlander made thirty separate negatives
Cut out each area like a puzzle piece
Exposed the negatives one at a time
Covered the rest of the picture while each part was exposed . Took six weeks to make . Looks like one seamless scene . Photomontage-the photogapher for the first time is altering the photo(s), adding his “hand” to the final product
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, M. Kathryn Shields 2.86 Loretta Lux, The Waiting Girl, 2006. Ilfochrome print, 11⅞ x 15⅞” Chapter 2.5 Photography PART 2 MEDIA AND PROCESSES Loretta Lux, The Waiting Girl
. Digital process to assemble compositions
Lux subtly manipulates the color and proportions, sometimes makes painted backgrounds. Then digitally retouches. . It takes several months to a year to create each image
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, M. Kathryn Shields Sandy Skoglund, Radioactive Cats © 1980. Cibachrome or pigmented inkjet color photograph, 25⅝ x 35” Chapter 2.5 Photography PARTSandy 2 Skoglund, MEDIARadioactive AND PROCESSES Cats
. Brightly colored “tableau” or arrangement
Green becomes more intense against the gray
Altered in such a way that looks Surreal
Combination of fact and fiction
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, M. Kathryn Shields