Ph3993 Extended Research Project 2017/2018 A.J
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PH3993 EXTENDED RESEARCH PROJECT 2017/2018 HOW AESTHETIC VISION HAS DEVELOPED SINCE THE INVENTION OF THE CAMERA: THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PAINTINGS AND PHOTOGRAPHS AND HOW THE CAMERA HAS CHANGED THE WAY WE VIEW THE ‘ART WORLD’. A.J. CARTMELL SUPERVISED BY P. GREENE BA PHOTOGRAPHY (WITH HONS) UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL LANCASHIRE DR. G. BRATCHFORD WORD COUNT: 6,598 How Aesthetic Vision Has Developed Since the Invention of the Camera… Amy Jade Cartmell Amy Jade Cartmell ABSTRACT This thesis aims to recognise how ‘Pictorialism’ paved the way for photography to become a globally recognised art form in its own right. “The term Pictorialism derives from a conception based on the primacy of making a picture, not merely showing something or stopping an action or event, but taking the information of observable reality and transforming it in a way that is unique to the realm of two-dimensional art” (Green, 1978). Since photography’s inception, practitioners all over the world have been discovering new and unique ways to take a photograph, but there are still many within the art world who hold the opinion that photography is merely a pseudo art form; that anyone can do it, with no talent or creativity involved. There are also people who believe common ‘photographic errors’, such as camera shake or blur, mean that a photograph is unsuccessful and no longer fit for public viewing, when in reality it is often these ‘errors’ that can define a photograph, as the following quote supports: “…a photograph need not be crisply rendered or ‘correctly’ exposed, colour-balanced, framed or even composed by the photographer… to have artistic merit.” (Higgins, 2013) 2 How Aesthetic Vision Has Developed Since the Invention of the Camera… Amy Jade Cartmell Amy Jade Cartmell This thesis will examine both historical and contemporary photographers alike; Julia Margaret Cameron, Ansel Adams, Richard Prince, and Uta Barth to name a few, to research further into how practitioners can simply transform light into arguably enthralling pieces of art. I will also be responding to my research in some chapters with a unique photographic output, in an attempt to further understand the innovative ways in which the camera can alter the way we look at an image. There is a rise of those who are calling themselves ‘Fine Art Photographers’ and I am one of these people. I believe that art is fundamentally about aesthetics, including masterful choices about light and space, and the interpretation of this visual language. Therefore, I aim to prove through this research project that photography can be, and is in fact, art. 3 How Aesthetic Vision Has Developed Since the Invention of the Camera… Amy Jade Cartmell Amy Jade Cartmell CONTENTS ABSTRACT – 2 INTRODUCTION – 5 1 EARLY PHOTOGRAPHY & PICTORIALISM – 6 THE IMAGE & THE BIRTH OF PRACTICAL PHOTOGRAPHY – 6 THE RISE OF PICTORIALISM – 9 EARLY PICTORIALISTS AND THEIR TECHNIQUES – 11 THE PICTORIALIST INFLUENCE ON CONTEMPORARY PRACTICE – 14 PERSONAL EXPERIMENTATIONS WITH THE OUT-OF-FOCUS AESTHETIC – 16 2 REPRODUCTION & REPHOTOGRAPHY – 22 REPRODUCTION WITHIN THE ART WORLD – 22 APPROPRIATION & AUTHORSHIP – 25 ‘HAVE YOU SEEN ME?’ – 28 3 PHOTOGRAPHY IN THE DIGITAL AGE – 31 THE DIGITAL REVOLUTION – 31 MOBILE PHOTOGRAPHY & SOCIAL MEDIA – 33 AMATEUR VS. PROFESSIONAL – 35 ‘MODERN RENAISSANCE’ – 37 4 LOOKING AT PHOTOGRAPHY – 39 PERCEPTION & THE PSYCHOLOGY OF SEEING – 39 IS PHOTOGRAPHY ART? – 42 SYNOPSIS – 44 IMAGE APPENDIX – 46 BIBLIOGRAPHY – 48 4 How Aesthetic Vision Has Developed Since the Invention of the Camera… Amy Jade Cartmell Amy Jade Cartmell INTRODUCTION Is photography art? It has been almost two centuries since the invention of the medium, yet critics are still disputing this question. The debate first began with early 19th century Pictorialists and questions about the legitimacy of their photographs as an art form. I will be researching the history of Pictorialism, what it is, how it came to be such an influential movement, and how historical and contemporary practitioners alike draw inspiration from the aesthetics of paintings. To further research into what should be considered art, I will investigate how we look at art and will review academic literary responses to this question. Hopefully, this will shine fresh light on the debate and bring new arguments forward, which will either differ from or support my own opinions. Pictorialism is a dying movement, and more artists need to feel comfortable to experiment with new techniques without being fearful of whether or not their work is art, including myself. Ronner (2015) suggests that “…the debate over the legitimacy of photography as a form of fine art will endure as long as the medium itself exists and its tools— and thereby its products—continue to change with shifts in technology.” Therefore, I will be looking into how technological advances in photography and recent social media influences such as ‘Instagram’ and ‘Snapchat’ are affecting the general proliferation of digital photography. The question becomes not only whether or not photography is art, but also, can anyone do it? 5 How Aesthetic Vision Has Developed Since the Invention of the Camera… Amy Jade Cartmell Amy Jade Cartmell CHAPTER ONE: EARLY PHOTOGRAPHY & PICTORIALISM 1.1 THE IMAGE & THE BIRTH OF PRACTICAL PHOTOGRAPHY This first chapter will briefly outline the origins of ‘the image’ and proceed to explain the pivotal innovations which eventually led to the invention of the camera. “A history of ‘the image’ should begin by acknowledging that the term forces a convergence of three fundamental human activities: seeing, thinking, and depicting” (Leja, 2011). Images have arguably existed since the parietal art of cave men at least 35,000 years ago, with animals being common subjects and humans depicted in the form of hand stencils. Since prehistoric times, humans have found ways of expressing themselves through some form of art, from painting to sculpture. In the time after the Renaissance era, “…artists and inventors searched for a mechanical method of capturing visual scenes” (Stokstad et al., 2005), which eventually resulted in the invention of their newest tool of visual expression: the camera. Photography was developed in the early Victorian era, and at that time, people thought it was a miraculous new technology “…conjoining scientific advances in the fields of optics and chemistry” (McLaren, 2014). The discovery of the halides (iodine, bromine, and chlorine) in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, lead to an increase in their commercial availability, meaning that silver photographic processes relying on the reduction of the halides to metallic silver became feasible. 6 How Aesthetic Vision Has Developed Since the Invention of the Camera… Amy Jade Cartmell Amy Jade Cartmell The first photographic technique resulting in an image captured using a camera was a process called Heliography. It involves coating a metal or glass plate with a naturally occurring viscous solution called Bitumen of Judea, placing the plate into the camera, and Figure 1 – View from the Window at Le Gras (1826/1827). "after an exposure of at least eight hours", the Photograph by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce. plate is then eroded with "a mixture of oil of lavender and white petroleum" (Harry Ransom Center, n.d.). This mixture then dissolves away the fragments of the Bitumen that have not been hardened by light. The outcome is a direct positive picture. The earliest known surviving photograph was created using this technique by its inventor Joseph Nicéphore Niépce around 1826 (see figure 1) and depicts the view from an upstairs window at Niépce's estate, Le Gras. In the image, we see what appears to be the outlines of buildings and trees, although there is no detail whatsoever. A re-touched version, however, now shows us the image Figure 2 –Re-touched version of View from the Window at Le Gras (1826/1827). Photograph by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce. more clearly (see figure 2). The birth of practical photography began with the invention of two very different processes. Firstly, the ‘daguerreotype', devised by the French artist Louis Daguerre, capable of producing images with unprecedented sharpness and realism. Secondly, the ‘calotype', also known as the ‘talbotype' in homage to its inventor – the British scientist, William Henry Fox Talbot – which produces 7 How Aesthetic Vision Has Developed Since the Invention of the Camera… Amy Jade Cartmell Amy Jade Cartmell images with a softer, more painterly quality. As discussed by King (n.d.), “…these two photographic models have defined the antithetical purposes of the use of the medium.” King describes this by saying how “The sharp… image of the daguerreotype suggested the path of… straight photography, while the soft calotype seemed better suited for rendering the picturesque.” In contrast to Daguerre’s silvered plates, which produced unique images, Fox Talbot’s calotype technique used sensitised paper and enabled multiple prints. Thus, “it was far more versatile, even though the paper’s fibres typically created ‘Rembrandtesque’ effects in place of Daguerre’s precision” (Willsdon, 2016). It was these painterly photographic qualities that led to the movement which I will now discuss in the following section. 8 How Aesthetic Vision Has Developed Since the Invention of the Camera… Amy Jade Cartmell Amy Jade Cartmell 1.2 THE RISE OF PICTORIALISM “Pictorialism was a photographic movement… that sought to elevate the photograph to the status of painting or drawing.” (Tate, n.d.) The genre initially emerged from the struggle to establish photography as not only a useful tool for visual documentation but also as an accessible instrument of creativity. In ‘Ways of Seeing’ Berger (1972) states how “…photographs are not, as is often assumed, a mechanical record” and it was this stereotype that pictorialists were attempting to escape. Practising photographers started to abandon the predetermined notions that photography was merely an instrument for documentation and instead, began “taking the information of observable reality and transforming it in a way that is unique to the realm of two- dimensional art” (Green, 1978).