The Genius of Photography- Part 3 ,,Right Time, Right Place"

1) What is described as “One of the most familiar concepts in photography”?

Henri Cartier Bresson in 1933 took an image of a man jumping into the unknown. He captured a fraction of the second in the right place and in the right time. Since that photograph a decisive moment is one of the most recognisable concept in photography.

2) Should you trust a photograph? (1.38m G3)

“We thought that was the world, now we realised that there was lot of missed in that. Trusting the photography that was probably a huge mistake from the beginning”

Philosopher Arthur C.Danto

 3) What was revolutionary about the Leica in 1925?

Leica launched in Germany in 1925. It was revolutionary camera as it was compact and quite, at that time the latest lens technology which gave birth to the whole new style of instant photography. It was also light weight and easy to carry.  It had a viewfinder placed in the left side of the camera which allowed the left eye to look around.

4) What did George Bernard Shaw say about all the paintings of Christ?

“I would exchange every painting of Christ for one snapshot”. Photography is about capturing the reality and that is evidence of truth.

5) Why were Tony Vaccaros negatives destroyed by the army censors?

Tony Vaccaros was a GI soldier and photographer on a daily basis. 10 rolls of the negatives were destroyed because they contained images of dead GI’s, a decisive moment that the world wasn’t yet ready to accept.

 

6) Who was Henryk Ross and what was his job?

Henryk Ross was a polish Jew. He was a photographer who kept the unique record of what happened in the Ghetto in Lodz. Amongst his many duties as official Ghetto photographer Ross had to document a production of goods for inhabitants of Lodz to make money. He produced the identity cards pictures, worked for a graphic department and had a responsibility for promoting the goods which were in the Ghetto.

7) Which show was a “sticking plaster for the wounds of the war”, how many people saw it and what “cliché” did it end on?

“The family of man” was an exhibition which included over 500 photographs from 273 photographers. The first show was opened to the public in New York in 1955 and after toured the world showing to over 9 million  visitors. The collection ended with Eugene Smiths photograph of his own children walking in his own garden out into the light. The cliché  about beginning of sentimental journey through life.

8) Why did Joel Meyerowitz photograph ground zero in colour?

Joel Meyerowitz photographed ground zero in colour because he was certain  that black & white photographs would emphasise this sad event and would keep New York in deep tragedy. There is a tragic element to B&W photography in that case not war but the collapse of structure. Colour photographs give hope and strength to face misfortune.

The Genius of Photography- Part 2 ,,Documents for Artists’’

1) What are Typologies?

Typology is a study of types. In photography it is the systematic, accurate recording of places, people and things (to create pure a document, just the facts nothing else). The series of photographs usually taken in a similar way (angle, lighting, composition, framing) which enables comparison of the subjects. 

 

Bernd & Hilla Becher

 2) What was “The Face of The Times”?

August Sander was a German commercial portrait photographer who in 1929 published his selection of the portraits under the title ,,The Face of The Times’’.  His human typology used a system of categorisation based on 7 social types and focused on functionality of the individual in society. He presented these images as strict documentary however each of them have a meaning behind it that you couldn’t talk about at the time when they were created (chaos in Germany during the period of post war).

August Sander

3) Which magazine did Rodchenko design?

Rodchenko designed the “URSS en construction” magazine. He was a master of photo- montage who introduced a new way of seeing. This radical photographic style was combined with cutting edge graphic to create political propaganda.

4) What is photo-montage?

Photo-montage is a graphic technique which has been taken from cinema montage. It’s composition obtained by  cutting, posting, retouching separate photographs and  re-photographing very last outcome. The final piece has a different and stimulated  meaning more than the original photographs.

5) Why did Eugene Atget use albumen prints in the 1920’s?

Albumen prints were used to print in the sunshine not in the darkroom. For 1920 the technique was quite old. However Atget didn’t know how to print using modern material and methods.

6) What is solarisation and how was it discovered?

Solarisation was discovered by Man Ray’s assistant Lee Miller in the late 1920s. No camera is involved when making this type of photograph. Solarisation is simply a characteristic effect created by exposing the print or film while is developed to the white light. It is a surrealistic metallic effect with areas of reverse tones like on negatives.

Man Ray

7) What was the relationship between Bernice Abbott and Eugene Atget?

Bernice Abbott was an assistant of Man Ray.  Eugene Atget was also a photographer and his work was inspiring for Bernice Abbott and she decided to take a portrait of Eugene Atget in 1927.

8) Why was Walker Evans fired from the FSA?

Walker Evans in 1935 was commissioned to produce propaganda images for the FSA – Farm Security Administration (the photography program created by American government to deal with the crisis). The photographs were supposed to show a perfect and idealised society in America. Evans shaped reality to fit his personal vision but he couldn’t make that vision fit to the propaganda requirements of FSA. He was sacked in 1937.

The Genius of Photography- Part 1 ,,Fixing the shadows''

1) What is photography’s “true genius”?

Throughout 170 years photography has served us, delighted us, moved us, intrigued us and sometimes disappointed us by showing the secret strangeness that lies beneath the world of appearance. It’s about what frame you put around the image, what comes in and what is cut off,  it tells its own story. Yet the story doesn’t end, is told beyond the frame... That is the true genius of photography.

Andre Kertesz 1928

2) Name a proto-photographer.

Henry Fox Talbot was one of the first proto-photographers. He was a British inventor of calotype process who also experimented with paper covered by silver salts. He also contributed to the concept of  negatives and positives (many positive copies can be made from negative).
 

Another proto-photographer worthy of mention is Louise Daguerre who was using copper plates to fix the images. A downside of this type of photography was that the image could not be reproduced like a Polaroid picture.

3) In the 19th century, what term was associated with the daguerreotype?

19^th century term refers to “A mirror with a memory”, which gives a very precise description as to what daguerreotype is.  Fixed images were done on mirror metal plate and reflected a highly detailed picture with impregnable sharpness. Tones of grey within the image and subject which seats on the background creates a very unique visual experience, almost like a 3D effect.

4) What is the vernacular?

Vernacular is a genre of photography which refers to unknown or amateur photographers work. Its subcategory contains journalistic, touristic, scientific photography. All media such as postcards, snapshots, passport photos and every kind of photography used except art. It contains some of photography’s greatest natural accuracy, a gift of the media itself rather than the genius of the individual photographer.

5) How do you “Fix the Shadows”?

Henry Fox Talbot experimented using chemistry, paper coated with silver salts and shoe box size cameras, which were nicknamed mouse traps. All of his images were paper based. Another photographer who found different way of fixing the shadows was Louis Daguerre. Basically “Fix the Shadows” is the process of stopping a picture from disappearing by overexposing to create permanent image.  

6) What is the “carte de visite”?

It was a type of photography which stood for the portraiture in 1854, patented by Andre Disderi. A person was photographed 8 times in rapid sequence by a camera with multiple lenses (8 poses in a space of few minutes). Cards were small and handy ie easy to send by post. It has turned photography into a true industry.

7) Who was Nadar and why was he so successful?

Nadar (Gaspard-Félix Tournachon) was a French celebrity photographer who photographed upper coming stars in the style that has changed the rules of portratuire. He photographed people as equals, they were standing in his daylight studio, plain background, looking authentic and wonderful. That is why they are considered to be the best portraits ever. Nadar had a specific way he looked at people. There was nothing to indicate what was the background or profession of the photographed person. It was the force of personality alone that was to convey the character of the person.

8) What is pictorialism?

Pictorialism is the era of an international style and aesthetic movement that dominated photography in late 19^th and early 20^th century. It refers to the style where the photographer deliberately manipulated the object to create this imagined photograph. It was a little bit like painting, creating the image rather than recording it.   

Edward Stychen

ITAP Lecture 9

IMAGE AND TEXT

In photography image is equally important as text. The relationship between two can significantly change the perspective and the way we look at the composition or a person and  object within a photograph. By adding text to the image we are able to totally overwrite the meaning of it. For example when we look at a photograph we try to interpret the message and purpose of it. Our thinking and view change when we start to read a text added below the photograph by the artist. We can then see the whole concept of that image from a different angle.

In documentary photography it is essential how we frame the scene and overall composition. An image doesn’t always tell the truth but it captures what we want to.

In a similar way the words can have another meaning depending on the image they have been placed by.

As a first example I would like to look at the work of English conceptual artist Gillian Wearing. She was born in Birmingham in 1963. She has put together photography exhibitions that were based on idea of photographing strangers in the street. They were asked to write on the piece of paper what was on their mind. With the permission from that person she photographed them standing on the street and holding their personal statement. Below is one of the most known images which represents a smartly dressed young man who looks quite calm and happy on his face. However the signs he is holding says ‘’I’m desperate” which completely changes our interpretation and a meaning of that photograph.   

Another image again shows a young man who is dressed a little bit scruffy. His face looks like he could have been on drugs or drunk. Also the background of that image looks very dingy. On the attached sign we can read his thought ,,I signed on and they would not give me nothing”. It gives a twist to the overall image and forces us to think about the story of that man. Why he feels and looks like that? Maybe someone or something made him to feel like that? Maybe he is not drunk but very upset...?

The next artist whose work I found inspirational is Sophie Calle. A French writer and photographer who uses in one of her series of images a projector to overlap a text with a photographed person.

Below I have included some of my photographs which incorporate with the text.

Image source
http://artwednesday.com/2012/05/13/whitechapel-x-gillian-wearing/
http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/wearing-i-signed-on-and-they-would-not-give-me-nothing-p78350
http://eighteen39.com/2011/06/10/friday-feature-sophie-calle/