Étienne-Jules Marey, born 5 March 1830, in Beaune, was a French scientist, physiologist and chronophotographer. His work was significant in the development of cardiology, physical instrumentation, aviation, cinematography and the science of laboratory photography. He is widely considered to be a pioneer of photography and an influential pioneer of the history of cinema. 

To study the flight of birds, he invented a camera in 1882 with magazine plates that recorded a series of photographs; the pictures could be combined to represent movements. In 1894 he adapted the motion-picture camera to the microscope. Marey’s chronophotographic gun was made in 1882, this instrument was capable of taking 12 consecutive frames a second, with all the frames recorded on the same picture. Using these pictures he studied horses, birds, dogs, sheep, donkeys, elephants, fish, microscopic creatures, molluscs, insects, reptiles, etc. Some call it Marey’s “animated zoo”. Marey also conducted the famous study about cats always landing on their feet. He conducted very similar studies with a chicken and a dog and found that they could do almost the same. Although Marey was a man of science, one cannot ignore his profound contribution to photography.

English photographer important for his pioneering work in photographic studies of motion and in motion-picture projection.Muybridge’s experiments in photographing motion began in 1872, when Leland Stanford hired him to prove that during a particular moment in a trotting horse’s gait, all four legs are off the ground simultaneously. His first efforts were unsuccessful because his cameras cameras shutter speed wasn’t quick enough. In 1877 he returned to California and resumed his experiments in motion photography, using a battery from 12 to 24 cameras and a special shutter he developed that gave an exposure of ²/₁₀₀₀ of a second. This arrangement gave satisfactory results and proved Stanford’s contention.

Muybridge’s most important photographic study of motion was during 1884 to 1887 under the auspices of the University of Pennsylvania. These consisted of photographs of various activities of human figures, clothed and naked, which were to form a visual collection of human movements for the use of artists and scientists. Many of these photographs were published in 1887 in the portfolio Animal Locomotion: An Electro-Photographic Investigation of Consecutive Phases of Animal Movements. Muybridge continued to publish his work until 1900, when he retired to his birthplace.

POST-MODERNISM VS MODERNISM

Postmodernism was a reaction against modernism. Modernism is a philosophical movement that, along with cultural trends and changes, arose from wide-scale and far-reaching transformations in western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Among the factors that shaped modernism were the development of modern industrial societies and the rapid growth of cities, followed then by reactions of horror to World war 1. Modernism also rejected the certainty of enlightenment thinking, and many modernists rejected religious belief. Photographers began to produce work with a sharp focus and an emphasis on formal qualities, exploiting, rather than obscuring, the camera as an essentially mechanical and technological tool. In this context, “modern” is not used in the sense of “contemporary”, but merely as a name for a specific period in history. 

Postmodernism is the name given to the defining artistic movement of the second half of the 20th century. Modernism was characterised by a rejection of previous artistic trends, such as Romanticism and a tendency toward realism. Postmodernism is a large movement that developed in the mid- to late 20th century across philosophy, the arts, architecture and criticism and that marked a departure from modernism. The term has also more generally been applied to the historical era following modernity and the tendencies of this era.

What are typologies?

Typology is the study of types, and a photographic typology in a set of images or related forms, shot in a consistent, repetitive way.

Bernd and Hilla Becher

The couple where conceptual artists and photographer who worked together. They were best known for their extensive series of photographic images, or typologies, of industrial buildings and structures, often organised in grids.

Each series of images are capturing typologies, types of things. Each image is taken from the same perspective, angle and distance from the subject, this is an essential reason for why the series’ are so effective. All the images in each series have something in common which links them together, for example the images below the darkest part of the image is always in the middle of the building.

After reading the initial brief of the project these are the artists/ art movements/ ideas that have come to mind.

Repetition, Pop art, Typologies and Symmetry

Variation and Similarity is the given title for our exam. I In this post I will be showing my understanding of this title as well as looking at ways in which I can explore it.

Variation 

Definition

A change or slight difference in condition, amount, or level, typically within certain limits.

A different or distinct form or version of something.

Synonyms regarding variation

Difference, Contrast, Variant, Form

My understanding of the word variation is that features or characteristics can vary massively between subjects and so give these subjects different characteristics.

Similarity 

Definition

The state or fact of being similar.

A similar feature or aspect.

Synonyms regarding similarity

Likeness, Sameness, Parallel

My understanding of the word similarity is that two things that have similarities have many things which are somewhat parallel to each other and so have things in common that are comparable.