Modernism is a broad term that covers all the avant-garde art movements, and unites them under one name. These movements were; Fauvism, Primitivism, Expressionism, Cubism, Futurism, Dadaism and a lot of other different movements. Modernism was popularized in the very late 1800s and early 20th century and went on til later in the 20th century.
Modernism was taken on by a lot of artists during the early 19th century. Modernist imagery normally rejected the older art movements such as classicism and naturalism. It also normally rejected or ignored the idea of religion that was often used within older art movements. Instead of this a lot of the art is about social factors within the world and different things that were happening at the time, showing things such as peoples social classes.
Photography was a huge part of the popularization of modernism. Photography pre-modernism was often disregarded as not being a form of art. Though after modernism was introduced it was quickly became popular.
Helmut Newton was an Australian-German fashion photographer working through the mid to late 20th century, who helped to reshape fashion photography, and redefine the way women were portrayed in fashion. Newton had a huge influence on the increase in provocative and daring fashion photography, paving the way for the more modern and well recognised themes found in the fashion industry. Newton was one of the first photographers to suggest that fashion photography did not have to be bland and boring, and instead he was able to bring more life to his work, allowing for the human condition to be more intimately expressed through photography, bringing a layer of context to work which had once only included visual, repetitive ideas.
Helmut Newton Photography
Newton brought a more daring approach to fashion photography, creating more tableaux images in his work in order to portray a sense of realism and movement in his work, and to allow the viewer to relate more to the model in the image, while also admiring the concept and style shown within the image itself.
In his work, Newton shows his subjects in more provocative stances and poses, bringing the theme of desire to his work and presenting female sexuality in a more free and alive manner. Newton was one of the first photographers to convey female sexuality and desirability in the fashion industry, and often worked with his models in real settings in order to create a sense of reality and reliability with the image. Newton believed that “A woman does not live in front of a white paper” when referencing the bland and boring nature of studio photography, and implied the importance of more journalistic photography, where the image can seem more real and human. Newton expressed that “My job as a portrait photographer is to seduce, amuse and entertain”, therefore showing that his imagery is made to entertain and draw the attention of the viewer to the physical appearance of the model in the image, and therefore model is presented as being closer and more relatable to the viewer, rather than distant.
The above image, taken by Newton, was produced in order to focus on the model as a person, rather than just a body presenting fashion. The above image was made with the idea that the model herself would be the focus of the image, and this particular image presents the model in a more sexualised way, breaking the past stereotype of the age where fashion photography used women as models for the clothing they were wearing, creating a distance between subject and viewer, and depersonalising the model herself. In this image, the slightly more sexualised pose of the model draws attention to the model herself, and the presentation of her with a cigarette makes the model more relatable to the viewer. Having the background of the image as a real life street rather than a blank studio background is one of the most noticeable differences, in comparison to fashion photography of the past. The use of a real background allows for the model to be placed in a relatable environment, and reduces the detachment between the image and the viewer.
Fashion photography by Edward Steichen
Fashion photography by Helmut Newton
The 2 images above can be compared to see the difference in the way the women in the photographs are presented and treated. To the left, photographer Edward Steichen takes a traditional approach towards photographing the women, with their clothing as the central focus point, the women are simply present as a pretty face, and are positioned as being submissive and meek within the image, with their personalities and appearances presenting as unimportant and mild. This approach to photographing women in photography was replaced by photographers such as Newton, who’s work, (as seen on the right) took a much more bold and brash approach towards photographing women, with the models presenting their personality and sexuality through the image, and at the same time rebelling against the stereotypes of women being mild-mannered and submissive.
Overall, Helmet Newton was extremely influential in the movement of fashion photography from presenting women as depersonalized, meek models, towards presenting woman as assertive, self-confident individuals with independent personalities and dominant features. This move paved the way for allowing women to have their sexuality more freely expressed through photography, and paved the way for modern fashion photography in which women are often presented as individuals and are presented as lively, present and striking.
Cindy Sherman is an American photographer, who’s work consists solely of self portraits, which she used to depict her own imagined characters, each with their own exaggerated and stereotypical features. Sherman’s work presents as a commentary on cultural stereotypes of women in media and society. Sherman herself states that “I think my work has often been about how women are portrayed in the media”.
Cindy Sherman, 2000
Sherman’s work is bold, and the use of bright colours and the presentation of caricatures, in which Sherman creates a character and emphasizes all of their facial features in order to present a more cartoon-ish and extreme version of the stereotypes of a woman, meant to force the viewer to consider the influences and effects of stereotypes and expectations on women, and the way that women are presented in the media. Sherman claims that her desire to dress up and create characters out of herself was born from her anxiety about not being able to fit into her own family as a child, and the way she changed herself to fit what she believed her family wanted of her, she states, “I thought: if you don’t like me like this maybe you will like me like this? With curly hair? Or like this?”. Here, it is clear that her observation of being able to change ones self to suit the desire of those in society, began at a young age, and her desire to portray the way that media and society stereotypes women is a project that is personal to her.
Cindy Sherman, 2003
The above image stands out immediately to viewers due to the bold colours. The bright background (meant to represent a sunset or sunrise) draws immediate attention of the viewer, and the positioning of the subject (Cindy) directly in front of the camera, making eye contact with the viewer allows the viewer to feel directly involved and part of the image. In the image, Cindy presents herself as an over the top example of a female tourist, with dark tan, heavy makeup and clearly visible tan lines. For this image, Cindy is accentuating the stereotypical features of a tourist women, and in doing so creates an almost satirical example of what society and the media portrays as a stereotypical female, while also forcing the viewer to recognise the fact that the image is a parody, and therefore challenge their view on women in the media.
Overall, Sherman’s work focuses heavily on drawing attention to the stereotypes of women in the media, and creates a parody of these stereotypes using her own imaginary characters, where she is able to form over exaggerated, almost disturbing versions of the stereotypes that women are often presented as. Sherman’s work is heavily influenced by personal identity, and the way that people display themselves to others while hiding their true self (a concept also found in the media), and Sherman was heavily influenced by her own experiences of wanting to alter her identity to fit her family, society and the worlds view on who and what she should be. A concept faced by many women throughout their lives.
Julia Margaret Cameron: Cameron used a soft focus in her images in order to create an overall dream-like appearance in her images, and is well known as one of the most influential portrait photographers of the 19th century. Her delicate and whimsical portraits of women and children placed the unconscious mind, dreams and imagination at the forefront of her images, and are often based on illustrative allegories or have religious undertones/meanings.
Time period : 1880s – 1920s
Key characteristics/ conventions :Pictorialism focuses on the beauty of the subject and the perfection of the composition, rather than the accurate documentation of the true, real world. Pictorialism often takes inspiration from works of literature, fair-tales and stories, incorporating a sense of dream-like wonder and spirituality into images in order to create a photograph that is visually, as well as contextually, interesting.
Sally Mann: Mann takes advantage of pictorialism in order to use her own personal experiences to create images which follow key elements of the movement closely. Mann focuses on the editing process of her photos, layering over the top of the images to create disturbed or washed out effects which bring the context of the image to the forefront of the viewers mind, forcing them to question why the image has been edited or disturbed in that way.
Methods/ techniques/ processes: Making pictures that resemble paintings by manipulating images in the darkroom, scratching and marking prints to imitate canvas texture, and using soft focus, often basing the image on allegorical and spiritual subject matter.
Frederick H. Evans: Evans was a member of the photographers association, The Brotherhood of the Linked Ring. The Linked Ring was a photographic society that sought to prove that photography was as much an art form as it was a science, and supported photography as a fine art. The society held exhibitions in which they rejected the notion of the technical approach of contemporary photography.
Artists associated: Julia Margaret Cameron, Peter Henry Emerson, The Brotherhood of the Linked Ring, Sally Mann
Plan a response: In order to create a piece of work that reflects the key elements of pictorialism, the editing of the photograph must be carefully planned and developed, and the subjects within the frame of the image may have a spiritual or religious meaning. Edits to the image itself should involve scratching an marking layers of the image, and there should be a reduction in harsh formal lines and tones in the final image, as to reflect the softness of many images found in pictorialism.
Peter Henry Emerson: Emerson was of the belief that cameras should be used to depict and document people as they were in real life, and should not follow the themes of posed scenes such as tableaux. Although Emerson believed that cameras should be used to document reality, the overall aesthetic of his images ran parallel with the ideals of pictorialism, with his images focusing on the beauty and composition of the subject matter.
REALISM / STRAIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY
Walker Evans: Evans focuses on documenting the lives of working class society in America, and took inspiration from a range of other documentary photographers and artists. Evans work gives an intimate view into the lives of people that the viewers otherwise would not get a chance to meet or understand, and presents their lives, flaws and all, in a bare and stark manner, allowing the viewer to compare their own lives with that of the subjects in the images.
Time period: 1930’s – present
Key characteristics/ conventions : Straight photography relies on the cameras ability to produce detailed and sharp images that reflect the reality of the subject they are shooting. These images are often left un-edited, and with very little manipulation, in order to emphasise the real beauty and form of the subjects. The photographer is able to visualise the final image though encountering a scene they wish to photograph, and therefore the camera is used as a method of saving that scene, the exact way it was originally seen and experienced by the artist. Straight photography is able to capture a true moment in time, and reflect it accurately and realistically the viewers.
Jacob Riis: Riis documented the harsh reality of immigrants living in poverty in the slums of New York City during the late 19th century, providing the first real documentation of these people, and the upsetting truth of the areas of New York that had never received acknowledgement from the public before. Riis work can be seen as some of the first straight photography, where upsetting, real scenes of poverty were documented without censoring or being hidden/manipulated.
Methods/ techniques/ processes: Straight photography focuses on the cameras ability to show tone, form, focus, detail and contrast. The main aspect of taking the photograph involves the photographer first experiencing the scene, and visualising the image before it is taken. Straight photography relies on the photographers ability to decide on a time, place and subject matter that they wish to document, and therefore takes into account the wishes and observation abilities of the artist. Subjects can vary to encompass things that the photographer finds beautiful, important or rare, and therefore straight photography is often a reflection of the photographers own taste in what they believe to be an appropriate subject for their concept.
Paul Strand: Strand, while also well known for his modernism work, can also be classed as contributing work in the category of straight photography. Strands straight photography work looks into the environments of everyday life, using cities, streets, machines and people to express social reform, and to give a detailed documentation of current life.
Artists associated: Walker Evans, Alfred Stieglitz, Paul Strand, Jacob Riis
Plan a response: Straight photography relies on the artists ability to see and observe a scene which they believe to be an important representation of an idea or social/political problem, and through the medium of photography, they are able to document the scene. Therefore straight photography relies on an idea being developed from the observation of a scene, and as this movement does not rely on the editing/manipulation of the image, it is important for the person taking the image to focus on the technical aspects of the camera, ensuring the IOS, focus and shutter-speed of the camera is appropriately set, and that the shadows, tones, time of day and shapes of the scene itself is all appropriate, and will reflect the natural beauty of the scenes without the need for enhancement.
Alfred Stieglitz: Stieglitz‘s later work moves away from pictorialism, and further towards straight photography, in which his work depicts the truth of the modern world through the use of sharp focus and a high level of contrast. Stieglitz helped to drive the movement of the time from pictorialism, towards modernism (such as straight photography).
