PICTORIALISM
Pictorialism is an approach to photography that emphasizes the beauty of the subject matter along with tonality, and composition rather than the documentation of reality. The time period it was popular was 1880s-1920s. One of its main conventions is the idea of making photos look like paintings.
Artists associated: Julia Margaret Cameron, Emerson, Kuhn, Henneburf, Watcek – the Vienna camera club. -The brotherhood of the linked ring. -Photo succession group. – Sally Mann
Methods/ techniques/ processes: Soft focus, manipulating images within darkroom, scratching and marking in darkroom, fuzzy imagery, Vaseline in front of lens . allegorical
REALISM / STRAIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY
Realism is all about the ability to take images of things the way they are, there’s no making the image look like paintings or editing them. Realism became popular after Pictorialism wanting to challenge the art world and how photographers make photos look like paints. It became popular early 20th century.
Key characteristics/ conventions :Artists associated: Walker Evans, Paul Strand, Stieglitz, social reform, jacob riis, Dorothea lange
Methods/ techniques/ processes: Not blurring, real people, abstraction, social reform
Surrealism
Surrealism is all about unleashing the unconscious mind and they tend to have socio-political connotations because they also comment on politics and society. They tend to have a dream-like quality to them. Surrealism grew out of the World Wars in the early 20th century and Dadaism and abstractism.
Famous names (artists and photographers):
Freda Kahlo, Salvador Dali, Andre Breton, May Ray
