Taken by German-Jewish photographer, Arnold Newman, this environmental portrait projects multiple emotions towards viewers. Such as, apprehension, confusion and worry.
The main focus of the image – the subject (Alfried Krupp) appearing to be ‘normal’, actually supplied the Nazi’s with weaponry and utilized slave labor, even shipping some innocent people to Auschwitz. The context behind the image definitely increases the negative emotions already conveyed, as the viewer is now reminded of the inhuman things he did which contradicts how calm he is appearing which could also spark anger in some viewers where WW2 personally affected them.
One aspect of the image which completely adjusts it’s overall message and intensity would be the lighting. By using symmetrical lighting, the photographer is able to highlight the sides of Alfried Krupp’s face, causing the center to contrast the light. In addition, by centralizing the subject and making the background significantly more illuminated, the subject is darkened even more. By darkening the area of the subject and increasing the brightness of the background, a metaphor is created; the dark representing evil/ the evil the subject has done, and the light representing innocence/ the innocent lives of which he controlled and tortured.
American photographer, Arnold Newman is acknowledged as one of the great masters of the 20th and 21st Century and has his work has enhanced and changed portraiture. He is most well known for his carefully composed abstract still life images and his environmental portraits of artists and politicians. Newman found his vision in the empathy he felt for artists and their work. Although he photographed many personalities , he maintained that even if the subject is not known, or is already forgotten, the photograph itself must still excite and interest the viewer. He usually uses a carefully framed and lit setting, and its contents, to symbolize the individual’s life and work. Newman normally captured his subjects in their most familiar surroundings with representative visual elements showing their professions and personalities.
Arnold Newman: Portrait of Alfred Krupp
TECHNICAL: The lighting in this image has been created to invoke fear and evil. This is because in a natural environment we seldom see light falling in such a way, making light from below is deeply bizarre and other-worldly. Here Newman has used two key lights that are placed behind Krupp on both sides, creating yet another highly unnatural and disfiguring effect. In addition, the camera has used quite a wide angle to be able to capture the background of the factory and portray to the viewer an insight into what is occurring around the large figure. There is also a warm tone to the image from the factory lights in the background, however it is very dark and and colourless at the front of the image where the subject is placed. This creates a demonic feel around the subject as the black tones used can be associated with evil.
VISUAL : Newman used a green colour cast, resulting from the factory’s fluorescent lights, which he deliberately did not filter for. As well as being highly unusual, green skin is almost universally perceived as a sign of ill health. The frame around the subjects outline is shown as having a rough and worn out texture which presents the factory as ancient and industrial. The use of this frame also draws the viewers attention to the subject in the centre of the image, making him look larger and dominant. In addition, the subjects facial expressions and body language presents him as a dark character due to the fact he is glaring into the camera and this intimidates the viewer. The cropping of the subjects body creates an element of disguise as we can only see his upper half this could contribute to the fact he is secretive about something. Furthermore, the light coming through the ceiling creates an aesthetically pleasing pattern at the top of the image which makes it look extremely effective. The crowded setting behind the main subject creates a busy atmosphere with flashing lights and vehicles, suggesting that there is chaos around this man which he has caused, but it isn’t directly affecting him.
CONTEXTUAL: Krupp and his father had built up the Krupp business empire largely through their early support of the Nazi party and had heavily profited from the use of slave labour during the Second World War to supply arms for the Nazi war machine. Despite later being convicted of crimes and being sentenced to twelve years imprisonment, he had been pardoned after three years. He, for various reasons, got off lightly despite the magnitude of his crimes. I thought this could relate to his facial expressions in the image that are presented as smug and intimidating– he feels powerful. In addition, Newman knew a great deal about Krupp, so had initially turned down the shoot, but after reassurances from the editor, he finally decided to take the job, promising others that he would make Krupp look like the devil. I believe this could reflect the positioning of Krupp in the image, his body language and facial expressions and the dark shadows that surround him creating an eerie and evil atmosphere that is associated with his presence.
CONCEPTUAL: I believe the main purpose and meaning behind this image is to portray Krupp as a demonic character. The positioning of Krupp is vital, by placing him in this elevated position is declaring that he is the highest authority within these premises, that he is master of all he surveys and ultimately the man responsible for all that happens or has happened. The clever use of the symmetrical lighting allows Krupp to be revealed as a pitiless and brutal overseer answerable for so many deaths. Overall, Newman experimented with a variety of techniques and strategy’s to build up a corrupt personality of Krupp that is presented to the audience and shows how Newman perceived him as an individual.
One of the main features in Jersey is its beautiful array of bunkers, built and left by the Germans during the occupation in WWII, symbolising the islands history. These concrete infrastructures scatter Jersey’s surface stretching from headland to headland, creating contrast to the organic landscape with their geometrical structure. However, some of these are not visible from above ground, and in fact seem more like cave systems hidden underneath Jersey.
A specific bunker system I visited, H02, was such like that and lay under St Peters valley, left unfinished by the Germans. Exploring this system left me with a range of interesting photos, with tones of grey from concrete walls contrasting the rough-cut gamboge and ochre colour rocks. Since there was no natural lighting, a couple torches provided interesting experimental photographs when combined with an adjusted aperture.
OUTCOMES: CONTACT SHEETS
the photographs taken from this shoot will be used to experiment with editing in photoshop, and in the construction of my photomontages. within my contacts the circled photos represent my chosen photos to edit and include in my photomontages. the crossed photos will specifically not be used since they are not in focus and I personally dislike the composition.
SELECTED IMAGES:
Some other photographs used in my photomontages will be from the internet, such as ones of Hitler and an ‘occupation related newspaper’.
Collage artist Jesse Treece lives and works in Seattle USA. Using old magazine clippings, he experimented one evening, creating a visual story out of the various cuttings. this became his first photomontage. Jesse creates amazing collages from vintage materials, giving his work an aesthetic, authentic look. His way of composing photomontages can be described as surreal, disturbing and absurd. however, bright colours, interesting composition make for beautiful artworks.
VISUAL TECHNICAL CONCEPTUAL CONTEXTUAL: the focal point of the collage is the bag and tomatoes inside, since they are both very bright, vibrant and warm tones, linking to the concept of the colour theory. The background and foreground is finished with a grain, which helps exaggerate a vintage look.
An important aspect of photography is the physical photo, and in our modern era surrounding technology, it seems the printing process is no longer valuable in as many ways as it was in past years. However, since the 19th century, photographers have experimented with the physicality of photographs, creating revolutionary techniques. One of these was the development of photomontage, whereby artworks consisted of a combination of many photographs in one.
The art of photomontage, various images are composed by cutting, gluing, arranging and overlapping two or more photos to create one modified image. This can be with abstract shapes and even writing. The technique can be tracked back dark room printing attempts in a double exposure and masking approach. Now we use a variety of editing software to imitate this affect. Even through the initialisation of technology, today, we can talk about photo montage as a digital and/or printed piece.
Many photomontages explored issues such as economic inequality, police and war brutality’s, well as other non political ideas such as those expressed by surrealists to reflect the workings of the unconscious mind. In Jersey, jewish surrealist Claude Cahun, used photomontage as a form of expression.
The most famous photo could have come from Oscar Rejlander during the mid-Victorian era when experimenting with combination printing. However the Dadaists adopted the technique using actual photographs to emphasise the destruction of war. These ‘monteurs’ included people such as Hannah Höch and Raoul Hausmann.
PHOTOMONTAGE EXAMPLES:
Raoul Hausmann ‘The Art Critic’ David Hockney composed his “joiners” using varying numbers of Polaroid snaps or photolab-prints of a single subject to arrange a patchwork and make a composite image.
