Pictorialism

TIME PERIOD: Pictorialism dates back to the late 19th century, specifically thriving during the years 1880-1920.

AIM: Pictorialism was the movement revolved around taking the essence of photography away from only being used for scientific logs and develop it into a respected artform.

INFLUENCE: Photos seen from this time period look to have been influenced by the Italian renascence and have a biblical or spiritual atmosphere. The collection of pictoriality also fit in with romanticism.

METHOD: Artists added to their scenes through many methods. Vaseline was used to smear the lens prior to photographing, scratched were added to negatives later on in the dark room and painting chemicals on the photos to add a painting like feel to the photos.

ARTISTS ASSOCIATED: Paul Strand, Alfred Stieglitz, Peter Henry Emerson.

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Realism/ Straight

TIME PERIOD: Realism was first pictured around 1915 and has continued to be used to this day.

AIM: To except reality and to show what is seen through the lens without any manipulation.

KEY FEATURES: Photographs during this style usually incorporated geometrical shapes, high contrast, rich tonalities and a pointy focus. These photographs often showcased seemingly mundane objects and landscapes, with the aim of the photograph to supply an accurate and descriptive record of the visual world. Photographers of this art movement didn’t want to treat photography as a sort of monochrome painting.

ARTISTS ASSOCIATED: One of the pioneers of this photographic movement was Paul Strand, said to possess brought new perspectives to often overlooked subjects, who studied under photographer Stieglitz . These two photographers were said to be influenced by European avant-garde art movements, which may be seen in there abstract and geometric images. Walker Evans also helped to develop this genre, instead that specialize in portraits containing detached and disinterested expressions from the themes.

METHODS : Most of the time these photographs aren’t manipulated and believe the attention of the photographer. These images were often taken in an abstract manner and from unique angles. so as to require these images, photographers used crisp focus with a good depth-of-field, contrasting with the design of Pictorialism.

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Modernism

TIME PERIOD: Early decades of the twentieth century

INFLUENCE: Modernism is often identified as a term that encompasses the broadness of all the avant-garde isms that were seen within the beginning of the 20th century. This new movement was a reaction to ‘the enlightenment’, which saw science and reason become more prevalent in society than spiritualistic beliefs. This dramatic change of thought cause many artists seeking answers concerning fundamental questions on the character of art and human experience. Many came to the conclusion that art needed to renew itself by confronting and exploring its own modernity. Works during this style were often supported idealism and a utopian vision of human life, also as society and a belief ongoing .

ARTISTS ASSOCIATION: Ansel Adams is often described as an early modernist photographer, together with his dramatic photographs of North America’s vast landscapes that showcased large contrast in tones. Stieglitz was known to even be a modernist photographer also , taking photographs that displays striking architecture with a pointy focus, after moving faraway from his soft edge pictorial style.

METHODS: There were not many key defining techniques that were in constant use throughout this movement, however modernist artist usually experimented with form, technique and process. This was in contrast to purely that specialize in subjects, believing they were ready to find how of reflecting the fashionable world.

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