Before taking my final images, I did a practice photoshoot in order to find out which kind of lighting I need to use to create delicate shadows and soft highlights.
This screenshot shows the process of choosing which images I want to reject and keep based on first glance. The images I want to keep have a white flag in the corner and the rejected images are faded to a grey colour.
I used the star rating system to select how much I like the images from a 1-5 rating. The images with 5 stars underneath show the images I like the best, and Images with a lower star rating I still like but aren’t quite successful as the others.
I cut down the view of my images to only the images that were flagged in order to see them in a clearer view. I also used the colour system of highlighting my favourite images in green and those I am still unsure about in yellow.
As I start to edit my images in Lightroom, I duplicate the image I want to edit to see how it looks in black and white to compared to the image in colour. I also edited the exposure, highlights and tint of the image to make it look almost worn and weathered as to make the image seem as if it had been taken years ago.
After editing my images and choosing between whether I want the images in black or white or an altered coloured edit, I used the colour system again to decide which final images I liked the most and wanted to keep.
For my photobook shoot, I want to recreate iconic images of Lillie Langtry but in a more modernised way. I may use more modern settings or change the costume in a way that still relates to historic fashion, but with modern elements.
Here is a mood board of some of the images I am aiming to recreate.
I want to find an old fashioned or antique dress from a charity shop to recreate the costume. I may take some photos out of the studio for the images with the sofa or in nature. I will use simple makeup on my model and put their hair up as seen in the photos of Lillie Langtry. The images have a high contrast of light and shadows, so in the studio I will use harsh lighting directed from one side of the face. I may also use props such as chairs, fake flowers and hats.
What role does photography play in celebrity culture?
‘Society beauty, spy and mistress of Napoleon III, was so concerned about her image that she constructed it with her personal photographer’1.
Post card of Lillie Langtry (1880’s)
For my personal photobook project, I wanted to find a topic that I find fascinating and can also be linked to my own identity. Because of this, I decided to investigate how photography affected the lives of celebrities from the past, and how that compares to the role of photography in relation to celebrity culture in modern times. For this essay I will be looking into historical figures such as The Countess De Castiglione and Lillie Langtry. I will compare these figures to a more modern and controversial personality, Kim Kardashian. Celebrity culture and fame can be seen as a very contentious topic for most, especially today, with the newly found trend that is ‘cancel culture’, which can ruin the reputation of celebrities within a day. Photography plays a huge part in the film and social media industry, but whether this is a positive thing can be heavily disputed. For example, some may argue that with the development of technology, capturing important moments in our lives have been made much more accessible and easier than ever before. Sharing images to friends and family online has also had a huge positive impact for people worldwide, especially during the height of Covid. On the other hand, the evolution of photography has become a threat to the careers and lives of many others. Celebrities and those heavily involved in social media are largely at risk with the access of photography to all, as a simple controversial photograph can turn fans against them and even end careers. Contemporary photography can capture anyone at any time with the invention of mobile phones, which can be extremely damaging to those in the public eye. I have looked at the positive and negative effects of the development of photography within the celebrity world, and the issues of photography as a career rather than a hobby. Photography can be seen as an issue when it comes to a way of making money, as some may focus on creating their content as a need to make a living rather than a pastime, meaning they will go to extreme lengths to get their photos, to the extent of ruining a celebrity’s career or even their own life.
‘The Countess De Castiglione’ – Pierre-Louis Pierson (1895)
The Countess of Castiglione (1837-1899), was an Italian aristocrat, who is considered to be an important figure in portrait photography. La Castiglione was brought into disrepute as a mistress of Emperor Napoleon III of France, and became known as an significant icon for portrait photography, she was also widely considered as the most beautiful woman of her day. The Countess had an obsession with her own appearance, she was so obsessed to the point that in her later life she decorated her entire house in the colour black with the blinds drawn and banned mirrors and would only leave her house at night, so she would not have to confront her deteriorating beauty through old age. During her peak of youth, she was photographed over 400 times by Pierre-Louis Pierson and others, causing her to eventually go into debt. These images were taken between 1861 and 1896, with Pierson also taking around 110 images of her son and 5 others of her dogs 2. The Countess used photography to her advantage and had full power over the picture that was made of her and how she was going to be perceived, and were considered as ‘one of the first postmodern portraits’3. La Castiglione controlled nearly the whole process of her modelling, including the title of the image and the camera angle, therefore being in control of her whole image that was to be portrayed into the media. Although the media had little power then compared to now, La Castiglione used it as a form of self-advertisement and self-expression, and stated as someone who ‘was bold enough to appropriate the male gaze for herself’4. She became a popular socialite because of this and attended masked balls and soirées and recreated her looks again within her portraits. She would often ‘flirt with the camera like a fan dancer’5, to achieve a playful yet promiscuous reputation. Following her death, her legacy of a woman of beauty and mystery continued, and a substantial portion of her photographs are kept at the Metropolitan Museum, as well as numerous biographies detailing her life and even a film to further explain her experiences and obsession with beauty. For this reason, she is labelled as an important figure in photographic history, and represents the brighter side of photography and media within the lives of celebrities.
‘Mrs Langtry in “As in a Looking-glass”‘ – Falk, B.J (1887)
Lillie Langtry in ‘Pears Soap’ advertisement (1882)
Another historical figure to feature in the public eye is Lillie Langtry. Lillie Langtry’s story inspired my essay as she is a distant relative to my family from my grandfather’s side, with her birth name being ‘Le Breton’, therefore linking my essay to my own identity. Born in Jersey as Emilie Charlotte Le Breton in the October of 1853, Langtry married and moved to London with her husband, Edward Langtry, in 1876. Langtry became well known in London through her acquaintances and mutual friends, and had multiple painted portraits made of her which became popular on postcards. Through this publicity, Lillie was able to further her career as an actress and featured in plays such as ‘She Stoops to Conquer’ and ‘As You Like It’6. Langtry was also photographed by photographer Rupert Potter whilst she was visiting Scotland. Langtry can be considered as an early example of celebrity endorsement, as she used her huge public profile to endorse products such as cosmetics and soaps, proving her to be a kind of historic ‘influencer’. Soon enough, word of Lillie’s fame reached the Royal Family which led to her era of bad publicity through the media. Langtry was invited to a dinner party with the royals, in which she was sat next to The Prince of Wales, Albert Edward. Edward (who was also married) became infatuated with Langtry, which led to them engaging in an affair of three years. Langtry also had a brief affair with the Earl of Shrewsbury, however this ended due to Langtry’s secret relationships being revealed all over the media in newspapers. Lillie was admired for her astonishing beauty, which lead her to once-in-a-lifetime opportunities for a young girl during her time and this was further celebrated in the media, however, the media started to turn against Langtry once finding out about her affairs with the royals. This led her to be responsible for divorces through those she cared about, and damaging relationships between her and her loved ones. Langtry was left to find her own way in the world and support herself financially, which led her to become an actress, at the suggestion of her good friend, Oscar Wilde. Langtry’s stage career was a success and further projected her to fame, she decided to continue her career in Jersey and even officially opened the current Opera House7 . Lillie Langtry’s story is proof that the history of media, through the use of newspapers, that controversies were quickly forgiven for those they think deserve it. This suggests that photography for the most part still had a positive impact on the lives of celebrities during this century, as ‘pretty privilege’ is most definitely a factor during controversial times. This means that the public do not hold the same standards for all celebrities, and the more attractive are most likely to be forgiven than those who are not.
‘Kim Kardashian’ – Photoshoot for ELLE Magazine (2016)
Kim Kardashian featured in ‘OK! Magazine’
Contemporary photography is considerably more dangerous to the livelihoods of celebrities today. As mentioned before, the invention of mobile phones has become both an advantage and disadvantage to the celebrity world. Theorist Clay Shirky states that the audience now have power to become media producers and to share the content they make8. On a positive note, celebrities can take advantage of this and use the audience as a form of self-promotion. This can be seen when the public post images or videos of interactions with celebrities, and positive interactions being shared online can increase the fan base of the celebrity. However, negative interactions can cause the opposite affect and can lead to the public creating negative connotations with the celebrity, reducing their fanbase. Linking this to the theory of ‘cancel culture’, celebrities are more at risk than ever. ‘Cancel culture’ has become a recent trend in the last few years, and is considered a modern-day form of ostracism in order to hold celebrities accountable to their mistakes. Oftentimes, celebrities are ‘cancelled’ due to the use of racial or homophobic slurs, or being exposed for how they have treated others, and to ‘to suggest that those with fame are only human’. Another addition to the threat of celebrities in terms of photography, Is the role of paparazzi. The job of paparazzi is to pursue celebrities in order to get photographs of them. This means that people working as paparazzi will go to extreme lengths to get these images, and since controversial images sell the most successfully, they are the most desirable due to ‘cancel culture’ articles selling the more than most other stories. ‘Trendy’ celebrities are most at risk as the media surrounds them, celebrities like Kim Kardashian. Although the Kardashian family have been seen in the public eye for years now, they are still very relevant in current times. Kim is seen as an idol for fashion, makeup and for her luxurious lifestyle in general, however the origins of her fame are controversial. Kim was associated with many other celebrities before her own fame; however, she was boosted to fame thanks to her explicit photos and videos that had been leaked through the media. This scenario can prove how dangerous photography can be in the celebrity world and how invasive it can become, however for the Kardashian family it started a domino effect of fame for them, as each member became more famous than the one before. The whole success from the Kardashian family has risen through the use of photography and social media, with promotional photoshoots for their modelling and brands, movie features and their reality show ‘Keeping Up with the Kardashians’. Although the family have had success with the progression of photography, it also carried a lot of negativities in their lives. The stress of constantly being stalked by paparazzi and having their privacy invaded sparks the debate of whether the lives of celebrities are as idyllic as we depict them to be. This debate also shows the negative impact that photography has over the lives of celebrities, and that the role of photography in the celebrity world is equally negative and positive.
When comparing the role of photography throughout history to present times, there is clear similarities and differences. Some of the roles of photography will always stay the same, like using photographs as a form of self-expression and self-advertisement. In the past, photography was a revolutionary form of art, and those who were able to get their photograph taken were considered more important and superior, and their photographs certified this. In modern times, anyone can take a photograph or be photographed, meaning the superiority complex of those who are photographed has been lost; you do not have to be rich or famous to have an image taken of you. However, because of the wide accessibility to photography amongst the public, those who are rich or famous can have their image taken at any time, including in their times of struggle, or perhaps committing actions that could be considered morally wrong. Celebrities must act as though they are always being watched in public to defend and preserve their reputation, which becomes more difficult overtime as technology and cameras develop. The role of photography in modern times within celebrity culture is to catch the good and bad sides of celebrities to sell stories rather than to prove their importance, which was considered it’s role in previous centuries. My images relating to this theme focus more on the role of photography in the past, and to show the model as glamorous and successful. This will be shown through excessive clothing and settings as well as props and professional lighting.
1 G.Badger (2007) ‘Face to Face’ in The Genius of Photography. United Kingdom: Quadrille Publishing Ltd.
2 Wikipedia – Countess of Castiglione
3 G.Badger (2007) ‘Face to Face’ in The Genius of Photography. United Kingdom: Quadrille Publishing Ltd.
4 G.Badger (2007) ‘Face to Face’ in The Genius of Photography. United Kingdom: Quadrille Publishing Ltd.
5 G.Badger (2007) ‘Face to Face’ in The Genius of Photography. United Kingdom: Quadrille Publishing Ltd.
Opening quote (either Lillie Langtry or The Countess of Castiglione)
Paragraph 1
Introduction
– Basing my book/essay on a mixture of my personal identity and things I am interested in.
– Looking into how photography plays a part in celebrity culture in good and bad ways e.g self promotion and paparazzi.
– Comparing historical and contemporary figures ; Lillie Langtry (historical),Countess of Castiglione (historical), Kim Kardashian (historical)
Paragraph 2 – Historical
The Countess of Castiglione(Positive)
– 1837 until 1899, Italian aristocrat
– Mistress of Napoleon III of France, obsessed with her own appearance, would not look at herself in old age when she lost her attractive looks.
– Photographed over 400 times with photographer Pierre-Louis Pierson, and also images of her son and her dogs.
– Controlled the whole photographic process (lighting, pose, setting) to allow herself to create her own self-perception to the public.
– Portraits kept in Metropolitan Museum, biographies and movies made about her life.
Paragraph 3 – Historical
Lillie Langtry (Positive and negative)
– 1953 until 1929, Jersey-born socialite
– Original name : Emilie Charlotte Le Breton (relation to my family on grandfathers side – personal identity)
– Actress, socialite, mistress of Prince Albert of Wales, early example of celebrity endorsement.
– Scandal between her and Prince in newspapers, scandal forgotten, became actress with help of Oscar Wilde and opened Jersey Opera House
Paragraph 4 – Contemporary
Kim Kardashian (Negative)
– Social media and reality star
– Positive and negative ideas on the public having access to photography through phones and sharing experiences and photographs of celebrities. Photography making career easier to boost (modelling and brand deals)
– ‘Cancel Culture’ holding celebrities accountable for mistakes, threatening careers and sometimes safety of the celebrity.
– Paparazzi also threatening safety and careers of celebrities for their appearance, where they are, what they are doing. Threaten the lives of their families and friends.
– Origin of fame for Kardashian family being controversial (leaked explicit videos and photos)
Paragraph 5
Conclusion
– Comparing photography in celebrity lives throughout history (positive and negative effects)
– Photography as art vs photography as a career
– How photography being made accessible to everyone has effected the lives of celebrities
1. Write a book specification and describe in detail what your book will be about in terms of narrative, concept and design with reference to the same elements of bookmaking as above.
Narrative:What is your story? Describe in:
3 words – The role of photographyin celebrity culture
A sentence – How the role of photography has changed over time and how it depicts celebritiesfrom the past and present.
A paragraph – My photobook will be based on photography within celebrity culture and how the roles of photography have changed. My book will focus on the role of photography in the past and how it depicted the celebrity as glamorous and important through the use of excessive clothing, makeup and dramatic lighting. I will recreate images of the historical local icon Lillie Langtry as she is a distant relative from my grandads side of the family, which will link my photobook to my own identity.
Design: Consider the following
How you want your book to look and feel – I want my photobook to look sleek and sophisticated, to accentuate the role of photography as a way of showing those higher in the social and economic hierarchy in the past.
Paper and ink – undecided
Format, size and orientation – Some of my images will be landscape and some images will be portrait, but they will all be the same size to keep a uniformed appearance.
Binding and cover – I don’t want to use an image for the front cover of my book, but instead a simple cover as I feel like it connotes the idea of sophistication.
Title – undecided
Structure and architecture –I may use full page spreads for my landscape images, but all of my portrait images will be the same size to keep a uniformed structure but adding juxtaposition.
Design and layout – I may include original portraits of Lillie Langtry within my book to create a juxtaposition between photography in the past and modern photography.
Editing and sequencing – All my images will be edited using the same methods, and the landscape and portrait images will be sequenced pattern.
Images and text – I am not sure yet if my images will contain text, but I may include iconic headlines from Lillie Langtry’s features in magazines
As I wanted my photo book to be based on my personal life and my family, I looked more in depth to my family history. I asked my dad about Fletcher Christian, who was a mutineer on the HMS Bounty and a relative on my grandmother’s side. Christian and other mutineers rebelled against the captain’s orders and arrested him. The crew mates who were loyal to the captain and the captain himself were forced to board the Bounty’s 7 metre launch whilst the other crew mates on the side of Christian remained aboard and sailed to the volcanic Island of Tofua, around 2700 kilometres from Tahiti, where Fletcher, along with 8 others and some Tahitian men and women sailed off and were never heard of again. The exact date or way in which Fletcher died is still rumoured.
I also researched Lillie Langtry (maiden name Le Breton). Lillie was a famous actress and producer in the late 1800’s, but later was seen in the eye of the media as the ‘Royal Mistress’. Langtry was heard to have an affair with the Prince of Wales at the time, Albert Edward, despite them both being married. Langtry had a successful acting career throughout this affair whilst acting in plays in both The United Kingdom and The United States, such as ‘She Stoops to Conquer’ and ‘As You Like It’ and eventually began running her own production company.
I think incorporating these famous figures in my photo book could be an interesting and unique way of developing my photo book, although I am not too sure on how I can introduce these ideas. I may create a mind map on how to further develop these ideas and how I can make them relevant to my personal identity.
1. Research a photo-book and describe the story it is communicating with reference to subject-matter, genre and approach to image-making.
Philip-Lorca diCorcia’s photobook tells multiple ambiguous stories with a series of different people. The genre of the book is a type of contemporary art , ‘Operating in the gap between postmodern fiction and documentary fact, between slick convention and fresh perception”. The beginning of the book starts with ‘enigmatic domestic scenarios’ which featured diCorcia’s family and friends. He then goes on to photograph Hollywood drifters and hustlers in cryptic scenes, with moody yet vibrant lighting.
2. Who is the photographer? Why did he/she make it? (intentions/ reasons) Who is it for? (audience) How was it received? (any press, reviews, awards, legacy etc.)
Philip-Lorca diCorcia made these images in the photobook to display an alternative side to ‘American life’, and showing those who are usually hidden as to not ruin the reputation of ‘The American Dream’, such as male prostitutes. diCorcia payed the prostitutes the amount they would charge for their service in order to take their photograph in their work-life setting and atmopshere. The book is rated 4-5 stars across websites such as Amazon and ‘Goodreads’.
3. Deconstruct the narrative, concept and design of the book and apply theory above when considering:
The book is a hard-cover book with a dust jacket protecting the outside. The two inside pages are made of a grey cardboard-like paper, the rest of the paper is photographic printer paper.
Majority of the text is written in the same two fonts and in black, however some texts are coloured in red, such as Philip-Lorca diCorcia’s name on the inside of the dust jacket.
All of the images are displayed in the book in landscape. The images are all the same size, with a thick white border and the title and date of the image underneath. Pages without images are plain white. There is 55 pages with diCorcia’s images.
The cover of the book is made using a plain red linen with no image on the front. There is an image on the dust jacket, which is coloured a mustard yellow. It has Philip-Lorca diCorcia’s name on the front of the dust cover written in red, and the text ‘The Museum of Modern Art, New York’. The title of the book is literal.
The repeated saturated yet gloomy colour palette of the images help to identify diCorcia’s narrative for the images. The narrative is told simply through images and their titles, which leaves a portion of the narrative for the audience to decide themselves.
The essay on the inside of the dust jacket, written by Peter Galassi, tells us about the images taken by diCorcia, as well as his personal life of university and living in New York. There is also text at the back of the book explaining the prints and sizes of the images and the camera that the images were taken on. On the next back page there is multiple lists of diCorcia’s education, acheivements, exhibitions and books.
The camera obscura was the earliest form of camera dated, it was used centuries before ‘physical’ images could be printed. The camera obscura consisted of a box-shaped device used as an aid for drawing or entertainment. The method of a camera obscura worked by removing all light from a room, but leaving a tiny, circle opening on one side, and a reversed and inverted image was projected on the other side. Ibn al-Haytham, a mathematician, astronomer, and physicist, is said to be the first person to invent the camera obscura with a viewing screen in the 11th century.
Diagram of a Camera Obscura
Nicephore Niepce
Nicephore Niepce is said to be the inventor of photography. The French inventor was born in 1765 and began his scientific research in 1795 with his brother, Claude. Niepce was the first inventor to create a permanent photographic image, using a method he called Heliography, or ‘sun drawing’. This process consisted of producing a photoengraving on a metal plate coated with an asphalt preparation.
‘point de vue,’ – Nicephore Niepce (1827)
Louis Daguerre
Louis Daguerre, born in 1787, was a French artist and photographer recognized for his invention of the eponymous Daguerreotype process of photography. He became recognised as one of the founding fathers of photography because of his discovery. The Daguerreotype is a positive process, and consisted of using a sheet of copper plated with a thin coat of silver without the use of a negative. After exposure to light, the plate was developed over hot mercury until an image appeared. The issue with this process was the fact that the image would come out already negative, meaning the image couldn’t be copied.
‘Paris Boulevard‘ – Louis Daguerre (1839)
Henry Fox Talbot
Henry Fox Talbot, born in Dorset in 1800, was an English scientist, inventor and photography pioneer. Talbot wanted to create images that would be considered to the standard of Daguerre’s Daguerreotype. In 1840, Talbot developed the idea of paper negatives and found that they could be taken with a much shorter exposure time. Although the image could not be seen for a long time, Talbot managed to chemically develop it into a useful negative, the image could then be fixed with a chemical solution. The solution removed the light-sensitive silver so the image could be viewed in bright light. Talbot’s revolutionary discovery allowed him to repeat the process of printing from the negative, meaning he could make as many copies of the same print which the Daguerreotype could not do. This was named the ‘Calotype’ in 1841. The following year Talbot was rewarded with a medal for his work from the Royal Society.
‘Oak Tree in Winter’ – Henry Fox Talbot ( c. 1842-1843)
Richard Maddox
Richard Maddox was born in Bath, England in 1816. Maddox was a keen photographer and physician who often practiced the Calotype method for his images, but when the use of the ether vapour in the method became detrimental to his health, he was determined to invent a new method that would remove a lot of the difficulties in the process. Maddox prepared a number of plates, exposing by contact-printing them from other negatives, and putting each through a different exposure trial, using different substances such as rice and tapioca. In 1871, Maddox invented the lightweight gelatin negative plates. This invention allowed photographers to use commercial dry plates instead of having to prepare their own emulsions in a mobile darkroom, this method allowed for cameras to be small enough to be hand-held for the first time.
Richard Maddox – c. 1870’s
George Eastman
George Eastman was an American inventor and entrepreneur born in New York in 1854. In 1880, he perfected the method of making dry plates and organised the Eastman Dry Plate and Film Company for their manufacture. Eastman produced the ‘Kodak’ camera, which he named due to the strong, incisiveness of the letter ‘K’. The Kodak camera was placed on the market in 1888, it was a simple handheld box camera containing a 100-exposure roll of film that used paper negatives. One the consumer used the film up, it would be sent back to manufacturer for developing, printing and reloading the film, producing their iconic tagline; ‘You press the button, we do the rest’. In 1889 Eastman began using transparent roll film, which has since become the standard for film photography. Later, in 1892, he reorganized the business as the Eastman Kodak Company. Eight years later Eastman introduced the ‘Brownie’ camera, intended for the use of children and sold for one dollar. By 1927, Eastman had a virtual monopoly of the photographic industry in the USA, and still remains to this day to be one of the largest photography companies in the world.
Kodak Brownie Camera – c. 1990
Film and Digital Photography
Digital photography was first developed by an Eastman Kodak engineer called Steven Sasson in 1975. He built his first prototype from a movie lens camera lens, a few Motorola parts, 16 batteries and some newly invented Fairchild CCD electric sensors, which is a transistorized light sensor on an integrated circuit. He named this prototype the US patent 4,131,919. This camera is pictured above, it was the size of a printer and weighed nearly 4 kilograms. The camera could only capture black and white images, which were contained on a digital cassette tape. Sasson and his team also had to invent a special screen just to look at the images. Digital photography has developed vastly since then and today, an Apple iPhone 12 has 12-megapixel cameras. This means there is 12 million pixels in an image, compared to Sasson’s prototype which had a resolution of 0.01 megapixel and took 23 seconds to take the image itself. With the development of technology, anyone can take an image simply with their phone in a second, capturing exactly what we see with an equally clear quality.
Pictorialism was at it’s most popular between the 1880’s to the 1920’s. During this time, photography was known as a science and not considered an art form as a piece of machinery was creating the work, rather than physical human hands. Photographers wanted to eliminate this theory, and therefor combined photography with the physical aspects of art. Artists would use methods such as putting Vaseline on the camera lens to create a blurred effect, or manipulate their images in the darkroom by scratching the negatives or putting chemicals on the images to make them look more like paintings. Some popular artists associated with this era include Julia Margaret Cameron, Alfred Stieglitz and George Davidson. These artists became pioneers of this era and created some of the most iconic photographs of that period of time.
“‘So like a shatter’d Column lay the King’; The Passing of Arthur” – Julia Margaret Cameron (1875)
“Winter – Fifth Avenue” – Alfred Stieglitz (1892)
“The onion field” – George Davidson (1890)
Realism/Straight photography
Straight photography, or Realism photography, reached it’s popularity between the 1930’s to the 1950’s. Straight photography had opposite principles to those of Pictorialism, the artists wanted to represent the images exactly as they are seen by the human eye. Photographers would use the ability of the camera to make accurate and descriptive records of the visual world, they embraced the idea of photography being a science rather than art, to capture realistic images of the real life world. Some iconic artists from this period include Walker Evans, Dorothea Lange and Paul Strand. The method of straight photography simply consists of taking an image, and leaving it how it would be viewed in the real world. Unlike pictorialism, straight photographs are unedited, apart from possibly black and white conversion, removing intrusive dust, or maybe adjusting exposure. This method provides clear and realistic images to capture everyday life as seen through the human eye.
Migrant Mother, Nipomo, California, 1936 – Dorothea Lange
Young Boy, Gondeville, Charente, France, 1951 – Paul Strand
Modernism was at it’s peak during the late 19th century to the mid 20th century. This movement consisted of rejecting Victorian traditions and religion, and focusing on scientific advances. Photographers began to experiment with light, perspective and developing. Science within terms of preserving our damaged environment was at a high, and because of this, began the trend to seek out the answers to fundamental questions and research. Modernism consisted of documentary style images due to the trend of fascination with scientific discoveries. The camera was used as a technological tool rather that to create art. Some iconic photographers during the peak of Modernism include Imogen Cunningham, Edward Western and Ansel Adams.
‘Magnolia Blossom, Tower of Jewels’ – Imogen Cunningham (1925)
‘Cabbage Leaf’ – Edward Weston (1931)
‘Mount Williamson, Sierra Nevada, California’ – Ansel Adams (1944)
Postmodernism
Postmodernism rose in popularity in the later 20th century, and unlike modernism, consists of a variety of themes. Postmodernism builds on the themes and conceptual ideas that began forming during the period of modernism. The main themes that run through postmodernism consist of surrealism, expressionism and other similar ideas. During the postmodernist era, we see a departure from the traditional rules of art, and the experimentation of different techniques such as placing subjects in strange arrangements and even the absence of a definitive subject. Some iconic photographers from the postmodern era include Lee Friedlander, William Eggleston, Andreas Gursky.
‘Maria Friedlander. Southwestern United States’ – Lee Friedlander (1969)
“Untitled (Memphis)” – William Eggleston (1970)
‘New York, Merchantile Exchange‘ – Andreas Gursky (1999)
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