Postmodernism

22/10/12

PostModernism

Post modernism  was a significant shift in attitude moving away from the chractertistics of the modernism style. Beggining in the early 1970's up till the modern day today.
A few key features that would describe post modernism would be choas, as the statement regulary occured was ''the only rule is that there are no rules''  This led room for anything could be described as postmodernism, and it would be acepted because it was breaking certrain rules and traditions that occured in the modernism stage. Kitcsh was a main chractertistic of postmodernism, which meant it acepted tackyness and bad taste, but artisits would purposley create art to make it kitsch, exggarating how they know it is bad taste but they want to celebrate this through the art.

A common feature in post modernism is the term 'loss of an orginal'' this refers to a few examples one in paticular the Sherry Levine art. She approached this art by rephotographing well known images made from very famous photographers. One image that is easily reconisgeable is the Walker Evans image. Her idea was to highlight the ubiquity of a copy, and the insignficance of an orginal, once a copy has been made the vaule from an orginal is lost and both of the images are seen at the same level. To demonstrate this point she photographed orginals from books, taking a copy of a printed copy. She described her work as unique and individual. This is the Walker Evans that she recreated as her work as named it 'After Walker Evans'

Another example of ''Loss Of an orignal'' is of a well known Cindy Sherman Image. Yasumasa Morimura's image simlarly replicates the oroignal cindy sherman image as he creates a reconstruction of this image. First impressions this atempt of Loss of an orginal can be seen as copying the ideas, but when you read the image throughlry we see deeper meanings as to why Yasumasa Morimura's has produce this replica of the CIndy Sherman image. 

Cindy Sherman

Yasumasa Morimura's

An image i choose to use an exmaple of the post modernism era is Bankys painting 'Kate Moss 2005' First glance of this image you would suspect it was the Andy Warhol's silkscreen of Maryling from 1962. However it is Banksys interpretation on Post Modernism and this paitning is an excellent example for the postmodernism time.  

''Post Modernism is not concerned with the aura of the authenticity''  (Jameson 1991:179) 

This act of using Andy Warhols Marylin silkscreen, is seen as a celebration of post modernism time, as banksy has reconstructed this idea to create something new and aesttic. However questions can be raised, is this inspiration considered as copying an other artisits idea? Some artisits from the post modern era can see the uniqueness and individuality of working in this style. This raising questions about the whole Post Modernism era andhow it is portrayed.

Pure and Straight Photography

15/10/12

PURE AND STRAIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY

Modernity; 'Form follows function'

Pure and straight photography was a style in the 1900's to the 1930's that overlapped Pictorlialsm moving away from the pictorialism style.  The pure and straight photography was basically that the photograph should look like a photograph and have the chractertisitcs of a photograph. For example it needs to include,   all the visual elements of Depth of Feild, detials in contrast, and no hand manipulations. Narrowing down to what the camera can do, and using the technical elements to make the image interesting.

Pure and straight photography also seemed to have abstract elements within the photographs. Paul strand, Wall St Newyork, 1915 image is very basic and straight to the point. It is a clear detailed image of city life at Newyork of this time, however the copossition fits perfectly into pure and straight photography because half of the image contains these repeated dark rectangles that appear to be windows. These windows gives alot of structure to the image creating this abstract style. Also from the posisotning of the sun in this image the dark figures have shadows which again creates this abstraact sense to Pure and Striaght Photography.

Another example is William Van Dykes, still from the city 1938 it becomes very abstract from again the shadows on the figures, and a realistic view comes within the image, which is Pure and Straight Photography

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The F.64 group

The F.64 group was a association in US San Francisco created in the early 1930's. It was founded by Willard Van Dyke and Ansel Adams who are also member of this group. This group consisted of photographers who worked in the Style of Pure and Straight photography. The name F.64 came from the technical element of aperture on the camera, which meanings the smallest

Pictorialism Photography

8/10/12

PICTORIALISM PHOTOGRAPHY

Pictorialism photography was a great International movement in the mid 1885-1917.  Pictorial photographers generally followed a pattern of creating fog and shadows to create a soft tonal range within the images. They usually  follow similar characteristics of paintings, from framing compositions to the texture of the image, this was because they all originated from paintings of 1800’s. Julia Marget Cameron  1864 was a piscatorial photographer who generally used framing similar to John Everett Millais’s, Ophelia , 1851-2  and this techniqueof framing  became repetition in pictorlist photography.

. Other characteristics used are the soft tonal ranges and the small painterly brush strokes that are used in photography to create this pictoriliasm movement, especially Robert Demahcy in ‘Struggle’. Where he has used brush oils to create this dimensional pictorialism effect. Pictorliasm would be described as very soft textured surfaces, where the hand manipulations are used to create this painterly like photographs.

Here are some other examples of Robert Demachy's work in the style of pictorilism.

THE LINKED RING 

The linked ring was a association formed in 1892-1909 which was a group of pictorilist photographers. The group called the ‘The linked ring’ represented the monsanic beliefs of good, truth and beautiful. These well known pictorial artists, Edward Steichen,Robert Demachy, Clarence H white and P H Emerson and other famous photographers.

IMAGE ANALYSIS

This photograph ‘Study in Red’ 1898 was work from Robert Demachy, a French pictorial photographer.  First impressions of this image is a young women who is facing away from the camera and from current research into portraiture at the time this photograph was taken, we assume the subject is wealthy. Other assumptions we can gather from the image it is quite subtly sexual especially for this time period. As the photograph is portraiture of a young girl, we do not gather much information about her as a person as her head is turned away therefore there is a lot left to interpret to the vowyer. Technically the lighting used is Short lighting, this used to create a illusion to the camera making her body look narrower which allows her feminine structure to be more prominent. This type of lighting would have been popular to use in portraiture photography, however this image takes a different approach to the usual conventional portraiture as we can see her face. 

This photograph is a typical example of pictorialism photography as it is very similar to a painting, where there are soft brush strokes used to create a painterly technique. The painterly technique makes the image much softer, and feminine creating a angelic atmosphere within the image.  Historically its an example of pictorialism as nude portraiture was originally paintings that have developed in time into photography, and here Robert Demachy has used this nude portraiture idea and photographed it in the style of pictorialism.

Robert Demachy was influenced by the impressionist painters and produced photographs technically and aesthetically strong. He wrote several books which showed strong technique in how to manipulate the photography medium by using oil transfers or scratching of the geletaine. These techniques he used is what made his images so painterly like, which was this idea of pictorialism. 

Triangulation

1/10/12 

Today i was introduced to TRIANGULATION which is a method of gathering different opinions from text/dialogue and forcing your own conclusion. 
Our task for today was to use the triangulation method by reading two other essays based upon the book 'Photography as a contemporary art - By Charlotte Cotton' these essays included a brief synopsis and opinions of the book, similar to a review. Once reading these two other essays i then gathered my own knowledge and formed my own opinion about the book.
'The photography as a contemporary art' by Charlotte Cotton explores the way in which photography and developed and expanded in time. It states that we should not only use photography as a personal memory but now in this modern age it is considered as a contemporary art and should also be reconisged as this. 
One of the chapters of the book focuses on the detail of everyday subjects, and explains how everyday life objects can seem much greater and more extraordinary through a photograph. It analysis's how the fine detail can be instantly seen through a photograph rather than the eye.
An artist that stood out throughout the book, was Jeff Wall. As he creates his images he stages them carefully so there is much more imagery within the viewers mind rather than in the image itself. He purposely creates ideas in the audiences mind, instantly knowing how they will react. One image in particular is 'Insomnia' as it instantly creates the emotion of discomfort  He addresses his audiences well as he focuses on adults who will have had similar life experiences to his shocking images, that can be relatable.