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History of photography and photojournalism
History of photography Essay
History of photography Essay
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"A photograph is not merely a substitute for a glance. It is a sharpened vision. It is the revelation of new and important facts." ("Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History."). Sid Grossman, a Photo League photographer expressed this sentiment, summarizing the role photography had on America in the 1940’s and 50’s. During this era, photojournalism climaxed, causing photographers to join the bandwagon or react against it. The question of whether photography can be art was settled a long time ago. Most major museums now have photography departments, and the photographs procure pretty hefty prices. The question of whether photojournalism or documentary photography can be art is now the question at hand. Art collectors are constantly looking to be surprised; today they are excited by images first seen in last week’s newspapers as photojournalism revels in the new status as art “du jour” or “reportage art”. First, let us define Photojournalism and Fine Art Photography. According to the Oxford dictionary, photojournalism is the art or practice of communicating news by photographs, especially in magazines. But according to Merriam-Webster, photojournalism’s full definition is journalism in which written copy is subordinate to pictorial usually photographic presentation of news stories or in which a high proportion of pictorial presentation is used. In other words, photojournalism is news photography. Photojournalism found itself invading photography from the late 1920’s and can be defined as a spontaneous and newsworthy photographic narrative of human events. Fine Art Photography is the new kid on the block. It is usually thought to refer to the visual creation for a specific expressive or aesthetic value. This is often distingui... ... middle of paper ... ...ojournalism." Merriam-Webster.com. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 12 Nov. 2013. . Raeburn, John. A Staggering Revolution: A Cultural History of Thirties Photography. Chicago: University of Illinois, 2006. Print. "Salgado and Fine Art photojournalism." What Is to Be Done. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2013. "Shutterfinger." 'Shutterfinger' N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2013. "Sign In." NatureScapesNet The Resource for Nature Photographers Fine Art Photography vs Documentary Photojournalism Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2013. "Smithsonian Curator Looks at Civil War's Influence on American Art." VTDigger. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2013. "" Title="Art History Unstuffed" Art History Unstuffed." Art History Unstuffed RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2013. "VoxPhotographs Weblog." VoxPhotographs Weblog. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Nov. 2013.
Stokstad, Marilyn. Art History. 3rd ed. Vol. 1. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2008. Print.
Gustavon, Todd. Camera: A History of Photography from daguerreotype to Digital. New York, NY: Sterling Publishing, 2009
Cothren, M. & Marilyn Stokstad. (2011). Art History, Volume 2, 4th Edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Learning Solutions.
Winogrand discovered photography at a point in time when unconventional photos were just beginning to emerge. Although it was thought that photojournalism had offered the most opportunity, this new and unconventional direction of photography was preferred. Artists were now able to shoot what they desired not what they were told to shoot. This revolutionary form of photography was based on emotion and intuition as opposed to precision and description. Exploring real life became more of the focus, instead of calculated or planned out pictures. In the early fifties, Winogrand attempted to become a freelance photographer, but the money he was making was not sufficient enough to support his new wife and children. He was forced to spend most of his time working for magazines such as Colliers, Redbook, and Sports Illustrated. At this time Winogrand’s photo’s had no distinction from any other photojournalist, but he always felt different and waited for the chance to prove it. He once said, “ The best stories were those that had no story line…on entertainers…or athletic contests, where the photographer could forget narrative and concentrate on movement, flesh, gesture, display, and human faces”(Szarkowski, p17).
In the early 1960s, most photographs were taken for a purpose, and that purpose was for news articles, magazines, or advertisement. There was very little consideration of photography as art. This change in the way photography was approached was in large part to photographers such as Garry Winogrand, who turned photography into an art.
Stokstad, Marilyn and David Cateforis. Art History. 2nd ed. Vol. 2. Trenton: Prentice Hall, 2002.
Stokstad, M., Michael, W. and Asher, M. F. (2010). Art History, Volume 1. California: Prentice
Sontag, Susan. "Essay | Photography Enhances Our Understanding of the World." BookRags. BookRags. Web. 15 Apr. 2014.
The Civil War and American Art. Washington, DC: Smithsonian American Art Museum in Association with Yale UP, 2012. Print. The. Horan, James.
From a young age, Richard Avedon was exposed to fashion. But little did the small boy sitting in his father’s 5th Avenue womens’ clothing store know, that he would later become the worlds’ biggest fashion photographer. He was born in New York City in 1923 to Jacob Avedon a Russian immigrant who worked his way up in the city to finally own his own clothing store. Avedon’s mother, Anna, was a musical and artsy woman who was his artistic muse. His sister, Louise, was also an inspiration to him. As a child, he constantly took pictures of his beautiful sister, his first model. His interest in photography began after joining a photography club at his local Young Men's Hebrew Association. After graduating high school in 1941, Richard attended Columbia University to study philosophy and poetry, but after just one year, he dropped out to enlist in the military marines. In the marines,he was a photographer in World War Two, taking pictures for identification cards.
Janson, Harry W. History of Art. 5th Ed. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1995. Print.
Stokstad, Marilyn. Art History. New York: Prentice Hall Inc. and Harry N. Abrams Inc. 1995.
Kleiner, Fred S. Gardner's Art Through the Ages. Boston: Clark Baxter, 2009. Print. The.
The Golden Age of Photojournalism was when photos started to make a large presence in magazines. The Golden Ag...
What is a photograph? The simplicity of taking a photograph leads many to ponder its artistic value. Yet, it is undeniable that there are some photos that cause an emotional reaction deeper than simply observing a recorded point in time. Surely, there are photographs that cause more reaction than some modern art pieces. There seems to be two types of photographs. The first classification is the ‘time capture’ photo – an image with the sole purpose of recording a particular event or point in time. The second nature of a photo carries a ‘deeper meaning,’ which has the ability to change the observer’s mood and cause a reaction. But what distinguishes these two varieties? There are a couple factors. The first is the ability of the photographer to make a photograph of ‘deeper meaning’ out of an obscure or random scene. The second is the capacity of the viewer, whether viewing the photo in a museum or in the privacy of his/her own room, to interpret the image as art. A photo can be classified as art when the thoughts and interpretations of both the photographer and the viewer overlap. In this case, any photo is taken beyond the simple ‘time capture’ classification.