A lie is defined as a false statement made with deliberate intent to deceive; an intentional untruth; a falsehood or to convey a false impression. “Art is a lie that brings us nearer to the truth” (Pablo Picasso) could not be any more accurate. Can the intake of untrue information lead to the discovery of a truth? I believe that Picasso was insinuating that art is merely an imitation of life therefore there must be some truth to it. Photography is the art form that is able to depict this ideal the best. The theories of truth are the pragmatic, correspondence, coherence are brought about with a good photograph. A photograph is an image created by light entering a light sensitive surface, film and or in the digital camera age an electronic imager. The lenses of a camera used to focus the image are able to take in visible wavelengths of light into an accurate reproduction. Therefore a camera is a tool in which the artist may chose to capture the world, but also edit it.
Pragmatic theory of truth is based on practicality and convenience, if something and is said and it seems to work then it is true, weather it worked before or after is irrelevant because for that moment it is true. Imagine pointing to a picture and asking the photographer "what is it?" he would reply something to the effect of "Well that’s my dog". But it's not, not a dog - merely picture of one, just lines on paper created by light. However even with this distinction when you look at the photograph one does not thing of paper and ink but rather of the dog that it depicts. Having never seen your photographer’s dog before you can clearly see his brown coat, knowledge and truth you had not know before being depicted.
Although there is an overwhelming amount of pho...
... middle of paper ...
...ruth for future reference.
The art of photography lies within the trusting nature of humanity to believe in it. The creation or recreation of an event or an entirely new even always provides at least one un-doubtable truth, that that is happening in the photograph. In a pervious example explains this of the dog in the picture, that dog is brown, whether or not the photographers dog is actually colored in that manner doesn’t matter that picture is depicting the truth that the dog in the picture is brown and prior to seeing it an onlooker wouldn’t have known that. The photograph is a lie by definition, it is intended to convey an impression, lying that is just lines on a paper not a solid image, but the picture on the paper doesn’t it is always able to provide a truth, not “the truth” but a truth and that is a very clear distinction of the helpfulness of art.
Susan Sontag discusses the reality of the modern person’s addiction with “needing to have reality confirmed” by photos. Sontag says “we accept it as the camera records it” then goes to say “this is the opposite of understanding.” I agree with her wholeheartedly, as accepting photos as they are limits ones understanding of the world. The trust in photography led to the rise of pictures hoaxes, in which people take pictures out of context and assign it a new background; as well as Photoshop, which becomes increasingly popular as the years go by. Photoshop allows one to manipulate a photo to portray what they desire it to.
Practiced by thousands who shared no common tradition or training from the earliest days of taking photos, the first photographers were disciplined and united by no academy or guild, who considered their medium variously as a trade, a science, an art, or an entertainment, and who often were unaware of each other’s work. Exactly as it sounds photography means photo-graphing. The word photography comes from two Greek words, photo, or “light”, and graphos, or drawing and from the start of photography; the history of the aforementioned has been debated. The idea of taking pictures started some thirty-one thousand years ago when strikingly sophisticated images of bears, rhinoceroses, bison, horses and many other types of creators were painted on the walls of caves found in southern France. Former director of photography at New Yorks museum of modern art says that “The progress of photography has been more like the history of farming, with a continual stream of small discoveries leading to bigger ones, and in turn triggering more experiments, inventions, and applications while the daily work goes along uninterrupted.” ˡ
Photography is defined at the art or practice of taking and processing photographs. To understand photography is having insight or good judgment to know how to take the picture, but also edit it if need be. Does photography limit our understanding of the world? What some people haven’t realized is that photography is all around us, whether it is in the person’s mind to see it or not. While we see photography throughout our daily routine, people dismiss the small types of photography and focus on the bigger sceneries like other countries beautiful cities and landscapes. It’s true that in this day and age, most photographs we see have been altered in some way. When photographers use Photoshop to edit our photos, we use many different ways to make that image appealing to the eye. Although, photographers unless told to do so will not change an image into something totally absurd that takes away from being astatically pleasing. Images are a gateway to the insight of the rest of the world’s cultures landscapes, and architecture, and photography is the key aspect to it. Photography is a one way to see the world, but it is better if you go and travel around the world to see it. In order to see if photography actually limits our understanding, we have to first look at the positive side of photography.
Globally, different art forms do not necessarily throw their definition in your face. It should be interpreted for subsequent comprehension. (Grundberg 1990: 3) Even though the extra information such as a caption and additional background info can be beneficial to the analysis of a photograph, it is not compulsory to the interpretation and consequent emotional response. (Butler 2009: 66) So, being more dependent on personal perspective, a photograph is widely open to different kinds of interpretation.
"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”.
The rise of photography began in the early 1830’s in France, and wasn’t very popular as most artists preferred a paintbrush and canvas to a new contraption that wasn’t popular and wasn’t manufactured locally or globally yet and that was fairly expensive to try to produce, and since this time it has been debated if photography deserves its place in the art world. Through the late 1800’s and the early 1900’s it grew in popularity and throughout time photography went from being badly received to a new form of art though people around the world still debate if it is indeed “art”. Photography has a long history from the first camera obscura in the 18th century to the latest Nikon or Canon camera in the 21st century.
The theory of photography originated from the discovery of the camera obscura phenomenon – light that enters a darkened chamber through a small hole is projects an identical inverted image on the interior wall of the outside scene. The first recordings of scientists recognizing this concept was in the writings of Greek philosopher, Aristotle (384 – 322 BC).
From the creation of art to its modern understanding, artists have strived to perform and perfect a photo realistic painting with the use of complex lines, blend of colors, and captivating subjects. This is not the case anymore due to the invention of the camera in 1827, since it will always be the ultimate form of realism. Due to this, artists had the opportunities to branch away from the classical formation of realism, and venture into new forms such as what is known today as modern art. In the examination of two well known artists, Pablo Picasso and Jackson Pollock, we can see that the artist doesn’t only intend for the painting to be just a painting, but more of a form of telling a scene through challenging thoughts, and expressing of the artists emotion in their creation.
...d something new.”(Schuneman; Koner p. 59) When totaling all of these factors, yes, photography is art. This is what is so impressive about the concept of art—two totally different mediums such as an oil painting and a black and white photograph can both hold the same aesthetic value.
The modern world is full of photographs. They are used for ads, political campaigns, and magazines. However it can be hard to tell whether or not a photograph is real. Many are ‘doctored’ or altered in some way. These doctored photographs can be seemingly harmless, such as advertisements, but they can misrepresent a product or person. There is a fine line between what is ethical and what isn’t for doctored images. Photographs should never be altered in order to deceive individuals, damage someone’s reputation, or when they have a strong negative impact on self-esteem. However if doctored photographs are used for art or for minor touch-ups for advertisements that don’t misrepresent a product then
You may be wondering how visual art is used to influence the public and prevent the spread of misinformation among a population. In this paper, I will first address the modes of access in order to better understand how to use the same methods in art-making to counter the heighten fear grown from artificial sources and to see if progress is possible. Mirroring methods used in advertising, the media spread information as if it is packaged, a commodity. An extreme, open-ended headline invites doubt into your head. A typical headline reads, “Are you and your family at risk?”, “The Top Ten Things Women Must Know to Keep Safe”, or “Ammo on Airplanes”. The headline is accompanied by a strong visual image; emphasis and contrast as principles of design are employed. The image and the headline stay with you, especially in the current multitask-oriented culture where viewer attention is hard to obtain and keep. Combine this with the juiciest partial details and placement; the image has the power to pull the viewer into an article or a news story. We, the viewers, remember what we see more than what is said or cited. The more graphic and extreme the image, the more likely the image becomes part of our memory. We store the imagery and then can use it later on- pulling up the image as proof in our minds. This exemplifies the availability heuristic, a cognitive bias in which a person relies upon what can easily be remembered rather than complete data.
When going for a walk, a person takes in the beauty around them. On this particular day, the refulgent sun is extra bright, making the sky a perfect blue. White, puffy clouds fill the sky, slowing moving at their own pace. The wind is peacefully calm, making the trees stand tall and proud. There is no humidity in the air. As this person walks down the road, they see a deer with her two fawns. The moment is absolutely beautiful. Moments like this happen only once in a great while, making us wanting to stay in the particular moment forever. Unfortunately, time moves on, but only if there were some way to capture the day’s magnificence. Thanks to Joseph Niépce, we can now capture these moments and others that take our breath away. The invention of the camera and its many makeovers has changed the art of photography.
Have you ever seen a painting or picture that captivates you and directly stirs up emotion within you? More than likely, you have. Usually, viewers merely observe the picture and enjoy the way it looks and how it makes them feel. But, have you ever asked yourself, “why?” What about the picture makes it pleasing to the viewer? With each strategy the photographer uses creates their own touch and passion that floods all over the picture. The emotional connection nearly goes unnoticed for when the picture is well photographed, the viewers experience the sensation in their subconscious. This is one of the most powerful tools that a photographer holds in their hands. If one can become a master of manipulating how the photo affects its viewers, the said photographer can potentially maneuver people’s minds and thoughts with one click of a button. The time spent with my mentor has opened up the door for me to tap into that power though the use of background, focus, shutter speed, angles, and most importantly, lighting. Even with all these techniques, the person behind the camera must remember that creativity must be at the forefront of all operations. Caleno (2014), when writing about the basics of capturing a beautiful moment in a picture commented, “If we want to be creative we must drop these pre-conceptions and start looking at things from a small child’s innocence.”
In Sontag’s On Photography, she claims photography limits our understanding of the world. Though Sontag acknowledges “photographs fill in blanks in our mental pictures”, she believes “the camera’s rendering of reality must always hide more than it discloses.” She argues photographs offer merely “a semblance of knowledge” on the real world.
Taking photographs and photography itself is a great tool of power in many different aspects of life that one might not realize day to day. Photography has the power to reveal things that if expressed in words, would cease to be as powerful a truth. It serves as evidence of something larger. Yes, photos can be manipulated- yet because they can it makes the viewer even more cautious and observant on the details of these photos. Taking pictures is so much more than what it is painted to be on the surface. It is not always superficial and inconsequential. If you look deeper into the photo meaning and the details about the photos’ source, you observe things you would have never seen otherwise, like the slight hint of sorrow on her face, the contradiction in human ability, and the subtle external truths about the reason we do things, such as take pictures.