One of the greatest portrait photographers of all time Yousuf karsh (1908-2002) captured not only the images of hundreds of the 20th century’s most memorable leaders and celebrities but also the faces of thousands of ordinary men and women whose lives formed the backbone of Canadian society. Karsh has taken photographs that tell a story, and that are more easily understood than many others. Each of his portraits tells you all about the subject. He felt as though there was a secret hidden behind each woman and man he photographed. Whether he captured a gleaming eye or a gesture done totally unconsciously, Karsh portraits communicate with people. Yousuf Karsh, who died at the age of 93 in July of 2002, left a priceless legacy to Canada-his adopted homeland for nearly almost eight decades. Before his death, Karsh sold or donated all of his 355,000 photos to Canada’s National Archives in Ottawa. Many of his portraits are now considered to be some of the best masterpieces in the history of photography.
Yousuf, originally named Hovsep, was born in Mardin, a city in the eastern Ottoman Empire (Currently Turkey). He grew up during the Armenian Genocide (A bloody massacre that occurred in 1915 which killed thousands of Armenians). Yousuf Karsh witnessed many of his own relates being slaughtered and at the he wrote, “I saw my sister die of starvation as we were driven from village to village.” At the age of 14, he fled with his family to Syria toe scape persecution. Two years later, his parents dispatched him to live in with his uncle George Nakash, A photographer in Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. Yousuf attended school there and assisted in his uncle’s photography studio. Yousuf’s original desire was to study medicine but as time went on,...
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...t Yousuf had the privilege to portrait. In my point of view, Yousuf karsh is to photography as Albert Einstein is to physics. We can easily see that with most of his photos and in the beautiful black/white portrait above with amazing detail, lighting and framing. This portrait was taken at Princeton’s Institute for Advanced Study in year 1948. The story behind it ends when Yousuf Karsh offers Einstein a comb to style his hair and we can all guess what Einstein replied.
The photographs of Yousuf Karsh are to be admired for their mastery of art, their place in history, and their ability to touch the public imagination. His style of photography (Portraits), his mastery in lighting techniques and as well his humbleness and the privilege he had to portrait many iconic figures in history will always keep him on top of the list of the masters of photography in history.
Johnson, Brooks. Photography Speaks: 150 Photographers on their Art.” New York: Aperture Foundation Inc., 2004. Print.
A Lucky Child by Thomas Buergenthal is a memoir about his time as a Jewish child in multiple ghettos and death camps in and around Germany during World War II. The author shares about his reunions with family and acquaintances from the war in the years between then and now. Buergenthal wished to share his Holocaust story for a number of reasons: to prevent himself from just being another number, to contribute to history, to show the power and necessity of forgiveness, the will to not give up, and to question how people change in war allowing them to do unspeakable things. The memoir is not a cry for private attention, but a call to break the cycle of hatred and violence to end mass crimes.
To comprehend how World War I influenced the Armenian Genocide, research has been conducted to explore; World War I’s contribution towards the severity of the Armenian Genocide’s causalities, foreign aid, and how the genocide was reported to the world. The main sources used for this investigation are the Treatment of the Armenians by James Bryce, which describes the severity of the Armenian condition in Turkey during the World War I era, as well as the Burning Tigris by Peter Balakian, which emphasizes World War I’s conditions and how they affected the Armenians in Turkey during that time.
John Mahtesian's photography offers a visual poetry of the human condition. It is a direct expression of his warmth, depth of spirit, and humanity. A true gentleman, extremely humble and unfailingly polite, he achieves an invisibility that is the success of his art. His patience and commitment to his vision allow him to capture moments others could not. If his subjects are aware of his presence, his gentle nature so enchants them that they are unguarded and their essence is revealed. So compelling are his images that we are truly convinced his insights are our own. They make us rejoice in the world around us, and in the nature of human existence.
Rosenblum, Naomi. A World History of Photography. New York, NY : Abbeville Publishing Group, 2007.
Tolmachev, I. (2010, March 15). A history of Photography Part 1: The Beginning. Retrieved Febraury 2014, from tuts+ Photography: http://photography.tutsplus.com/articles/a-history-of-photography-part-1-the-beginning--photo-1908
Abstract: The Armenian Genocide is a lesser known tragedy that involved the death of millions of individuals over the course of some odd years. And while these murders nearly wiped out an entire people, this holocaust has been disputed for plenty of years and denied extensively to the point where it is rarely known by individuals outside of the community of which share the same background. Yet while denied and excluded from the typical narrative discussing mass exterminations and genocide, Dr. Stanton’s 8 stages of genocide can be applied and studied alongside these tragic events. Following the timeline of treatment felt upon the Armenian population by the Turks, the stages; classification, symbolization, dehumanization, organization, polarization, preparation, extermination, and denial are found within this text .
The book “Forgotten Fire” was written by Adam Bagdasarian as a piece of historical fiction. Even though this book isn’t non-fiction it’s still based on true facts about the Armenian Genocide. Vahan is a 12 year old boy living in Bitlis, Turkey. Vahan lives the life of privilege as the youngest son of a wealthy family. Being the youngest son he has 3 brothers by the name or Diran, Tavel, and Sisak. Also he has 2 sisters by the name of Oskina and Armenouhi. This story was based on a true story about the Armenian Genocide in Vahan Kenderian point of view. Throughout the story Vahan is constantly losing friends and family while running for his life from the gendarmes. The Armenian Genocide was lead by Turkey which started in 1923 and lasted for 8 years. The Turkish government killed one and a half million Armenians during the 8 year process. This is an essay on the story of Vahan Kenderian before, during, and after the Armenian Genocide and how it changed his life.
On April 24, 1915 the Armenian genocide began. 1 million and 5 hundred-thousand people got killed because of Turkish government. Many of them got raped, enslaved and murdered. For instance, they drowned people in rivers, burned them alive, executed and etc. They also kidnapped children and sent to Turkish families. In many places, Turkish people rapped and used Armenian women as a slave. “The Armenians marched by Turkish soldiers” picture in “artvoice.com” website shows the Armenians nearby prison in Mezierh by armed Turkish soldiers. Also only 25% Armenians deported to the deserts of Syria and Iraq. After the war between Armenian and Turks, only 380’000 Armenian remained in the Ottoman Empire. In June 1915, 25 percent of the Armenian population was deported t...
7. Kifner, John. “Armenian Genocide of 1915: An Overview.” New York Times. The New York Times Company. 2007. Web 24 March 2014.
"Armenian Genocide, The." The Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute. National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia, 2013. Web. 15 Apr. 2014. .
Using lines and basic shapes to emphasize shading and detail and then teamed with such a complex theme, Art’s story and graphics join together in a complimentary marriage. With the nearly childlike drawings and the intense mature storyline, there is a message that this is being written by the child telling the story of the parent. The story emphasizes his father’s inability to grow and repair from his past but even without the words you can almost see that Art has never truly be able to move past his the trauma of growing up with his parents. Using his frustrations and the need to explore the history of his father’s idiosyncrasies, Art creates a poignant story not only about the tragedy of the holocaust, but of the realities of being a child growing up with survivor parents.
To be able to figure out whether the Armenian genocide actually happened or not we must first gather evidence from both the Turkish and Armenian people and get their sides of what happened. Only then will we be able to come to a resolution of who really denies it all. Using internet articles, stories from survivors, informational books and any ...
Photography is a part of almost everyone's everyday life whether it is through a smartphone, laptop, or professional camera. Before the late 1800s, though, even a simple picture was not possible. Although many people worked hard and put their ideas and inventions of new cameras in the world, Louis Daguerre is among one of the most important. Michael Hart, in his book, The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History, ranks Daguerre as the 47th most influential person in the world. This ranking is appropriate because of the many ways his invention influenced today's world. His technique was practical and widely used in the 1800s. Although his methods are different
Photojournalism plays a critical role in the way we capture and understand the reality of a particular moment in time. As a way of documenting history, the ability to create meaning through images contributes to a transparent media through exacting the truth of a moment. By capturing the surreal world and presenting it in a narrative that is relatable to its audience, allows the image to create a fair and accurate representation of reality.