Comparing Critical Reviews of Harry Callahan

This essay will discuss and analyse two critical reviews on Harry Callahan. The essay will also look at a range of Callahans images and how theories and ideas can be applied to his work. The first critical reviews being discussed is: ‘Review: Harry Callahan photography exhibition at the National Gallery’, Phillip Kennicott, (October 4, 2011). The second critical review is: ‘Art Review: Impact Of Harry Callahan’s Color Photography Has Faded With Time’, Cathy Curtis, (October 7, 1988).

The first critical review being discussed is ‘Review: Harry Callahan photography exhibition at the National Gallery’ Phillip Kennicott (October 4 2011).

Kennicott discusses how Callahans photographs on display “draw the eye into a world that is meticulous but complicated” (Kennicott, 2011). This statement draws on how Callahan was part of the New Vision movement of photography which took place in the 1920s and 1930s’. this movement saw photography move from documentary style genres to more Avant Garde and abstract images. Kennicott continues “carefully constructed visual games using strange angles, reflective surfaces and strong contrast” (Kennicott, 2011). Callahans images were extremely experimental and he often used double exposures with his images to create more abstract images.

Although Callahan photographed nature and street scenes, he would also photograph his wife Eleanor, mainly nude. These photographs would either become pieces themselves or be double exposed images layered contrasting patterns of natural scenes. Kennicot talks about an image Callahan took of Eleanor in 1947. “[the] image of what appears to be the lines created by Eleanor’s legs and buttocks looks like a Clycladic statue, relentlessly rectilinear but soft around the edges” (Kennicott, 2011). This suggests that Callahan would look at the human body and look at how its form would create natural lines. The image could have also been abstraction, as Callahan focused on a specific part of the body, framing the photograph so just the legs and buttocks are in frame, isolating the view to just the lines created by this part of the body.

Kennicot continues to discuss Callahans photography style. “no matter how much Callahan’s camera dissects the world, the photographs never seem clinical” (Kennicott, 2011). Callahan would have been documenting the changes of then environment around him and was photographing these changes but was applying creative techniques and was focusing on specific aspects of these cities. An example of how Callahan would do this is he would photograph a busy street but to create the illusion of more people, Callahan would double expose the images over itself.

Kennicot also describes Callahans images as “small vignettes from the larger city” (Kennicott, 2011).

This statement seems to reference how Callahans landscape and street images were abstract or had some creative twist on them. Callahan would usually photograph streets but use double exposures to create chaotic images. He would also focus on a person, usually a woman, and double expose the image onto different street settings, so just a close-up face is shown floating in a street of people. this image could show Callahans documentation of the types of people seen on the streets, showing the division of wealth and classes.

In his final paragraphs, Kennicot discusses how Callahan would travel, particularly to Peru, Ireland and Morocco. The images Callahan was producing were “not the Peru of National Geographic, or postcards” (Kennicott, 2011), they were contemporary and abstract images, that were showing the locations in an artistic setting instead of documentation.

The second critical review being discussed is ‘Impact of Harry Callahan’s Color Photography Has Faded With Time’ Cathy Curtis (October 7, 1988).

Curtis states “subjects that, in vintage black-and-white prints, may suggest a meaningful and personal point of view, often seem disappointingly bland and banal once in colour” (Curtis, 1988) suggesting that images seem more emotional and dramatic in black and white, whilst colour images of the same subjects lose the symbolism intended.

Curtis continues to describe how Callahan “began photographing urban street scenes in black-and-white in the early 1940s” and that “one of Callahan’s longstanding themes is the essential loneliness of individuals caught up in the random patterns of pedestrian traffic” (Curtis, 1988). This black and white approach to Callahans images would have given them a more emotional effect as colour would have distracted from the meaning of the image. Removing colour from images of individuals could symbolise the loneliness they feel in their busy surroundings.

Callahan would “focus[ing] on women, who’s harsh, set faces somehow reflect both public masks and private vulnerabilities” (Curtis, 1988) possibly touching on women’s place in society in the 1940s, how they would appear to be the perfect house wife but still hold insecurities. Curtis continues “Callahan was also intrigued by the staccato pace of urban life, which he registered in discreet double-exposures” (Curtis, 1988) describing how Callahan would photograph close-ups of women’s faces and double expose them on busy street scenes to show the isolation of an individual in a busy city.

Harry Callahan could “afford to travel widely” meaning his images would come from a range of cities. “Signs in Arabic lettering (in Egypt), intricately decorated building facades (in Portugal) and yellow New York City taxicabs” (Curtis, 1988). All his images were now in colour as in 1977, “he gave up black and white completely” (Curtis, 1988). It was rare for people to be able to travel so Callahans images became a way for people to experience different countries and cultures. Curtis explains “this work is impeccable, crisp, colourful – and dead. Callahan seems to be on auto-pilot, spitting out pleasant pictures that tell us what we already know” (Curtis, 1988). This suggests that Callahan was only showing images that were plain “tourist” looking images, whereas his black and white images were meaningful and showed a more emotional approach to his images.

Phillip Kennicotts’ article describes Callahans images as explorative and innovative, as Callahan was a part of the New Vision movement, where artists were starting to experiment with their artistic medias to create interesting pieces.

Cathy Curtis’ article looks at the Callahans colour images and how the impact of his photography changed once he moved exclusively to colour photography. This outlook could be true, as Callahan was able to afford travel, so could have documented his travels in interesting ways, but instead decided to focus on photographing idyllic images that would please viewers, rather than inviting them to look more into the meaning of the images.

Moving forward to analyse Callahans images based on the two reviews, it would be interesting to look at the experimentation discussed by Kennicot. It would also be beneficial to look at Callahans colour images and look at the impact they have over his black and white images.

The first image is ‘Eleanor, Aix-en-Provence’, (France, 1958) (figure 1). The image depicts a filed with a double exposure of the naked back of a woman. The woman in the image is Callahans’ wife, Eleanor. Whilst talking about Callahans’ images of Eleanor, Kennicott explains “they are markers of intimacy that Callahan never violates by double exposure” (Kennicott, 2011). This suggests that the images are never taken in a sexual way but as a way to experiment with the lines and form of a body overlapping a natural scene. The image also shows a connection to nature, as the naked torso in an open field suggests freedom.

Looking at Curtis’ view on Callahans images, black and white has a more emotional impact on the image, as the removal of colour gives the image a simplistic look that would have been more chaotic had the image been in colour.

Kennicotts’ interpretation of Callahans images is more effective whilst looking at ‘Eleanor’ as Kennicott looks at how Callahan was experimental with his images and would use double exposures to create abstract images.

Image two is ‘The Street’ (no date) (figure 2). The image is of a woman’s face layered on a busy street scene, giving the impression of loneliness. The woman is attractive, and her hair has been styled perfectly. In the background are mannequins in a shop window, that have the same hairstyles as the woman who has been singled out. This gives the impression of people being clones of other people and nothing being original.

Phillip Kennicotts’ article describes Callahans’ images as “draw[ing] the eye into a world that is meticulous but complicated” (Kennicott, 2011). This statement suggests that the images seem normal at first glance, but as you read more into Callahans images, you can see more depth and complexity in the composition of the image. The floating head of the woman catches the viewers’ attention first, and when you look further into the image you notice how she looks transparent. Kennicott also describes Callahans images as “carefully constructed visual games using strange angles, reflective surfaces and strong contrast” (Kennicott, 2011).

Cathy Curtis’s article talks about how “one of Callahans longstanding themes is the essential loneliness of individuals caught up in the random patterns of pedestrian traffic”. With figure 2 Callahan has captured the face of a woman who looks confused, and the double exposure of the image on a busy street, gives the impression of impression that she is lost in the crowd. Curtis continues “Callahan’s photographs have been read as indicative of the then-fashionable dilemma of the individual forced to make his or her way in a cold shoulder world”. The people in the image are walking in the same direction but the woman is looking in the opposite direction, as though she is going against the crowd. This could also be interpreted as the woman leaving the safety of following the same direction as everyone on the street and going in her own direction on her own.

Curtis’s interpretations of Callahans images are most effective for figure 2, as Curtis explains Callahans themes of images more in depth which fits the narrative of figure 2’s subject and compositions.

Another experimental image by Harry Callahan is ‘Detroit’,(1943)(figure 3). The image is of a busy street in Detroit that has been double exposed with the same composition. The streets are busy with people and traffic, all moving in the same direction. Also noticeable in the image is a sign saying: “no turn”, which is near a crowd of people all following the same direction and not breaking the flow of people. Within the image it is clear there are a range of people and social classes. Near the bottom of the image is a maid and in front of her are upper class people that are recognisable by their clothing. In his review, Phillip Kennicott says about Callahan “He divorces things from context, pulls out small vignettes from the larger city, but without violence, and without the gamesmanship of a photographer inclined to the cheap surreal” (Kennicott, 2011). This statement is true for the image, as Callahan has isolated a street scene and focused on focusing on this one spot without showing the location. “[T]he cheap surreal” (Kennicott, 2011), suggests that by using double or more exposures, Callahan has been able to create unique an interesting street photographs, whereas other photographers may photograph the same scene in a matter of fact way, without any experimentation.

Looking at Cathy Curtis’s review on Callahans work, the statement: “subjects that, in vintage black-and-white prints, may suggest a meaning and personal point of view, often seem disappointingly bland and banal in colour” is true with figure 3. Had the image been in colour, the image would have looked very chaotic and details would have been lost. The image in black and white looks more vintage and shows more details in the tones and shadows.

Phillip Kennicotts’ view on Callahans photography is more effective looking at figure 3 as Kennicott was able to interpret how Callahan photographed street scenes in creative ways and also show urban life in busy city streets.

The final image being discussed is ‘Providence’. The image is a coloured double exposure print of what looks like a poster on the wall of a normal street. The ‘poster’ looks as though it has a president or political figure as the subject. Another noticeable thing with figure 4 is that the eyes of the ‘poster’s’ subject look as though they are glowing red, like a demonic presence, which could be read as a political statement against the Government.

Curtis states “the way people perceive art photographs inevitably has a lot to do with the crush of promotional imagery that leaps out everywhere in magazines, on billboards and on TV”. This quote looks at how we are surrounded by images every day and can be easily influenced by the imagery we see. If people see a promotional image for a long period of time, they might be influenced to change things about their lives, such as political opinions or lifestyle choices.

Curtis also states about Callahan “he is not in the business of making social statements. When his work has suggested a particular depth of meaning, that meaning has been colored by the attitudes of his era” (Curtis, 1988). This statement suggests that Callahan never photographs images with a political meaning, however viewers can look deeper into the image and form their own opinion.

Curtis’s explanation of how people perceive images and political messages within Callahans image fits with figure 4 as Curtis has explained that imagery surrounds us on a day to day basis and can easily influence opinions based on what is shown.

Overall, ‘Art Review: Impact Of Harry Callahan’s Color Photography Has Faded With Time’, Cathy Curtis, (October 7, 1988) is able to describe Callahans themes and meanings behind his images. Although Curtis is writing against Callahans colour images, she argues the point that his black and white images hold more meaning and more emotional value over his colour images. Curtis describes Callahans colour images as “impeccable, crisp, colourful – and dead”, alluding to how it seems as though Callahan was taking photos that were typical touristy images that hold no further emotional meaning.

‘Review: Harry Callahan photography exhibition at the National Gallery’, Phillip Kennicott (October 4 2011), describes Callahans nude images more than his other styles. The main subject of Callahans nude images was his wife, Eleanor. Kennicott describes Callahans approach as “they are markers of intimacy that Callahan never violates by direct exposure” (Kennicott, 2011), showing us that the nude images were never taken in a sexual way, they were experimental images for Callahan to use with double exposures to create more abstract images.

Figure. 1:

Callahan, H. (1958). Eleanor, Aix-en-Provence, France.

Available at: https://www.moma.org/collection/works/54519.

Figure. 2:

Callahan, H. (1943). Detroit.

Available at: https://www.artforum.com/picks/harry-callahan-29735.

Figure. 3:

Callahan, H. (no date). Unknown.

Available at: https://erickimphotography.com/blog/2015/01/20/7-lessons-harry-callahan-has-taught-me-about-street-photography-and-life/.‌

Fig. 4

Callahan, H. (1985). Providence.

Available at: https://www.e-flux.com/announcements/12523/harry-callahanthe-street/.

Reference List:

CURTIS, C. (1988). ART REVIEW : Impact of Harry Callahan’s Color Photography Has Faded With Time. [online] Los Angeles Times.

Available at: https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-10-07-ca-3457-story.html

[Accessed 4 Jan. 2020].

Kennicott, P. (2011). Review: Harry Callahan photography exhibit at the National Gallery of Art. The Washington Post. [online] 5 Oct.

Available at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/review-harry-callahan-photography-exhibit-at-the-national-gallery-of-art/2011/10/04/gIQAJ5V1LL_story.html

[Accessed 4 Jan. 2020].

Critical Review of The Digital age reshapes our notion of photography. Not everyone is happy.

In this essay, I will be critically reviewing Sean O’Hagan’s ‘The Digital age reshapes our notion of photography. Not everyone is happy’ (2016). In his article, O’Hagan discusses how social media has become a space for people to be able to share images quickly and without thinking about what they are posting. This suggests that photographers displaying their work printed and in public galleries is in decline, as people are able to post their work instantaneously over social media.

In his article, ‘The Digital age reshapes our notion of photography. Not everyone is happy’ (O’Hagan, 2016), O’Hagan discusses Cornell Capas’ quote on photography: “it is the most vital, effective and universal means of communication of facts and ideas between peoples and nations”. This quote shows that photography is used like a language that can convey all the information needed visually. Capa founded the International Centre of Photography, in 1974 for what he called “concerned photographers” to display their works.

Following from Capas’ statement, O’Hagan highlights how “in the age of social media and insta-overload, photography not only reflects the fast-forward momentum of the hyper-digital age but drives and shapes it” (O’Hagan, 2016). This shows us that technology has advanced and continues to advance to where people are able to instantly post images and their thoughts and feelings publicly. People everywhere are able to use smart phones or other smart devices to instantly take, edit or manipulate and then post images that convey their thoughts and feelings on either themselves or the world around them. This could take the form of a young girl taking a “selfie” image and then digitally editing it to make herself look older or more like how models on social media look, so she can fit into the unrealistic standards placed on young people today.

Following this paragraph, O’Hagan discusses Doug Rickards instalment for the Public, Private, Secret exhibition. Rickards instalment was material, usually caught on social media, in which citizens would record violence and robberies and edit them together “that speaks of very contemporary anxieties – both about everyday American violence and the ways in which evidence of that violence is disseminated on social media sites with no context or condemnation” (O’Hagan, 2016). This statement suggests that in todays’ society, as everybody is able to photograph and video the things around them, there is a constant stream of violent images being broadcast all over social media. As these images are available for all to see, people are becoming more de-sensitised to seeing horrific images. O’Hagan continues “photography tends to be made – and remade, remixed and recontexualised – rather than taken” (O’Hagan, 2016). This quote suggests that images and videos are taken, often without the original artists permission, and the image or video is then edited and manipulated so ownership of the material is taken by someone else. O’Hagan states how this is a juxtaposition to Henri Cartier-Bresson’s work, as Cartier-Bresson would photograph the real world as he saw it, with no manipulation or without staging the photograph.

Overall, O’Hagan argues that in todays modern society, photography is easily accessible to everyone through smart phones and cheaper camera. Also, editing apps and software are constantly being developed to alter the final product of the image. This could be used as an artistic art form or used to enhance the appearance of someone to fit the societal expectations seen all over social media.

O’Hagan suggests that photography today is no longer about being able to document real life, but about capturing images that can be edited and manipulated to fit the narrative of the world the photographer wants to envision.

Reference List:

Sean O’Hagan’s ‘The Digital age reshapes our notion of photography. Not everyone is happy’ in The Guardian, 3 July [online]. Available at:

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2016/jul/02/photography-no-longer-just-prints-on-the-wall (Accessed: 4 October 2019)

Daniel Rubenstein ‘What is twenty-first century photography?’

This article, written by Daniel Rubenstein, explores photographies past, as well as its place in the future.

Rubenstein describes Immanuel Kants’ ‘Enlightenment’. Kant says “Enlightenment is man’s emergence from his self-incurred immaturity” (Kant, 1784). Rubenstein explains how “Kant was writing this at a time when a thousand years of Feudalism was ending, and he strived to define the emerging world order based on scientific method rather than religion, representational democracy rather than autocracy and market economy rather than bartering” (Rubenstein, 2018). This meant that at the time, Kant was trying to shift societies views to create a more communist society.

“The photo-graphic image combined some of the key attributes of the Enlightenment: rational method capable of producing identical results under controlled conditions, industrial processes that replaced physical labour with mechanised production, and the delirium of mass-replication that mimics the infinite circulation of commodities in a capitalist market” (Rubenstein, 2018). Rubenstein is talking about the mass production of images and other graphic images. Rather than an image or graphic being produced by a single person or small team of people, machinery was taking over the job and mass products.

Rubenstein describes photography as “the most suitable visual form to reflect on the changing face of society, as it was reshaped by industrialisation, is that it itself is a product of the same industrial processes that replaced human and animal muscles with motors and pistons, accelerated movement to ultrasonic speeds and exchanged craftsmanship with mass-production”. (Rubenstein, 2018). Photographs could take a snapshot of the moment, as it was, with no manipulation or artistic interpretation. Art, such as painting, could be interpreted and changed according to the artists imagination.

Rubenstein explains how Susan Sontag noted “‘cameras define reality in the two ways essential to the working of an advanced industrial society: as a spectacle (for the masses) and as an object of surveillance (for rulers)’”. Cameras were able to be used for documentation for leaders, as well as an art form for people to explore.

“Photography is still, above all else, the universal face of representation” (Rubenstein, 2018). Photographs are an accurate representation of the things we see around us. They can be used for identification purposes, as well as a way to document landscapes and the changes going on around us.

Rubenstein continues to look at photography and the media used to display the images. “in the 20th Century photography existed on a printed page”, as this was the only way to really display images. “In the 21st Century this arrangement is just as quaint as piecemeal production in the age of conveyer belt assembly. The photographic print disappeared everywhere apart from some galleries and nostalgic photography departments” (Rubenstein, 2018). In modern times, people view images on screens, scrolling through social media feeds to get their latest image fix. Photographs printed and displayed in galleries seem to be slowly starting to fade away. If people wish to see images by their favourite photographers, they can now find these images that have been scanned and uploaded online for everyone to see easily.

Rubenstein describes frames that house photgraphic images as “coffins of photography” (Rubenstein, 2018), which shows his view on printed media. By describing frames as coffins, Rubenstein alludes to how he thinks printed photographs are dying out due to the development of technology.

In his final paragraph, Rubenstein states “In the 21st Century, photography is not a stale sight for sore eyes, but the inquiry into what makes something an image. As such, photography is the most essential task of art in the current time” (Rubenstein, 2018).

Rubenstein believes photography is still an integral part of life, as we can capture art in an instant as photography is so widespread.

Dematerialisation

Dematerialisation in art is a conceptual genre, where the art is no longer materialistic.

https://www.dazeddigital.com/art-photography/article/39375/1/amalia-ulman-2014-instagram-hoax-predicted-the-way-we-use-social-media

An art instillation by Amalia Ulman, called ‘Excellences and Perfections‘ was an interactive performance, in which Ulman would upload images to Instagram, portraying herself as an ‘LA girl’. The images were stereotypical of showing the ideal lifestyle people strive for.

The images, however, were exploring how women present themselves online. Her images showed her eating salads, dressing in bikinis and working out, showing the ideal lifestyle society thinks we need.

Her images brought into question the authenticity of the images we see on our feeds. Authenticity is being genuine and real. Ulmans’ images seemed authentic, with people believing this hoax was the truth.

Photographs can be authentic, as they can show the truth of a person or a place. It can also bring into our relationship between our online and offline selves. As the person taking the images and uploading them, we are the people who choose what we want viewed.

Another thing to consider with image authenticity are the editing softwares available. Many images can be digitally manipulated to alter the truth of the image, however most editing is used to create images that are noticeably edited.

Postcolonialism

Colonialism is when political control of a country is acquired through force, and then the country is exploited economically.

“Postcolonial, in turn, refers to the situation of a people or society or culture after it has been exposed to the presence of those who have come to that people or society or culture with the intention of subjugating, controlling, exploiting, and even improving it” (Harris, 2006).

Photography has documented colonialism both as it was happening and postcolonialism.

Unknown (1910) *Sewing class in the Mission of the Daughters of Charity, Nsona-Mbata, Belgian* Congo, postcard, collotype. Published by Ern. Thill, Brussels, c. 1920. Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution. https://africa.si.edu/exhibits/focus/eyes3.html

This is an image that was taken to use as a postcard. The image was taken in the Belgian Congo. The image is of a sewing class taking place in the Mission of the Daughters of Charity.

There are three Congolese women sat at the sewing machines, with two white women, dressed all in white, standing over them with their hands on the sitting women’s shoulders. The hand on the shoulders suggest a possessive relationship between the missionaries and the Congolese women. Also, the missionaries standing over the sat Congolese women puts them on a lower level, showing the portrayal of Africans as a secondary race under white people.

Another way of showing postcoloniaism is through video.

Episode III: Enjoy Poverty Trailer (2008) Directed by Renzo Martens, INTI Films. https://vimeo.com/144862363

This movie by Renzo Martens shows how people living in poverty have been exploited by Western media but not profiting from their lives. Within his movie, Martens travels around Congo, teaching the Congolese people how to profit off of their poverty.

Martens was trying to implement a trade system, where the impoverished person would allow a photographer or journalist to take videos/photographs of them and in return the person would get paid. Also, the photographer/journalist would be making a profit from the pieces they create.

Postcolonialism can be applied to photography. The images creative will be symbolic of the past struggles the country has faced. The images could also be exploitative, if the poverty stricken people do not benefit from the image but the photographer does.

Postmodernism & Photography

“Postmodernism is the name given to the defining artistic movement of the second half of the 20th century. Postmodern photography is characterized by atypical compositions of subjects that are unconventional or sometimes completely absent, making sympathy with the subject difficult or impossible”. (James, 2005)

https://www.artmonthly.co.uk/magazine/site/article/the-truth-about-photography-by-sarah-james-dec-jan-2005-06

The main genres of postmodernism photography are abstraction and contemporary/artistic. Postmodernist photographers were able to photograph a subject and make it look abstract, like photographing shadows of structures to create interesting compositions and forms. James also states that “modernism was characterized by a rejection of previous artistic trends, such as romanticism and a tendency toward realism”.

James continues “The word “banal” is often used in relation to postmodern photography. Banal means ordinary or even boring. As traditional photography focuses on subjects that are interesting, unusual, or beautiful” (James, 2005). Postmodernist photographers tried to focus on subjects that would create unusual compositions that were also still interesting to look at.

A statement that stood out to me from Jeff Wall Postmodernist Photographer of the Real by Sean O’Hagan was “Not photographing gives me imaginative freedom that is crucial to the making of art. That, in fact, is what art is about – the freedom to do what we want.” (Wall, 2015). This statement is Jeff Wall describing his process in taking photos from memory. Postmodernist photographers made it possible for photographers to look at photography as an art form rather than a documentation tool. We are now able to photograph subjects that we enjoy and are interested in. Regardless of whether our subject choice is considered art, we have the ability to photograph a chosen subject as postmodernist photographers helped pave the way for new genres.

Roland Barthes ‘Camera Lucida’

Camera Lucida is a book written by Roland Barthes in 1980. The book explores the core of photography.

The three categories Barthes organises photographs in are: studium, punctum and index.

“The studium is coded, and can be understood as the rhetorical meaning of the photograph” (Barthes, 1980). This could be the symbolism of the image through the images subject/s.

“The punctum is a sudden ‘prick’ when recognising something in a photograph that triggers a deeply personal meaning or memory” (Barthes, 1980). This seems to be the feeling you get when looking at personal images.

“The punctum escapes language (satori) – The photograph touches me if I withdraw it from its usual blah-blah…to say nothing, to shut my eyes, to allow detail to rise of its own accord into affective consciousness” (Barthes, 1980). The image creates emotions if you look more into the meaning behind the image.

The index of an image when the the photograph is proof of the existence of the thing or person being photographed.

The punctum does not exist in film photography, as the still frame of the image does not let you recognise punctum.

The New Vision

The New Vision refers to a movement in photography and art, where artists become more experimental and avant garde in their artistic endeavours.

The main pioneers of the New Vision were: August Sander, Albert Renger-Patzsch, El Lissitszky, Alexander Rhodchenko, Iwao Yamawaki, László Moholy-Nagy and Harry Callahan.

This movement took place between 1920 and 1930, between WW1 and WW2. Before photographers became artistic with their image subjects, they would photograph the landscape and portraits in an unimaginative and matter of fact way.

The images produced were used to document everyday and document the changes of the landscape and cities around them. As the images were taken in the early twentieth century, it was during the modernism movement, when industrial life was starting to change the society around them.

The main locations this movement began was in the Soviet Union, Germany (Bauhaus) and America (Detroit). These were the locations where change was more drastic, and could be a way of artistic explorations for these artists.

The New Vision images were described as photomontages and abstract photograms. The images could also be described as graphic design, as some pieces were made up of text and images, which could give artists freedom to express their political views or beliefs of the world. Some artists would also experiment with double or more exposures in their images to create abstract and conceptual photographs, like Harry Callahan.

The photographs were experimental, as the artists would explore close-ups and macro photography, as well as trying different angles and viewpoints by tilting the horizon. They would also explore depths of field in their images and how you can control the level of details in the image.

Freud

Sigmund Freud is a neurologist, as well as the founder of psychoanalysis.

One of Freuds main theory was that personality characteristics develop through stages that caused by internal psychological conflict.

The three categories of the personality are: the ID, ego and superego.

The ID are the inherited personality traits you have from birth. This relates to our basic needs, urges and desires. With the ID, every impulse decision should be carried out, regardless of the consequences.

“The ego is ‘that part of the id which has been modified by the direct influence of the external world”(Freud, 1923). The ego works to create realistic outcomes to the ID’s impulses. The ego also works out the behaviours needed in social situations and etiquette.

The superego is to control the ID’s impulses that are not socially accepted like sex and violence.

The superego is made up of two systems: the ideal self and the conscience.

The ideal self is how you should see yourself as a person, and how you see yourself as a member of society.

The conscience can punish the ego if it gives in to the ID’s demands, by making the person feel guilty.

The three personality traits could be applied to photography.

For example, if you were a photographer working in a war torn country, the ID part of your personality would be impulsed to photograph the things around you, without thinking of what you are looking at. Your ego would rationalise the decisions you are making, so you would think of possibly publishing the images but to raise awareness of the war going on instead of taking the image for a profit. Your superego would help you see yourself as a someone who is helping to raise awareness of the war, not someone chasing profit. However, your conscience would punish you by making you feel guilty if you make the wrong decisions in taking these photographs.

https://www.simplypsychology.org/psyche.html

Marxism

Marxism is a political, social and economical philosophy, named after Karl Marx. Marxism is in favour of abolishing capitalism and living in communism instead. (https://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/marxism.asp)

Marxism also looks at how upper classes/capitalists (bourgeoisie) profit from lower classes/labourers (proletariat) without these lower classes seeing the benefits of their labour.

In order to understand a Marxists theory on art and photography, I did some further research and found the following article.

https://www.culturematters.org.uk/index.php/culture/theory/item/2626-what-do-marxists-have-to-say-about-art

The main takeaway from the article was that in order to understand a piece of art, you need to know more about the time when it was made. Also when viewing/purchasing art and photography, you need to take into account the time and effort into producing the final image.

Walter Benjamin ‘The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reduplication’

In this session, we explored Walter Benjamins’ The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. 1935

A statement that stood out to me was: “just as water, gas, and electricity are brought into our houses from far off to satisfy our needs in response to a minimal effort, so we shall be supplied with visual or auditory images, which will appear and disappear at a simple movement of the hand, hardly more than a sign”. This is a quote by Paul Valéry.

It suggests that photography has lost its magic and it had become common to see photographers work more than the work of painters. As cameras became mass produced, it meant that it became more accessible for people to photograph their environment, rather than have to take their time and paint it.

We also looked at a summary of Benjamins essay written by J. Ginel. By looking at this summary, it was clear to see Benjamins stance on photography, and how he believes that photography has no creativity and can be easily recreated. Benjamin describes authenticity and originality as an aura. “A painting has an aura while a photograph does not; the photograph is an image of an image while the painting remains utterly original”. This quote suggests that photography can be repetitive and recreated, as you will photograph a scene as it is seen in an unimaginative and straight on composition. A painting can be an original as it is a one of a kind creation and is formed in an imaginative way.

Another quote which suggests unoriginality in photography is: “the cameraman, for example, intervenes with what we see in a way which a painting can never do. It directs the eye towards a specific place and a specific story”. We as viewers only see what the photographer wishes to photograph. We do not get the whole picture, just what they want us to see at that moment.

An interesting thing Benjamin mentions is “the object consumes man at the same time man consumes it”. This quote suggests that people consume media in a mass quantity, like looking at Instagram or going to cinemas to see films. These medias draw in the viewers which creates money for the producers, meaning they would then produce more and more, and the viewers still consume the product, as they are being produced at a fast rate. This also would mean that again, originality is lost and products are being recreated and reproduced.

We also looked at ‘Art, aura and the doomed search for the perfect selfie’ by Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett. The main takeaway from her article is that people view art on mobile phones which is taking away how we see art. Rather than looking at art and photography in galleries, people tend to look at images on mobile phones or other electronic devices as it is easier and more convenient. This takes away the impact that some images could have, as they are smaller scale and have less of a wow factor than they would if they were displayed in galleries.