Jeff Barnett Winsby
Amy Stein
Santiago Mostyn
Thursday, October 30, 2008
War, War...what is it good for?
Absolutely nothing! Well, maybe some good photos come out of it?
Last class we looked at a brief history of war photography with it's American beginnings of Mathew Brady and the documentation of the American Civi War (Article about Roger Fenton, most likely the first war phtogographer of all time is above.) Brady thought it would be a good idea to photograph the entire war and was sure the American government would later purchase his photos and he would at least make back the $100,000 or so he had invested in the project. While Brady hired roughly 20 photographers such as Alexander Gardner and Timothy O'Sullivan to work under him, part of the deal was that they could not attain any personal credit for their work and everything shot by them was to be signed as Mathew Brady. This of course did not suit some of the photographers and they went on to branch off and do their own work without the supervision of Brady, who actually didn't even shoot the actual war that much but was more in charge of the supervisions and organization of the project. The war had come to an end in 1865 and by 1873 Brady was far in debt, having to sell off his New York studio. He did, however, manage to finally get the gvt. to buy his project for a whopping $2840...for those of you with minimal math skills that's a loss of $97,160.
Mathew Brady, General Ulysses S. Grant, Cold Harbor, Virginia, 1864.
Many of the photographers hired by Brady, such as Gardner were unhappy with not being able to take credit for their work and went on to quit. Gardner had opened up his own studio in D.C. and kept working on the Civil War project without the assistance of Brady and actually had the Photographic Sketch Book of the Civil War, a two-volume collection of 100 original prints, published in 1866.
When Daguerre exclaimed that photography was "an absolute truth, infinitely more accurate than any painting by the human hand," he probably wasn't thinking of how photographers would be using this public perception to not only push their agenda but just as simply fool the public. While the war photographers of the time were not necessarily trying to do either, the facts are simple: photographing action in the 1860s was really hard, photos were staged, war scenes were tampered with for the sake of better photos. Is this acceptable? Does the photographer have a right to do such a thing? Does it matter if the photograph is an absolute truth if it serves a greater purpose like changing people's perception of the world for a greater truth or is that too close to propaganda?
The Library of Congress has some great information about photographing the Civil War if you want to keep looking at that subject matter.
Moving on; we went on to talk about the importance and brutal reality of War Photography, how we've become desensitized to any sort of shock value that used to exist, and how one single photograph can actually change the way we think (and you usually don't have to move a dead body do that anymore!) Without further ado, here are some photographers we looked at. This is not by any means a definitive list, but it's a good start, and like I said, a lot of these folks happen to be Magnum photographers, so you should really just go to their site and start clicking on names; it will be a great way for all of you to find at least 1 new artist you'll like.
The (self proclaimed) greatest war photographer of all time Robert Capa "If your pictures aren't good enough, you aren't close enough."
Micha Bar Am
Eugene Smith
Gilles Peres
Eddie Adams
Nick Ut
Robbie Hodierne
www.vietnamphotography.com
Peter Agtmael did an interview with the Smithsonian.com recently.
Two current artists who are approaching document war in a different way than you may be used to.
photo of Suzanne Opton billboard.
What a coincidence, Nina Berman, currently has a show at Jen Bekman Gallery at 6 Spring St.
Brighton Photo Biennial: the war of images and images of war: Interesting website to take a look at.
Last class we looked at a brief history of war photography with it's American beginnings of Mathew Brady and the documentation of the American Civi War (Article about Roger Fenton, most likely the first war phtogographer of all time is above.) Brady thought it would be a good idea to photograph the entire war and was sure the American government would later purchase his photos and he would at least make back the $100,000 or so he had invested in the project. While Brady hired roughly 20 photographers such as Alexander Gardner and Timothy O'Sullivan to work under him, part of the deal was that they could not attain any personal credit for their work and everything shot by them was to be signed as Mathew Brady. This of course did not suit some of the photographers and they went on to branch off and do their own work without the supervision of Brady, who actually didn't even shoot the actual war that much but was more in charge of the supervisions and organization of the project. The war had come to an end in 1865 and by 1873 Brady was far in debt, having to sell off his New York studio. He did, however, manage to finally get the gvt. to buy his project for a whopping $2840...for those of you with minimal math skills that's a loss of $97,160.
Mathew Brady, General Ulysses S. Grant, Cold Harbor, Virginia, 1864.
Many of the photographers hired by Brady, such as Gardner were unhappy with not being able to take credit for their work and went on to quit. Gardner had opened up his own studio in D.C. and kept working on the Civil War project without the assistance of Brady and actually had the Photographic Sketch Book of the Civil War, a two-volume collection of 100 original prints, published in 1866.
When Daguerre exclaimed that photography was "an absolute truth, infinitely more accurate than any painting by the human hand," he probably wasn't thinking of how photographers would be using this public perception to not only push their agenda but just as simply fool the public. While the war photographers of the time were not necessarily trying to do either, the facts are simple: photographing action in the 1860s was really hard, photos were staged, war scenes were tampered with for the sake of better photos. Is this acceptable? Does the photographer have a right to do such a thing? Does it matter if the photograph is an absolute truth if it serves a greater purpose like changing people's perception of the world for a greater truth or is that too close to propaganda?
The Library of Congress has some great information about photographing the Civil War if you want to keep looking at that subject matter.
Moving on; we went on to talk about the importance and brutal reality of War Photography, how we've become desensitized to any sort of shock value that used to exist, and how one single photograph can actually change the way we think (and you usually don't have to move a dead body do that anymore!) Without further ado, here are some photographers we looked at. This is not by any means a definitive list, but it's a good start, and like I said, a lot of these folks happen to be Magnum photographers, so you should really just go to their site and start clicking on names; it will be a great way for all of you to find at least 1 new artist you'll like.
The (self proclaimed) greatest war photographer of all time Robert Capa "If your pictures aren't good enough, you aren't close enough."
Micha Bar Am
Eugene Smith
Gilles Peres
Eddie Adams
Nick Ut
Robbie Hodierne
www.vietnamphotography.com
Peter Agtmael did an interview with the Smithsonian.com recently.
Two current artists who are approaching document war in a different way than you may be used to.
photo of Suzanne Opton billboard.
What a coincidence, Nina Berman, currently has a show at Jen Bekman Gallery at 6 Spring St.
Brighton Photo Biennial: the war of images and images of war: Interesting website to take a look at.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Have we really
seen it all?
Inside this rather interesting article is also a link to a new James Nachtwey project (we just watched the documentary about him War Photographer) Here are some examples of his work:
Inside this rather interesting article is also a link to a new James Nachtwey project (we just watched the documentary about him War Photographer) Here are some examples of his work:
Friday, October 24, 2008
NY Art Book Fair on Sat.
I will be bringing in some old daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, and collodions into class. Afterwards we will begin talking about the history of war photography. We'll start with the civil war covering such photographers as Mathew Brady and Alexander Gardner moving on to other greats such as Robert Capa. We'll also be watching an excerpt for a documentary called War Photographer. Last....
Since this is literally 4 blocks away and it's free we'll probably stop by towards the end of class. There will be some people there with photography books that you can talk to about the relevance of the book in relation to photography projects and the history of their inception some 150 years ago!
Printed Matter's annual fair of contemporary art books, art catalogs, artists' books, art periodicals, and 'zines offered for sale by over 120 international publishers, booksellers, and antiquarian dealers. Admission to the fair is FREE.
LOCATION
Phillips de Pury & Company
450 West 15th Street at 10th Avenue, 3rd floor, NYC
FAIR HOURS
Friday/Saturday, October 24 & 25, 2008, 11am - 7pm
Sunday, October 26, 2008, 11am - 5pm
Admission to the NY Art Book Fair is free.
http://nyartbookfair.com
Since this is literally 4 blocks away and it's free we'll probably stop by towards the end of class. There will be some people there with photography books that you can talk to about the relevance of the book in relation to photography projects and the history of their inception some 150 years ago!
Printed Matter's annual fair of contemporary art books, art catalogs, artists' books, art periodicals, and 'zines offered for sale by over 120 international publishers, booksellers, and antiquarian dealers. Admission to the fair is FREE.
LOCATION
Phillips de Pury & Company
450 West 15th Street at 10th Avenue, 3rd floor, NYC
FAIR HOURS
Friday/Saturday, October 24 & 25, 2008, 11am - 7pm
Sunday, October 26, 2008, 11am - 5pm
Admission to the NY Art Book Fair is free.
http://nyartbookfair.com
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Galina Kurlat
Galina Kurlat was in the same graduating class with me at Pratt. She is a great artist that works with ambrotypes. Take a look!
Monday, October 20, 2008
Portraits
Last class we started talking about the history of portrait photography, so I figured why not highlight some current artists who are doing some interesting work. I will be putting up 3 images per week. Please try to look at the websites.
Thatcher Keats
Pieter Hugo
Pinar Yolacan
Thatcher Keats
Pieter Hugo
Pinar Yolacan
A brief history in photographic improvements of the 2nd half of the 19th century
I hope this is enough information! Class, please let me know if you have any specific questions or interests in any of these and I will do my best to answer / address them!
What is commonly thought of as the first photographic exposure by Niepce was 8 hours long to get this image.
After Niepce's death Daguerre had accidently discovered a process of latent development where the image was invisible to the naked eye until treated with a developer chemical (Think of this like when you are making a print in the dark room. First you expose the paper, but after the light turns off and the exposure is finished, you can't actually start seeing the image until you put it in the developer.)
Talbot came across a discovery of using gallic acid to treat photographs much later than Daguerre (which is another reason why his process wasn't as popular at first) and by the fall of 1840, exposure times could be cut down from the expected half hour to 30 seconds on a very bright day.
in 1847 people started using glass negatives coated with albumen (egg whites) to help with the definition and fading problems that were plaguing paper photography, but while the glass negatives had no grain, the procedure was complicated and the exposure time was longer than what was needed for daguerreotypes.
In 1850 Fredrick Scott Archer, an English engraver turned sculptor, published a method of sensitizing a newly discovered colorless and grainless substance, collodion, to be used on glass. Because the exposure was a lot shorter when the plate was used in a moist state (20 times shorter compared to previous methods), the process became known as the wet plate or wet collodion method. An immediate drawback to this process was having to carry a mini darkroom with you to sensitize and then develop every plate you wanted to expose, but the crisp definition and contrast were exactly what many photographers were looking for that paper negatives couldn't offer and the collodion method went on to really expand photographic activity in virtually every genre of the medium.
Unlike Talbot, who tried to say that the collodion method was already covered by one of his calotype patents, Archer looked at his discovery as a gift to the world and did not look to make any money from it (he died impoverished in 1857, only 7 years after his discovery.)
example of a print from wet plate collodion
1854: James Ambrose Cutting invents the ambrotype, a on glass using the wet plate collodion process. The main difference is that the image appears positive and you don't have to make a print from it. Exposures were also made while the plate was still wet with collodion and then dipped in silver nitrate. Exposure ranged from roughly 5 - 60 seconds depending on light conditions. The plate is then developed and fixed. The resulting negative, when viewed by reflected light against a black background, appears to be a positive image: the clear areas look black, and the exposed, opaque areas appear light. (while being a totally different process and final result, the whole aspect of a negative appearing as a positive isn't too far off from daguerreotypes)
ambrotype
Also in 1854: André-Adolphe-Eugène Disdéri introduces a style of photography using albumen paper. It came to be called the carte-de-visite because the size of the mounted albumen print (4 by 2.5 inches [10.2 by 6 cm]) corresponded to that of a calling card. Disderi used a camera with 4 lenses to produce 8 negatives on a single glass plate. This sped up the whole process by only needing to work with 1 plate to produce up to 8 images that would later be separated. Albumen paper was also used to print from single glass negatives.
carte-de-viste
Throughout the 1850s, the ambrotype was becoming more and more popular, weeding out the daguerreotype's popularity, but as the 1860's came along, the tintype started doing just the same to the ambrotype. The tintype (also known as melainotype or ferrotype) was first described in France by Adolphe-Alexandre Martin in 1853 but later patented in the US by Hamilton Smith and by William Kloen of Great Britain both in 1856. The tintype was much like the ambrotype except instead of using glass, there was a black enameled iron and the emulsion was gelatin silver based. Another advantage of the tintype was that they were able to be processed and developed much quicker than previous methods, making them much more practical from a business and customer standpoint.
tintype
coming next: dry plate photography, film, consumer cameras, kodak. oh my!
What is commonly thought of as the first photographic exposure by Niepce was 8 hours long to get this image.
After Niepce's death Daguerre had accidently discovered a process of latent development where the image was invisible to the naked eye until treated with a developer chemical (Think of this like when you are making a print in the dark room. First you expose the paper, but after the light turns off and the exposure is finished, you can't actually start seeing the image until you put it in the developer.)
Talbot came across a discovery of using gallic acid to treat photographs much later than Daguerre (which is another reason why his process wasn't as popular at first) and by the fall of 1840, exposure times could be cut down from the expected half hour to 30 seconds on a very bright day.
in 1847 people started using glass negatives coated with albumen (egg whites) to help with the definition and fading problems that were plaguing paper photography, but while the glass negatives had no grain, the procedure was complicated and the exposure time was longer than what was needed for daguerreotypes.
In 1850 Fredrick Scott Archer, an English engraver turned sculptor, published a method of sensitizing a newly discovered colorless and grainless substance, collodion, to be used on glass. Because the exposure was a lot shorter when the plate was used in a moist state (20 times shorter compared to previous methods), the process became known as the wet plate or wet collodion method. An immediate drawback to this process was having to carry a mini darkroom with you to sensitize and then develop every plate you wanted to expose, but the crisp definition and contrast were exactly what many photographers were looking for that paper negatives couldn't offer and the collodion method went on to really expand photographic activity in virtually every genre of the medium.
Unlike Talbot, who tried to say that the collodion method was already covered by one of his calotype patents, Archer looked at his discovery as a gift to the world and did not look to make any money from it (he died impoverished in 1857, only 7 years after his discovery.)
example of a print from wet plate collodion
1854: James Ambrose Cutting invents the ambrotype, a on glass using the wet plate collodion process. The main difference is that the image appears positive and you don't have to make a print from it. Exposures were also made while the plate was still wet with collodion and then dipped in silver nitrate. Exposure ranged from roughly 5 - 60 seconds depending on light conditions. The plate is then developed and fixed. The resulting negative, when viewed by reflected light against a black background, appears to be a positive image: the clear areas look black, and the exposed, opaque areas appear light. (while being a totally different process and final result, the whole aspect of a negative appearing as a positive isn't too far off from daguerreotypes)
ambrotype
Also in 1854: André-Adolphe-Eugène Disdéri introduces a style of photography using albumen paper. It came to be called the carte-de-visite because the size of the mounted albumen print (4 by 2.5 inches [10.2 by 6 cm]) corresponded to that of a calling card. Disderi used a camera with 4 lenses to produce 8 negatives on a single glass plate. This sped up the whole process by only needing to work with 1 plate to produce up to 8 images that would later be separated. Albumen paper was also used to print from single glass negatives.
carte-de-viste
Throughout the 1850s, the ambrotype was becoming more and more popular, weeding out the daguerreotype's popularity, but as the 1860's came along, the tintype started doing just the same to the ambrotype. The tintype (also known as melainotype or ferrotype) was first described in France by Adolphe-Alexandre Martin in 1853 but later patented in the US by Hamilton Smith and by William Kloen of Great Britain both in 1856. The tintype was much like the ambrotype except instead of using glass, there was a black enameled iron and the emulsion was gelatin silver based. Another advantage of the tintype was that they were able to be processed and developed much quicker than previous methods, making them much more practical from a business and customer standpoint.
tintype
coming next: dry plate photography, film, consumer cameras, kodak. oh my!
Bill Henson & Jeff Whetstone, neither that great?
Last week we went and saw 2 shows: Jeff Whetstone's Post-Pleistocene at Julie Saul Gallery and Bill Henson at Robert Miller gallery. Quiet frankly I wasn't too impressed with either.
Whetstone's idea of going into the caves with a large format camera and photographing the graffiti came off as a much better idea than execution. I think this print below was the only one where I really felt like the graffiti added to the work.
The prints were beautiful but was the subject interesting enough? Personally I was hoping that all the spray paint, carvings, and other markings left by the human touch would tell more of an immediate story, and while I know that isn't Whetstone's fault, as interesting as the caves look, the graffiti is the main subject. Would the show have been more interesting if it was just documenting caves that weren't covered in spray paint? Would it be in the gallery?
Whetstone actually has some other projects on his website which are worth checking out regardless of what you thought of this show.
And what about Bill Henson?
Well, he's selling prints for $25,000 - $29,000 and apparently has gotten into some controversy for what some think is sexualizing underage kids. I will leave out all personal opinion of this show because I feel like it requires more thought to talk about.
What do you think class? Please leave your responses as comments.
Whetstone's idea of going into the caves with a large format camera and photographing the graffiti came off as a much better idea than execution. I think this print below was the only one where I really felt like the graffiti added to the work.
The prints were beautiful but was the subject interesting enough? Personally I was hoping that all the spray paint, carvings, and other markings left by the human touch would tell more of an immediate story, and while I know that isn't Whetstone's fault, as interesting as the caves look, the graffiti is the main subject. Would the show have been more interesting if it was just documenting caves that weren't covered in spray paint? Would it be in the gallery?
Whetstone actually has some other projects on his website which are worth checking out regardless of what you thought of this show.
And what about Bill Henson?
Well, he's selling prints for $25,000 - $29,000 and apparently has gotten into some controversy for what some think is sexualizing underage kids. I will leave out all personal opinion of this show because I feel like it requires more thought to talk about.
What do you think class? Please leave your responses as comments.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Calotypes vs. Daguerreotypes
Talbot & the calotype: To create a photogenic drawing, Talbot first coated a sheet of drawing paper with the chemical compound silver chloride and put it in a camera obscura. He exposed the paper by letting light hit it and produced an image of the scene with the tones reversed (much like today when you shoot a roll of film, you get a negative image). He then placed the negative against another coated sheet of paper to produce a positive image. (think of this when you are making a contact sheet. you start out with a celluloid negative and you put it against photo sensitive paper to create a direct positive. Except talbot was using paper for both process.)
Daguere & the daguerreotype: The image is exposed directly onto a mirror-polished surface of silver bearing a coating of silver halide particles deposited by iodine vapor. In later developments bromine and chlorine vapors were also used, resulting in shorter exposure times. The daguerreotype is a negative image, but the mirrored surface of the metal plate reflects the image and makes it appear positive in the proper light. Thus, daguerreotype is a direct photographic process without the capacity for duplication.
Daguere started his work on the development of the Daguerreotype with Niepce but made the more important breakthroughs after Niepce's death (probably why they are not called the dagniepcetypes or niepdagtypes)
The main differences are that calotypes are negatives that are later printed as positives on paper and that daguerreotypes are negative images on mirrored surfaces that reflect a positive looking image.
While Daguerre had monetary funding and go ahead from the French Academy of Sciences, his competitor Talbot had to look towards his own private funding to push his methods. The French looked at their invention as free to the world (though Daguerre did register a patent in Britain for it making it "free to the world" everywhere but Britain, and this slowing down the advancements of photographic processes by there being only a small handfull of people who could legally make daguerreotypes in the whole country.) Since Talbot not only lacked the funding of Daguerre but also his financial status, he looked to making his investment money from working on his photographic finds back by patening his method and charging anyone who wanted to use them (though he lated waived the fees for amateurs using the calotype system for recreational purposes)
While we know why Talbot took out his patent and charged money for for a license, once can only make an educated guess as to why Daguerre would want to restrict the use of "his" invention in the same country that a competitor of his was equally as destined to make it to the history books.
At first Talbot had a lot of trouble figuring out how to properly fix his images (think of when you are developing film or photos and you use "fixer" to keep it from fading and become permanent) giving another reason to the already unique daguerreotypes to become much more popular. However, while the Daguerreotypes were at first much more popular, their years of practical production didn't really make it past the late 1800s (there are still people making them for artistic purposes) Talbot's invention and negative to positive process was much more influential to further developments in the photography industry and holds much more relevancy to anyone still working with film / traditional printing.
This is Talbot's "The Open Door" from 1843. This print was highly admired by the British press for it's high tonal qualities. A lot has been written about this photo, here is a little excerpt on the Metropolitan Museum's website
Here is an example of a pretty famous daguerreotype. This is the first known photographic image of the moon. It was taken by John Whipple in 1851.
Here is a cool website called the Dag Lab that goes into further explanation of the process of making Daguerreotypes.
The Getty Museum site has some interesting videos as well.
I know it's kind of hard to imagine how a daguerreotype can look so different from the conventional paper prints we are used to seeing and that jpegs on the internet don't quiet do it justice which is why I will be bringing in some original daguerreotype examples to our next class.
Daguere & the daguerreotype: The image is exposed directly onto a mirror-polished surface of silver bearing a coating of silver halide particles deposited by iodine vapor. In later developments bromine and chlorine vapors were also used, resulting in shorter exposure times. The daguerreotype is a negative image, but the mirrored surface of the metal plate reflects the image and makes it appear positive in the proper light. Thus, daguerreotype is a direct photographic process without the capacity for duplication.
Daguere started his work on the development of the Daguerreotype with Niepce but made the more important breakthroughs after Niepce's death (probably why they are not called the dagniepcetypes or niepdagtypes)
The main differences are that calotypes are negatives that are later printed as positives on paper and that daguerreotypes are negative images on mirrored surfaces that reflect a positive looking image.
While Daguerre had monetary funding and go ahead from the French Academy of Sciences, his competitor Talbot had to look towards his own private funding to push his methods. The French looked at their invention as free to the world (though Daguerre did register a patent in Britain for it making it "free to the world" everywhere but Britain, and this slowing down the advancements of photographic processes by there being only a small handfull of people who could legally make daguerreotypes in the whole country.) Since Talbot not only lacked the funding of Daguerre but also his financial status, he looked to making his investment money from working on his photographic finds back by patening his method and charging anyone who wanted to use them (though he lated waived the fees for amateurs using the calotype system for recreational purposes)
While we know why Talbot took out his patent and charged money for for a license, once can only make an educated guess as to why Daguerre would want to restrict the use of "his" invention in the same country that a competitor of his was equally as destined to make it to the history books.
At first Talbot had a lot of trouble figuring out how to properly fix his images (think of when you are developing film or photos and you use "fixer" to keep it from fading and become permanent) giving another reason to the already unique daguerreotypes to become much more popular. However, while the Daguerreotypes were at first much more popular, their years of practical production didn't really make it past the late 1800s (there are still people making them for artistic purposes) Talbot's invention and negative to positive process was much more influential to further developments in the photography industry and holds much more relevancy to anyone still working with film / traditional printing.
This is Talbot's "The Open Door" from 1843. This print was highly admired by the British press for it's high tonal qualities. A lot has been written about this photo, here is a little excerpt on the Metropolitan Museum's website
Here is an example of a pretty famous daguerreotype. This is the first known photographic image of the moon. It was taken by John Whipple in 1851.
Here is a cool website called the Dag Lab that goes into further explanation of the process of making Daguerreotypes.
The Getty Museum site has some interesting videos as well.
I know it's kind of hard to imagine how a daguerreotype can look so different from the conventional paper prints we are used to seeing and that jpegs on the internet don't quiet do it justice which is why I will be bringing in some original daguerreotype examples to our next class.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Nathan, this show is in CT.
http://www.wesleyan.edu/dac/exhb/current.html
Document or Art?
Photography in the Long 19th Century, 1839-1914
Friday 17 October - Sunday 7 December
(Closed 25-28 October and 25-30 November)
In "The Salon of 1859," French critic Charles Baudelaire denounced photography as "art's most mortal enemy." Baudelaire argued that photographs could provide factual records, but he reserved the realm of art for painting and other products of the imagination. At the same time, however, photographers such as Oscar G. Rejlander carefully composed and combined negatives to assert their skill as artists. Over the course of the long 19th century, the debate over the nature and use of photography continued, as photographers explored the technical and artistic possibilities of the evolving medium.
This exhibition explores shifting uses and interpretations of photographs from the announcements in 1839 about competing inventions by Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre and William Henry Fox Talbot to the outbreak of World War I in 1914. Selected from the Davison Art Center collection, the show highlights works by Thomas Annan, Julia Margaret Cameron, Francis Frith, Alexander Gardner, Eadweard Muybridge, Jacob Riis, Alfred Stieglitz, Carleton Watkins, and many more.
From the invention of photography in 1839 to 1914, photographers documented the American Civil War, the American West, and urban poverty. They also created narratives and promoted the aesthetic opportunities of the new medium. Document or art? In the 19th century, a photograph could be either or both.
Document or Art?
Photography in the Long 19th Century, 1839-1914
Friday 17 October - Sunday 7 December
(Closed 25-28 October and 25-30 November)
In "The Salon of 1859," French critic Charles Baudelaire denounced photography as "art's most mortal enemy." Baudelaire argued that photographs could provide factual records, but he reserved the realm of art for painting and other products of the imagination. At the same time, however, photographers such as Oscar G. Rejlander carefully composed and combined negatives to assert their skill as artists. Over the course of the long 19th century, the debate over the nature and use of photography continued, as photographers explored the technical and artistic possibilities of the evolving medium.
This exhibition explores shifting uses and interpretations of photographs from the announcements in 1839 about competing inventions by Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre and William Henry Fox Talbot to the outbreak of World War I in 1914. Selected from the Davison Art Center collection, the show highlights works by Thomas Annan, Julia Margaret Cameron, Francis Frith, Alexander Gardner, Eadweard Muybridge, Jacob Riis, Alfred Stieglitz, Carleton Watkins, and many more.
From the invention of photography in 1839 to 1914, photographers documented the American Civil War, the American West, and urban poverty. They also created narratives and promoted the aesthetic opportunities of the new medium. Document or art? In the 19th century, a photograph could be either or both.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Photographer's Forum/Nikon photo contest
Here is a contest with a cheap entry fee and a high possibility of getting published. They pick a ton of finalists for the book, so if you are looking to have one of you photos published, the $4 or $5 might be worth it to stick on a resume.
http://pfmagazine.com/Contest.aspx
Photographer's Forum Magazine and Nikon present the 29th Annual College Photography Contest
THIS CONTEST IS OPEN TO ALL HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE
STUDENTS IN THE U.S., CANADA, AND AROUND THE WORLD.
WINNING PHOTOS WILL BE PUBLISHED IN THE MAY 2009 ISSUE
OF PHOTOGRAPHER'S FORUM MAGAZINE. ALL CONTEST FINALISTS WILL BE PUBLISHED IN THE BEST OF PHOTOGRAPHY ANNUAL 2009.
EARLY ENTRY Deadline: October 20, 2008
Early entry fee is $3.95 per photo entered (uploaded/postmarked on or before October 20, 2008).
FINAL ENTRY Deadline: November 20, 2008
Final entry fee is $4.95 per photo entered (uploaded/postmarked on or before November 20, 2008).
FINALISTS WILL BE NOTIFIED BY JANUARY 21, 2009
WINNERS WILL BE NOTIFIED BY FEBRUARY 18, 2009
http://pfmagazine.com/Contest.aspx
Photographer's Forum Magazine and Nikon present the 29th Annual College Photography Contest
THIS CONTEST IS OPEN TO ALL HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE
STUDENTS IN THE U.S., CANADA, AND AROUND THE WORLD.
WINNING PHOTOS WILL BE PUBLISHED IN THE MAY 2009 ISSUE
OF PHOTOGRAPHER'S FORUM MAGAZINE. ALL CONTEST FINALISTS WILL BE PUBLISHED IN THE BEST OF PHOTOGRAPHY ANNUAL 2009.
EARLY ENTRY Deadline: October 20, 2008
Early entry fee is $3.95 per photo entered (uploaded/postmarked on or before October 20, 2008).
FINAL ENTRY Deadline: November 20, 2008
Final entry fee is $4.95 per photo entered (uploaded/postmarked on or before November 20, 2008).
FINALISTS WILL BE NOTIFIED BY JANUARY 21, 2009
WINNERS WILL BE NOTIFIED BY FEBRUARY 18, 2009
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Cell Phone Photo Exhibit Seeks Submissions
This is about as current as you can get within the context of Photo History.
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/10/prweb1463184.htm
Cell Phone Photography Exhibit in November 2008 Seeks Submissions Online
"At the Cellular Level," a new exhibit of cell phone photography by amateur and professional artists and creative people as curated by Daiv Whaley, is calling for online submissions for an innovative exhibit opening in the Cleveland area in November 2008.
Cleveland, OH (PRWEB) October 14, 2008 -- Independent curator Daiv Whaley and longstanding Brandt Gallery of the Tremont District in Cleveland, Ohio, announce an open call for submissions of cell phone photographs for the first At The Cellular Level - Cell Phone Photography as Art. The exhibit, which will open in November 2008, will feature cell phone photography from professional and amateur artists from around the world and promises to be a stimulating visual dialogue on the use of convenience technology in the twenty-first century. Submissions can be mailed to cellphonephotoshow @ yahoo.com
"Considering that not so long ago photography wasn't viewed as a fine art, I wanted to up the ante and really challenge the professional photography crowd to work in this more limiting medium of cell phone photography and see what kind of amazing images they can come up with," explains Whaley, himself a Polaroid photo enthusiast. "Also, where once upon a time only photographers were lugging around camera equipment, today the majority of people carry small phones that can capture images that often find their way into news stories online and even on television. I personally have not heard of an exhibit with this theme before, and I'm excited to see the kind of work "amateurs" are making on a daily basis. This is going to be fun!"
At The Cellular Level opens at the Brandt Gallery in November of 2008. The longest-running gallery in the Tremont district, the space has a history of maverick and unconventional shows and is the originator of the Tremont ArtWalk that has revitalized the once-declining neighborhood. Whaley, himself an exhibiting visual artist, has previously curated exhibits on propaganda, lightworks, and large-scale paintings.
Simply download your images to your computer's desktop and then send them as attachments, or email them directly from your cell phone. Please include artist's name, title of each image, and city and country of residence with your submission. Please refrain from computer manipulation of the images, and send all images at the size they were created using the cell phone. To submit cell phone photographs for consideration for At The Cellular Level, please send up to 4 images saved as jpgs or gifs to cellphonephotoshow @ yahoo.com.
Artists will be notified upon acceptance in the exhibit.
Deadline for submissions is Sunday, November 9, 2008.
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/10/prweb1463184.htm
Cell Phone Photography Exhibit in November 2008 Seeks Submissions Online
"At the Cellular Level," a new exhibit of cell phone photography by amateur and professional artists and creative people as curated by Daiv Whaley, is calling for online submissions for an innovative exhibit opening in the Cleveland area in November 2008.
Cleveland, OH (PRWEB) October 14, 2008 -- Independent curator Daiv Whaley and longstanding Brandt Gallery of the Tremont District in Cleveland, Ohio, announce an open call for submissions of cell phone photographs for the first At The Cellular Level - Cell Phone Photography as Art. The exhibit, which will open in November 2008, will feature cell phone photography from professional and amateur artists from around the world and promises to be a stimulating visual dialogue on the use of convenience technology in the twenty-first century. Submissions can be mailed to cellphonephotoshow @ yahoo.com
"Considering that not so long ago photography wasn't viewed as a fine art, I wanted to up the ante and really challenge the professional photography crowd to work in this more limiting medium of cell phone photography and see what kind of amazing images they can come up with," explains Whaley, himself a Polaroid photo enthusiast. "Also, where once upon a time only photographers were lugging around camera equipment, today the majority of people carry small phones that can capture images that often find their way into news stories online and even on television. I personally have not heard of an exhibit with this theme before, and I'm excited to see the kind of work "amateurs" are making on a daily basis. This is going to be fun!"
At The Cellular Level opens at the Brandt Gallery in November of 2008. The longest-running gallery in the Tremont district, the space has a history of maverick and unconventional shows and is the originator of the Tremont ArtWalk that has revitalized the once-declining neighborhood. Whaley, himself an exhibiting visual artist, has previously curated exhibits on propaganda, lightworks, and large-scale paintings.
Simply download your images to your computer's desktop and then send them as attachments, or email them directly from your cell phone. Please include artist's name, title of each image, and city and country of residence with your submission. Please refrain from computer manipulation of the images, and send all images at the size they were created using the cell phone. To submit cell phone photographs for consideration for At The Cellular Level, please send up to 4 images saved as jpgs or gifs to cellphonephotoshow @ yahoo.com.
Artists will be notified upon acceptance in the exhibit.
Deadline for submissions is Sunday, November 9, 2008.
Phil Toledano, taken from Paste Magazine
Phillip Toledano’s Inspiring Photography
By Kate Kiefer
on October 14, 2008 4:11 PM
original article: http://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/ctrl-v/2008/10/phillip-toledanos-inspiring-photography.html
I’m excited to share my boyfriend’s current photography obsession. It’s a heartbreaking photo essay by Phillip Toledano called Days With My Father.
Phillip's dad, a former actor, has lost his short-term memory. He has no recollection of his wife’s sudden death or attending her funeral. Phillip couldn’t bear repeating the story of his mother’s death every time his father asked about her, so he started telling his dad that she went to Paris to take care of her sick brother.
The solemn photos document Mr. Toledano’s mundane activities—looking out the window, reading the newspaper, sitting on the toilet.
An especially tragic picture captures the old man looking in the mirror. Phillip writes, “When he looks in the mirror, he sees a man ravaged, a man no longer beautiful, and that upsets him deeply.”
Another shows his notebook. In it, he’s written, “I want to think seriously about what I can accomplish with what’s left of my life.”
After you recover from Days With My Father, check out the rest of Phillip Toledano’s work.
By Kate Kiefer
on October 14, 2008 4:11 PM
original article: http://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/ctrl-v/2008/10/phillip-toledanos-inspiring-photography.html
I’m excited to share my boyfriend’s current photography obsession. It’s a heartbreaking photo essay by Phillip Toledano called Days With My Father.
Phillip's dad, a former actor, has lost his short-term memory. He has no recollection of his wife’s sudden death or attending her funeral. Phillip couldn’t bear repeating the story of his mother’s death every time his father asked about her, so he started telling his dad that she went to Paris to take care of her sick brother.
The solemn photos document Mr. Toledano’s mundane activities—looking out the window, reading the newspaper, sitting on the toilet.
An especially tragic picture captures the old man looking in the mirror. Phillip writes, “When he looks in the mirror, he sees a man ravaged, a man no longer beautiful, and that upsets him deeply.”
Another shows his notebook. In it, he’s written, “I want to think seriously about what I can accomplish with what’s left of my life.”
After you recover from Days With My Father, check out the rest of Phillip Toledano’s work.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Niépce and Daguerre contract.
I'll be scanning and posting more writings from the book in the blog, but if you want to buy one, used copies start at around $7 on amazon. (After the $4 shipping that's how much you would have spent on a Manhattan lunch so just eat a pb & j tomm. and use the money to buy the book)
Tiny Vices / Aperture book launch
TinyVices
Aperture
Tinyvices: Vol. 1–5
Book Party
Thursday, October 16, 2008
6:00 p.m.–9:00 p.m.
Aperture Gallery
547 West 27th Street, 4th floor
New York, New York
(212) 505-5555
Tinyvices (Aperture), is an eclectic new series of monographs featuring five of the most promising photographers featured on the wildly popular website tinyvices.com, an online photography gallery founded by independent curator and photographer Tim Barber. Join Aperture and Barber in celebrating the launch of the books at Aperture Gallery with photographers Kenneth Cappello, Allan MacIntyre, Jason Nocito, Robin Schwartz, and Jaimie Warren.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Robert and Shana Parke Harrison / Alessandra Sanguinetti
Since contemporary photography is a part of the history, during the first class we went and saw 2 shows in Chelsea; one by Robert and Shana Parke Harrison at Jack Shainman Gallery and the other by Alessandra Sanguinetti at Yossi Milo Gallery
We were actually lucky enough to catch Robert and Shana at the opening and after telling them about our class they informed us that we may send them questions through email, so as you are doing this short project please think of 2 questions you would like to ask them and we'll send them an email with all our questions together during the next class.
Below is an image from each of the shows which I thought were interesting next to each other, but make sure you go to the websites and look again at all their work.
Please write a short (no more than a page) response to the two shows. It does not have to be formal, you may write as if you were speaking to me or telling a friend about the shows but please keep it about the meaning and aesthetic of the work and refrain from just saying things like "the shows were both great, the work was beautiful"
Things to think about (you don't have to mention these in your responses)
The relationship between the artists and their subjects.
How art comes into play with the real world, what do you think both Sanguinetti and the Parke Harrisons are trying to say about reality with their placement of a fiction narrative.
Press releases for ParkeHarrisons' "counterpoint" and Sanguinetti's "the life that came"
“It’s disheartening what you find yourself just taking good pictures- pictures that don’t have heart. Great pictures surprise me, they have depth and mystery.” Alessandra Sanguinetti - Found this quote in a pretty interesting blog entry about Sanguinetti
We were actually lucky enough to catch Robert and Shana at the opening and after telling them about our class they informed us that we may send them questions through email, so as you are doing this short project please think of 2 questions you would like to ask them and we'll send them an email with all our questions together during the next class.
Below is an image from each of the shows which I thought were interesting next to each other, but make sure you go to the websites and look again at all their work.
Please write a short (no more than a page) response to the two shows. It does not have to be formal, you may write as if you were speaking to me or telling a friend about the shows but please keep it about the meaning and aesthetic of the work and refrain from just saying things like "the shows were both great, the work was beautiful"
Things to think about (you don't have to mention these in your responses)
The relationship between the artists and their subjects.
How art comes into play with the real world, what do you think both Sanguinetti and the Parke Harrisons are trying to say about reality with their placement of a fiction narrative.
Press releases for ParkeHarrisons' "counterpoint" and Sanguinetti's "the life that came"
“It’s disheartening what you find yourself just taking good pictures- pictures that don’t have heart. Great pictures surprise me, they have depth and mystery.” Alessandra Sanguinetti - Found this quote in a pretty interesting blog entry about Sanguinetti
Niepce & Daguerre
As you recall from the first class Joseph Nicéphore Niépce (1765 – 1833) and Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre (1787 – 1851) were both very important figures in the origins of photography. Niepce (pictured directly below) was noted as the first photographer to create a permanent image in 1826.
Niepce's 8 hour exposure made with a camera obscura and pewter coated with bitumen (an asphalt that hardened when exposed to light) from 1826. Keep in mind that Niepce had been working on obtaining a permanent photograph since the late 1700s so it took him a good 30 years or so of work to create his early permanent photographs (which he referred to as heliographs, "sun writings")
Daguerre (pictured above) and the invention of the Daguerreotype: With the Daguerreotypes, images were exposed directly onto a mirror-polished surface of silver bearing a coating of silver halide particles deposited by iodine vapor. (As time went on he started working with other chemicals such as bromine which resulted in shorter exposures) The daguerreotype is a negative image but the mirrored surface of the metal plate reflects the image and makes it appear positive in the proper light. The Daguerreotype was a direct photo process which was unable to be duplicated, meaning 1 final image was all you were going to get.
Daguerreoype of Edgar Allan Poe from the 1840s
early Daguerreotype kit
Advertisement for traveling Daguerreotype photographer E.S. Hayden.
Here is a cool website called the Dag Lab that goes into further explanation of the process of making Daguerreotypes.
The Getty Museum site has some interesting videos as well.
Niepce's 8 hour exposure made with a camera obscura and pewter coated with bitumen (an asphalt that hardened when exposed to light) from 1826. Keep in mind that Niepce had been working on obtaining a permanent photograph since the late 1700s so it took him a good 30 years or so of work to create his early permanent photographs (which he referred to as heliographs, "sun writings")
Daguerre (pictured above) and the invention of the Daguerreotype: With the Daguerreotypes, images were exposed directly onto a mirror-polished surface of silver bearing a coating of silver halide particles deposited by iodine vapor. (As time went on he started working with other chemicals such as bromine which resulted in shorter exposures) The daguerreotype is a negative image but the mirrored surface of the metal plate reflects the image and makes it appear positive in the proper light. The Daguerreotype was a direct photo process which was unable to be duplicated, meaning 1 final image was all you were going to get.
Daguerreoype of Edgar Allan Poe from the 1840s
early Daguerreotype kit
Advertisement for traveling Daguerreotype photographer E.S. Hayden.
Here is a cool website called the Dag Lab that goes into further explanation of the process of making Daguerreotypes.
The Getty Museum site has some interesting videos as well.
Syllabus (general idea, things will change)
History of Photography - Pratt Manhattan - Saturdays 1pm – 4pm
Maxim Ryazansky – MaxTakesPhotos@yahoo.com
http://www.photohistorybymax.blogspot.com- classes are subject to change. Please continuously check the blog for updates and readings and if we will be meeting at a gallery or having an artist lecture.
week 1 – 10/11/08 – Introduction to class. We will be discussing such topics as: What is photography? Why is it important? What are it’s origins? How do we critique it? Pinhole cameras & camera obscuras. Discussing an excerpt from Charles Baudelaire’s “on photography” from the Salon of 1859. Niepce, Ibn al-Haytham, and other important figures in the origins of photography.
week 2 – 10/18/08 – Early permanent images. Henry Fox Talbot & permanent negatives, Lousi Daguerre and silver plated copper developed with mercury, wet plate collodians & ambrotypes. Origins of color photography by James Clerk-Maxwell. Portrait photography.
week 3 – 10/25/08 - Mathew Brady covers the American civil war. How did photography change the way things were documented, the news, public opinion. We will also look into more current war photography and discuss other photographers such as Larry Burrows, Nick Utt, Eddie Adams. Will be watching a documentary called “war photographer”
week 4 – 11/01/08 - Artist lecture by Stephanie Lyn Slate. Stephanie works primarily with Platinum prints and liquid emulsion to print on bones. She will be talking about her process and it’s relevancy to photo history.
week 5 – 11/08/08 – Beginnings of dry plate photography. Eadward Muybridge settles bet "do a horse's four hooves ever leave the ground at once" Beginnings of half tone photography (used for newspapers) Kodak makes cameras with rolls of paper and later film. Jacob Riis publishes “how the other half lives, ” Lewis Hine photographs children’s work conditions. Discuss the humanitarianism of photograsphy.
week 6 – 11/15/08 – High quality black and white and commercial color film become readily available to the public. Man Ray develops “rayographs” Beginnings of Nikon and Leica. Visit the Leica Gallery 670 Broadway / Suite 500.
week 7 – 11/22/08 – development of strobe photography, the f/64 group is founded, Farm security administration. Magnum photo agency is started
week 8 - 11/29/08 & 9 12/6/08 –– General look at photography since the 1950s: Gary Winnogrand, William Wegman Edward Steichen, Cartier Bresson, Robert Capa, Bruce Davidson, Elliot Erwitt, Bruce Gilden, Susan Meiselas, Cindy Sherman, Bill Owens, Larry Clark, Eli Reed, Alex Webb, etc. etc. You should be bringing in short lists of artists you specifically want to talk about.
week 10 – 12/13/08 – The internet / digital cameras and how they are changing photography. We will not only discuss the importance of these tool but also look at work online and with your new found knowledge of the medium you will show me websites by current artists and talk about them within the context of the history of photography.
Maxim Ryazansky – MaxTakesPhotos@yahoo.com
http://www.photohistorybymax.blogspot.com- classes are subject to change. Please continuously check the blog for updates and readings and if we will be meeting at a gallery or having an artist lecture.
week 1 – 10/11/08 – Introduction to class. We will be discussing such topics as: What is photography? Why is it important? What are it’s origins? How do we critique it? Pinhole cameras & camera obscuras. Discussing an excerpt from Charles Baudelaire’s “on photography” from the Salon of 1859. Niepce, Ibn al-Haytham, and other important figures in the origins of photography.
week 2 – 10/18/08 – Early permanent images. Henry Fox Talbot & permanent negatives, Lousi Daguerre and silver plated copper developed with mercury, wet plate collodians & ambrotypes. Origins of color photography by James Clerk-Maxwell. Portrait photography.
week 3 – 10/25/08 - Mathew Brady covers the American civil war. How did photography change the way things were documented, the news, public opinion. We will also look into more current war photography and discuss other photographers such as Larry Burrows, Nick Utt, Eddie Adams. Will be watching a documentary called “war photographer”
week 4 – 11/01/08 - Artist lecture by Stephanie Lyn Slate. Stephanie works primarily with Platinum prints and liquid emulsion to print on bones. She will be talking about her process and it’s relevancy to photo history.
week 5 – 11/08/08 – Beginnings of dry plate photography. Eadward Muybridge settles bet "do a horse's four hooves ever leave the ground at once" Beginnings of half tone photography (used for newspapers) Kodak makes cameras with rolls of paper and later film. Jacob Riis publishes “how the other half lives, ” Lewis Hine photographs children’s work conditions. Discuss the humanitarianism of photograsphy.
week 6 – 11/15/08 – High quality black and white and commercial color film become readily available to the public. Man Ray develops “rayographs” Beginnings of Nikon and Leica. Visit the Leica Gallery 670 Broadway / Suite 500.
week 7 – 11/22/08 – development of strobe photography, the f/64 group is founded, Farm security administration. Magnum photo agency is started
week 8 - 11/29/08 & 9 12/6/08 –– General look at photography since the 1950s: Gary Winnogrand, William Wegman Edward Steichen, Cartier Bresson, Robert Capa, Bruce Davidson, Elliot Erwitt, Bruce Gilden, Susan Meiselas, Cindy Sherman, Bill Owens, Larry Clark, Eli Reed, Alex Webb, etc. etc. You should be bringing in short lists of artists you specifically want to talk about.
week 10 – 12/13/08 – The internet / digital cameras and how they are changing photography. We will not only discuss the importance of these tool but also look at work online and with your new found knowledge of the medium you will show me websites by current artists and talk about them within the context of the history of photography.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Hello Class.
This blog is for the Pratt Manhattan History of Photography class that I, Maxim Ryazansky, am teaching on Saturdays from 1 - 4 pm.
Please check here throughout the semester as I will be posting relevant articles, photos, events that we will be attending, guest lecturers and notes that we will be discussing in class. Any comments here are welcome (that goes for anyone reading this that isn't in the class as well.)
I will also be posting a syllabus here midweek.
MaxTakesPhotos@yahoo.com
Please check here throughout the semester as I will be posting relevant articles, photos, events that we will be attending, guest lecturers and notes that we will be discussing in class. Any comments here are welcome (that goes for anyone reading this that isn't in the class as well.)
I will also be posting a syllabus here midweek.
MaxTakesPhotos@yahoo.com
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