-
Daguerreotype
The daguerreotype is a picture directly produced on a polish silver-plated copper wich is exposed in a camera. This technique was cheaper and more avaible for people. It was mainly used for portraits as the belief was that it revealed inner soul of the character. Increasingly, it served to report events such as wars (Mexico 1860). -
Period: to
Reporting reality
Bit by bit, photography became the witness of time, events. Technology advances allowed photographers to captured events easier and more freely. Photography was used for mapping the country, it recorded the movement westward, helped railroad developers...
Moreover, as photography coul be used outside, artists began to expose poverty --> "How the other half lives" by Jacob Riis (1890) : associates text and pictures to describe homeless boys. -
Period: to
The American Civil War, recorded by photography
The use of photography increases with the Civil War. Indeed, 1400 photographers chronicled the conflict. They were potraying the brutal and bloody reality with true images, in opposition with the sentimental and heroics images of war presented in paintings. -
Kodak Camera
Invented by George Eastman.
It was a real revolution as photography became more popular and allowed people to discover it. Thanks to this inventtion, photographers could take more spontaneous snapshots. -
Period: to
Pictorialism
This movement is characterized as blurry-edged pictures wich make a dreamy atmosphere.
It was influenced by the Symbolists and the Aesthetics in europe. -
Period: to
Modernism
This movement emerged in opposition to Pictorialism. It representes straight photography without any manipulation after the photo taken.
Stiegltiz was a member of the movement, after his pictioralism phase. He wanted "pure photography" based on the selection of point of view and image, using harder lines and more direct, geometrical images.
In the 20's, artists like Edward Waston, Margareth Bourke-White, Edward Steichen and Alvin Langdon-Coburn were mostly inspired by the industrial age. -
The Photo-Secession
Alfred Stiegliezt created the Photo-Secession, a photographers' group, in order to promote Pictorialism. -
The Camera Work
Alfred Stieglitz founded a journal, the Camera Work which featured the work of Photo-Secession members, such as Edward Steichen and Alvin Langdon Coburn. -
'291
Stieglitz opened the '291, a gallery to promote photographers'work. It became a center for avant-garde art.
Stieglitz' goal was to show that photography wasn't only a mechanically record of reality but that that was a true artist work. -
Period: to
Dada and Surrealism
Artists began to refuse traditionnal values and all ideaologies.
Man Ray (1890-1976) and Lee Miller were part of the dadaist and surrealist movement. -
Period: to
Documentary photography (before WW2)
Artists wanted to record the effects of the industrialization on the less fortunate. They chronicled the dire conditions of people's lives during Great Depression by recordinf distress and hardships.
Photographs: Walker Evans, Dorethea Lange, Margaret Bourke-White, Arthur Rothstein -
Rayograph
Due to an accident, Man Ray discovered this technique by moving the object during the time of exposure and by playing with time and light. -
Rise of photo book
The photo book developped in the 30's. It combine photographs and text.
--> "Let us now praise famous men", 1941, James Agee and Walker Evans
--> "You have seen their faces", 1937, Margareth Bourke-White
Those books portray poverty. -
Group f/64
Ansel Adams and Edward Weston founded of an independant group of photographers in San Francisco. They devoted there work to "pure photography" in opposition to the principles of art which are related to painting and the graphic arts. -
FAP and FSA
The Federal Art Project and the Farm Security Administration are institutions created to help artists after the Great Depression. -
Period: to
Documentary photography (after WW2)
Photographers studied their country into different angles, showing their subjective vision.
Robert Frank "The Americans", 1959
Diane Airbus explored street photography focusing on the strange, the marginal and the abnormal.
Weegee captured the violent underside of New-York... -
Magnum Photos
A cooperative of photographers which allowed them to be independant from magazines. -
Period: to
Postmodernism
Postmodernism was based on illusion and further manipulation.
Victor Burgin: found photos which he cuts out them context to create something new with textto emphasize a political or social message.
Barbara Kruger : same to Victor Burgin in order to lead a reflexion on gender, control and power.
Robert Longo: explored on masculinity, authority and power. -
Period: to
Consumer culture
Reflection on consumer culture with political point of view because of the developement of adds and medias.
Anything could become art, there was no longer a difference beetween art and the imiation of art.
Peter Halley wondered on the new modern space with materialism and financial power.
Jeff Koons thought about commercial culture with the idea that consumer objects were only objects of desire. -
Later during Postmodernism
Sherrie Levine or Richard Prince re-appropriated photographs to see it in a fresh way and lead a reflexion on the creation of a picture.
Gilbert and George started on body art photography, as they turned themselves into sculptures, to large scale photos. They wanted to provoc by flaunting their homosexuality. -
Period: to
Staged Photography
Artists wanted to show the opposition beetween fiction and straght photography. Joel Peter Witkin created fiction based on abnormal people in order to provoke disgust.
However, fiction photo doesn't reprensent reality.
The goal of the satged photographs was to critize society. Jeff Wall wanted to evoke the world of tabloïds with disturbing seens. -
Period: to
Art and Otherness
In the 80's came out a controversy beetween the representation of gay, transgender and erotic art and people who called the government for censorship.
Robert Colescott criticized racial and sexual stereotypes while Robert Mapplethorpe depicted gay culture, which created a political controversy.
Chris Ofili explored black identity, racial stereotypes and the idea of beauty.
Cindy Sherman wondered about how Holliwood objectified women. A lot of feminist artists showed their view on feminity. -
Period: to
Contemporary scene
This period is very ecclectic and gather a large variety of individual art forms..
Artists interessed themselves into multiculturalism and globalization. They expressed social and political causes.
Art is now accessible to everyone with net art and outisde art.