final Flashcards
Semiotics
the study of signs and symbols and their use or interpretation. Photographs are often perceived as direct representations of reality, but they are also cultural artifacts loaded with meanings and interpretations that are shaped by context, culture, and the photographer’s intent. Semiotics helps us understand how these meanings are constructed and communicated.
The Decisive Moment
The Decisive Moment is a concept in photography made famous by French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson. It refers to the precise moment when all the visual and emotional elements in a scene come together in perfect harmony, creating a photograph that is both aesthetically powerful and deeply meaningful
The Black Power Movement
emerged in the mid-1960s and gained momentum into the 1970s, used photography as a critical tool for activism, representation, and cultural empowerment. Photographers documented the movement’s leaders, events, and cultural expressions, creating a powerful visual archive that challenged stereotypes, highlighted systemic oppression, and celebrated Black identity and resistance. Here’s how photography intersected with the Black Power Movement:
The Anti-War Movement
particularly during the Vietnam War in the 1960s and early 1970s—was profoundly shaped and amplified by photography. Photographers captured the horrors of war, the anguish of its victims, and the widespread protests against it, creating images that became iconic symbols of resistance and galvanized public opinion.
Earthworks and Performance Art
two artistic practices that rely heavily on photography, not just as a tool for documentation but as a medium that contributes to their legacy and meaning
-Documentation: Earthworks are often created in remote locations and subject to natural decay over time. Photography ensures these works are accessible to a wider audience.
-Documentation: Photographs serve as the primary record of performances, capturing moments of movement, expression, and interaction.
feminism
- to document and amplify their activism, creating powerful visual narratives that challenge patriarchal norms.
- captured protests, rallies, and moments of feminist resistance, creating iconic images that symbolize the fight for gender equality.
-images from the Women’s Liberation Movement
intersectionality
intersect as tools for understanding and representing the overlapping systems of oppression and privilege that shape people’s experiences based on race, gender, class, sexuality, disability, and other identities.
- intersect as tools for understanding and representing the overlapping systems of oppression and privilege that shape people’s experiences based on race, gender, class, sexuality, disability, and other identities.
-Carrie Mae Weems: Her series “The Kitchen Table Series” (1990) captures the intersections of race, gender, and family dynamics, exploring the roles and expectations placed on Black women in domestic and social contexts.
-Lorna Simpson: Through her conceptual work, Simpson examines how gender and race intersect in the societal perception of Black women, often incorporating text and fragmented imagery to create layered narratives.
anti-photography
- critical and often experimental approach to the medium of photography that challenges its traditional practices, aesthetics, and functions
-Rejection of Aesthetic Norms:
-Questioning the Nature of Photography
-Focus on Process Over Image:
-Deconstruction of Representation
postmodernism
- diverges from the modernist approach, which emphasized purity, originality, and formalism.
-Rejects Originality
-Questions Truth and Reality
-Explores Identity and Subjectivity
-Engages with Popular Culture
-Blurs Boundaries:
Example: Cindy Sherman:
Sherman’s “Untitled Film Stills” (1977–1980) consist of self-portraits where she assumes various roles and personas, referencing stereotypical female characters from film and media. The series critiques the idea of authenticity in photography and the constructed nature of identity.
Example: Sherrie Levine:
Levine’s rephotographing of works by male artists, such as Walker Evans, questions the notions of authorship and originality in photography.
George Eastman
-revolutionizing the medium by making it accessible to the masses
- founder of the Eastman Kodak Company,
Horace Engle
contributions to photography, especially in education and advocacy, were transformative.
-supporting the idea of photography as an art form, and promoting the documentary style,
Alfred Stieglitz
-The Photo-Secession Movement
- founded the Photo-Secession, a group of photographers who aimed to elevate photography to the level of painting and sculpture
-major proponent of “straight photography”, which emphasized clear, sharp images that avoided manipulation or artistic distortion
-most iconic series, “The Steerage” (1907), exemplifies his straight photography approach. The image depicts a scene on a ship with a stark focus on composition and geometry, capturing the sharp details of everyday life with remarkable clarity and precision. It is considered one of his most important works, representing a moment of modernist exploration in photographic art
-291 gallery
-georgia 0’keefffe was his wife
-iconic works: the equivalent, portraits of Georgia O’Keeffe
-“The Sterrage” -picture on boat
Edward Steichen
visionary photographer whose work spanned across various genres, from Pictorialism to modernism, from commercial photography to fine art. His contributions to the medium helped elevate photography to the status of fine art, and his work as a curator, particularly with exhibitions like “The Family of Man”, left a lasting impact on the way photography is viewed today. Steichen’s ability to bridge the gap between commercial and artistic photography made him one of the most influential figures in the history of the medium.
“The Flatiron”
“The Pond: Moonrise”
“The Maypole, Empire State Building”
James Van Der Zee
-invaluable record of African American life and culture during the Harlem Renaissance.
“Couple with the Car” (1929):
Harlem Couple” (1932):
The Lasker Family” (1927):
James Latimer Allen
-an American photographer, best known for his work in portraiture and as a pioneering figure in African American photography in the early 20th century.
-capturing dignified, professional portraits of African Americans during a time of widespread racial prejudice and marginalization.
Carl Van Vechten
- his portraits of African American cultural figures. His photography played a crucial role in documenting and elevating African American artists, writers, musicians, and intellectuals during the Harlem Renaissance and beyond.
man ray
-one of the most influential figures in the development of modern photography. Known for his avant-garde style, innovative techniques, and close associations with the Dada and Surrealist movements
-“Rose Selavy”
John Hartfield
-pioneer of photomontage
-combined elements of photography, graphic design, and collage
-highly political
Gustav Klucis
-pioneering work in photomontage and graphic design.
-work in Soviet propaganda utilized photography to serve the goals of the state, particularly in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution and during the early years of Stalin’s rule.
-His work combined photography with geometric abstraction, typography, and other graphic design elements, creating visually arresting and effective propaganda pieces.
André Kertész
-one of the pioneers of modern photography.
-street photography, portraiture, focus on everyday and poetic aspects of life
-liked the Leica camera -could word in a spontaneous and intimate way
-characterized by its humanism, quiet beauty, and innovative use of the photographic medium.
Alvin Langdon Coburn
abstract photography, pictorialism, and avant-garde techniques, Coburn’s photography spans several styles, including portraiture, landscape, and urban imagery
-Vortographs (1916–1917) are perhaps Coburn’s most revolutionary contribution to the development of modernist photography.
-work in this series is often compared to cubism and futurism
-“The Octopus” -sidewalks
Paul Strand
-contributions to straight photography, a style that emphasized sharp focus and clarity, and for his ability to capture the essence of human experience through both portraiture and documentary photography.
-focus on social issues formal abratration, humanist aspects
-pictorialist style
-straight photogrpahy
László Moholy-Nagy
- influential work in the field of modernist photography.
-key member of Bauhaus school
-significant contributions to both photographic techniques and the theoretical aspects of photography.
-photograms
-“Dolls”
“Berlin Radio Tower”
Henri Cartier-Bresson
photojournalism and his concept of the “decisive moment”,
“decisive moment”, which refers to capturing a fleeting, spontaneous instant that reveals the essence of a situation or subject. He famously said:
“There is nothing in this world that does not have a decisive moment.”
The decisive moment is also about the photographer’s instinctive understanding of timing, composition, and the ability to capture fleeting expressions and actions.
–“Behind the Gare Saint-Lazare”
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