Modern to Contemporary

1. Modern to Contemporary Photography from World War II to the Present

2. Art Photography- Modernism and Surrealism • Modernist artists tried to make an artistic statement, as well as a socio-political one. • Modernist photographers focused on detail, texture and the fascinating combinations of lines shapes and forms in the world around them. • Modernism not only influenced the aesthetics of photography, but also the craft of making photographs. Modernist photographers were excellent technicians and developed new techniques while mastering the old ones. Alfred Stieglitz. Spring Showers, New York. 1911. Photogravure

3. Alfred Stieglitz The Hand of Man. 1902, Photogravure Equivalent, 1925, Gelatin Silver Print

4. Edward Steichen Self Portrait with Brush and Palette, 1902, gum print Sunday Night, 40th St. New York, 1925, Silver Gelatin Print

5. Minor White Rochester, 1954 Beginnings, 1962

6. Harry Callahan Weeds Against the Sky, Detroit. 1948 Eleanor, 1951

7. Frederick Sommer Valise d’Adam, 1949. Silver Gelatin Print Virgin and Child with St. Anneand the Infant St. John, 1966. Silver Gelatin Print

8. Photojournalism • Along with fine art movements in photography, photojournalism has helped shape contemporary themes in photographic art. The concept of “reality” has become a key concept in the field of photography. What is real? Does the photographic artist have the same right to invent reality that a painter or sculptor does or should photography always be bound by what can be put in front of the camera? Jacob Riis, Bandit’s Roost, 1888

9. Eugene Atget • Eugene Atget was the first person to make artistic use of the 35mm camera format. His photographs are not only a comprehensive documentation of French life, they are beautifully composed fine art photographs. Atget is often considered the father of photojournalism for his combination of documentary and fine art principles. Eugene Atget, Avenue des Gobelins. Ca. 1926

10. War Photography • Photojournalism’s insistence on showing the dirty, ugly, evil and horrific aspects of life, gave contemporary photographers the courage to present increasingly more disturbing imagery. Ron Haviv. Arkan’s troops attacking Muslim Civilians, Bijeljina, Bosnia, 31 March 1992 Don McCullen. Wounded Father and Daughter. 1960s

11. W. Eugene Smith • Photojournalism also introduced the “photo essay” format- a narrative in pictures that often speak much louder than words. W. Eugene Smith is generally credited with inventing this presentation format, but many famous photographers have worked in this way; particularly the FSA and war photographers. Wounded Soldier, Okinawa. 1945 The Wake, Spanish Village. 1951

12. Street Photography Starting with Eugene Atget, photographers’ depictions of everyday life presented a way for viewers to see how other people lived. This new insight opened people up to the idea that life itself has artistic merit and that other experiences and points of view are valuable and necessary. Robert Frank Street Car- New Orleans, from The Americans

13. Robert Frank Parade- Hoboken, New Jersey. 1955

14. Robert Frank Political Rally- Chicago. 1956 Political Rally- Chicago. 1956

15. Mary Ellen Mark Homeless Damm Family, Los Angeles CA, USA. 1987 Tiny in Her Halloween Costume, Seattle WA, 1983

16. Sebastiao Salgado Cast of Thousands in the Gold Mine of Serra Pelada, Serra Pelada in the Federal State of Para, Brazil, 1986

17. Sebastiao Salgado Firefighters at WorkSabotaged Oil Wells in Kuwait,1991 Refugee camp at Benako, Tanzania, 1994.

18. Commercial Photography • Using themes present in journalistic imagery as well as the techniques and aesthetics of fine art photography, commercial advertisement photography played a great role in defining cultural and societal identities during the early 20th Century. This kind of idealization of the “American Dream” and American identity plays prominently in contemporary views on cultural and societal roles. Ed Steichen. 1932, Steinway and Sons Piano Advertisement (Mother and Son)

19. Hollywood and Fashion • The concept of “celebrity” really took off in the age of motion pictures and glamour photography. • Many contemporary artists play with the idea of cultural identity, which is very much molded by both advertisement and the behavior of celebrities, both of which simultaneously reflect and dictate contemporary behavior and norms. Nickolas Muray, Elizabeth Taylor 1948

20. Cecil Beaton • Cecil Beaton was one of the most popular and influential Hollywood photographers. His style almost single-handedly defined Hollywood glamour. Cecil Beaton. Marlene Dietrich. 1935

21. George Hurrell Norma Shearer, 1932 Jean Harlow, 1930s

22. Nickolas Muray and Victor Keppler Nickolas Muray. Woman in Cell Playing Solitaire. 1950 Victor Keppler. Housewife in Kitchen. 1940 In addition to style, commercial photography helped define gender roles and other “types” In American culture.

23. Richard Avedon • Avedon worked from the 1950 to the 1980s as one of the top commercial photographers in the world. • He was an advisor for the film Funny Face, starring Fred Astaire and Audrey Hepburn, which is based on his work and the fashion industry. Richard Avedon. Dovima with Elephants, Evening Dress by Dior, Cirque d'Hiver, Paris 1955

24. Irving Penn • Inspired by both Beaton and Avedon, Irving Penn was the art director for Vogue magazine, shooting over 100 covers himself. Harlequin Dress (Lisa Fonssagrives- Penn), New York, 1950

25. Deborah Turbeville Modny Dom Gallery, Omsk

26. Sarah Moon

27. Guy Bourdin

28. Bettina Rheims Madonna - Lying on the Floor of a Red Room, September 1994

29. David LaChapelle Mike Myers. Vanity Fair. 1999 Husqvarna Chainsaw Ad. 1999

30. Steven Meisel Both images from Four Days in L.A. the Versace Pictures. 2001

31. Contemporary Art Photography- After the 60s • Photographers in the 1960s, inspired by the social change of the time, created artwork that was based more on a concept than on formal beauty. The 60s began what we call the “post-modern” age. Postmodernism is an attempt to subvert and destroy boundaries based on style, medium, politics and other social constructs. The post-modernists were concerned with questioning those constructs. • The major themes in contemporary art are Identity, Time, Place, and Culture (including Technology). “Blaze Starr At Home”, 1964, Diane Arbus

32. Identity • The social constructs that define both personal and group identities- gender, ethnicity, class and economic status- are a rich source of material for postmodern artists. Most explore what social definitions of identity mean, both psychologically and sociologically. “King and Queen of a Senior Citizens’ Dance”, 1970, Diane Arbus

33. Diane Arbus • Arbus is arguably the most influential female photographer after World War II. After studying with another famous photographer, Lisette Model, Arbus made photographs that called into question the creative rights of a photographer as well as the sheer ability of a photograph to reveal something secretive. Untitled

34. Diane Arbus Both images, Untitled

35. Lee Friedlander • Friedlander’s street photographs and self portraits explore the theme of identity from a personal standpoint in relationship to one’s physical place in the world. He is also interested in breaking up surfaces and creating a confusing sense of depth and space. New York City, 1966 New Orleans, 1968

36. Gary Winogrand • Winogrand was a pioneer of the “shoot from the hip” style of photography also used by Friedlander. Winogrand’s series “Women are Beautiful”, published in1975, is both an homage and a critique of feminine beauty and cultural standards of femininity. Both images untitled from the series, “Women Are Beautiful”, 1975

37. Cindy Sherman • Sherman’s “Untitled Film Stills” cast the artist herself as a solitary heroine in a cultural drama. By playing various stereotypical roles, Sherman explores the meaning of identity in culture. The title of the series encourages viewers to complete the rest of the “film” on their own. Untitled Film Still #14. 1971

38. Nancy Burson

39. Lorna Simpson Waterbearer. 1986 Coiffure. 1991 • Lorna Simpson’s work explores the meaning of being a woman and an African- American by examining how history, words and images define identity and social roles.

40. Nan Goldin • Nan Golden’s sometimes disturbing images of her friends and lovers offers an extremely intimate portrait of her own life. Most of her work deals very intimately with relationships and personal struggle. Nan Goldin, Rise and Monty on the lounge chair, NYC, 1988. From the series Ballad of Sexual Dependency

41. Yasumasa Morimura • Morimura uses digital enhancement and elaborate costumes and sets to explore Western culture through the eyes of an Easterner who was brought up on Western art. His work explores how identity changes or is influenced by other cultures. "An Inner Dialogue With Frida Kahlo (Collar of Thorns"

42. Nikki S. Lee The Hip Hop Project, 2001 Parts [6], 2002- 2003

43. Go Watanabe

44. Mariko Mori

45. Time • The concept of time is dealt with through the exploration of history and the nature of time itself. Photography is a time- based medium. Time itself is used by the photographer to capture the image. Contemporary photographers have dealt with this by examining what a camera can capture over a period of time. Many artists who deal with time do so by exploring older photographic processes as well. Custom House. Abelardo Morell

46. Abelardo Morell • Morell uses the old camera obscura technique to create dreamlike interiors. His combination of old and new techniques represents a trend in contemporary photography to examine the roots of the medium.

47. Hiroshi Sugimoto • Much of Sugimoto’s work explores the meaning and function of time. His shots of exhibits at Natural History and wax museums examine how we redefine things over time. • Many of his works are a meditation on time and light. Earliest Human Relatives, 1994 Union City Drive- In 1978

48. Anna And Bernhard Blume • The Blumes use motion and a Surrealist aesthetic to explore the effects of time and events on a person’s psychological state. From the series, Trautes Heim, 1985-86

49. Place • The concept of exploring a place can involve exposing it’s past as well as it’s present state. Many artists who use this concept are interested in the way events build hidden meaning into a place or in the ways in which human beings use or misuse resources. Beate Gutschow. LS #13, 2001

50. New Topographics The New Topographics Photographers tried to show how human interaction has Impacted the once wild and untamable American west. John Pfahl Wave, Lave, Lace, Pescadero Beach, California, 1978 Lewis Baltz #40 South Wall, Mazda Motors, 2121 East Main Street, Irvine, 1974 Robert Adams Clear Cutting- Oregon