Assignment 1 - Portraits in The Early Days of Photography and Portraits Today

Background

Photography, artistic as it sounds, comes from two ancient Greek words φῶς (photos) "light" and γραφή (graphé) "representation by means of lines" or "drawing", together meaning "drawing with light" ("Photography," n.d.). The word was coined by Sir John Frederick William Herschel in 1839.

The Early Days Portraits

In the early days, portrait is an artistic representation of a person, which could be a painting, photograph, or even a sculpture. The use of portrait is to represent the face and expression of the person. In photography a portrait is generally not a snapshot, but a composed image of a person in a still position ("Portrait," n.d.). When mentioned about still position in photograph portraits, this is one of the reasons that made people’s photos difficult to take in the early days. Before 1837, it required hours and hours of successful exposure a photo, so based on these techniques, taking a photo for people is not quite possible. In 1837, a new technique – Daguerreotype came into the world. It was developed by Louis Daguerre together with Joseph Nicéphore Niépce. Daguerreotype made human photos possible; however, it wasn’t easy to pose for a daguerreotype since it still takes about 15 minutes to exposure (Santoso, 2006). An interesting method was invented to help posing – a clamp was used to hold the subject’s head still.

"Daguerreotype Head Clamp" (Santoso, 2006)

In the same year Daguerreotype was invented, the world’s first human portrait was born.

World’s First Human Portrait (Santoso, 2006).

Robert Cornelius's self-portrait - "The first light picture ever taken"

In 1839, Robert Cornelius, took a daguerreotype portrait of himself outside of his family’s store and made the world’s first human photograph (Santoso, 2006)!



Portraits Today

Today, portrait is still an artistic representation, but more. Portraits nowadays are developed to be more courageous and creative.

In the early days, portraits typically display a person’s external likeness; they also indicated his or her standing in society through clothing, setting, or the choice of surrounding objects. As time passed by, artists started to express more than just surface impressions, but also invisible elements such as a person's character, mood or state of mind in portraits. Like other traditional artistic genres, portraiture was radically transformed with the advent of modern art ("Modern Portraits in Photography," n.d.).

In the early days, a portrait often shows a person looking directly at the camera, but nowadays it comes in many ways and angles with the expression of modern art.

The Early Days Photographer - Yousuf Karsh

Yousuf Karsh (1908-2002) is one of the masters of 20th century photography.  His body of work includes portraits of statesmen, artists, musicians, authors, scientists, and men and women of accomplishment ("Yousuf Karsh," n.d.).



Portrait of Yousuf Karsh by George O'Neill




Yousuf Karsh's Work - Portraits
  Winston Churchill, 1941                Pablo Picasso, 1954                Ernest Hemingway, 1957

   

Modern Time Photographer - Nadav Kander

Nadav Kander, a London based photographer, artist and director, whose work is internationally recognized in portraiture and landscapes.

Nadav Kander's Work - Portraits
       Florence Welc                            Rebecca Hall                              David Cameron

 

In the early days, the photographer was mostly a scientist, an artist, or later photographers and travelers, such as Robert Cornelius, a Dutch chemist, who made the world’s first human portrait. The subject of early days photos are mainly people, landscapes, and natural. In modern time, photography connects with human lives in so many ways - it is more than an art. As photographic techniques developed, photography has become more prevalent than ever. With the accessibility of cameras, anyone can be a photographer. The subject of modern photograph is unrestricted; it can be chosen by photographers at will.

Impact of Technology

Today, portraits are taken by numerous kinds of digital cameras and other electronic devices, and edited by computer software such as Photoshop. We added backgrounds, edit colors, adjust exposure rate, and lighting easily through the computer. However, the idea of using unusual colors and other attributes to prettify portraits also appeared in the early days. From the 1890s onward, people have already begun the use of unnatural colors, distorted physical features, and abstract or nonrealistic settings as the hallmarks of portraiture ("Modern Portraits in Photography," n.d.).

By the end of the 20th century, digital imaging and processing and computer-based techniques had made it possible to manipulate images in many ways, creating revolutionary changes in photography ("Digital Technology," n.d.). In the early days, different lighting devices might be required when taking photos; but nowadays, instead of light passing through a lens and striking emulsion on film, digital photography uses sensors and color filters. Digital technology allowed for a fundamental change in the nature of photographic technique.

A portrait of ME by using photo editor.

References

Digital Technology. (n.d.). Retrieved January 26, 2012, from Infoplease.com, http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/ent/A0860375.html

Modern Portraits in Photography. (n.d.). Retrieved January 26, 2012, from National Gallery of Art, http://www.nga.gov/collection/gallery/ggmodphoto/ggmodphoto-over1.html

Portrait. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved January 26, 2012, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portrait

Photography. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved January 26, 2012, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photography

Santoso A. (2006, Aug. 29). The Wonderful World of Early Photography. In Neatorama. Retrieved January 27, 2012, from http://www.neatorama.com/2006/08/29/the-wonderful-world-of-early-photography

Taylor Thomas Ltd. (n.d.). Nadav Kander. Retrieved January 27, 2012, from http://www.nadavkander.com/nadav_kander_small_screen.html

Yousuf Karsh. (n.d.). Retrieved January 27, 2012, from Ykarsh, http://www.karsh.org

Week 3 - Can Art Be Mechanically Reproduced?

When something is reproduced for so many times is that art? What's the importance of the mechanical reproducibility of the art? What was the impact on mechanical reproducibility on the society?

Art is never absolute. People have different understandings when it comes to arts. Anything that considered as an art should, and will, be subjected to open interpretation by others who view it. As far as I consider, even though something is reproduced for many times, it can still be an art. The nature of art cannot be simply denied by how many times it has been reproduced or the quantity it exists. Although I do agree that some arts are more treasurable and valuable than others, and this might be measured based on its reproducibility and quantity. Original works of art are unique and authentic, and the aura of an original piece of work is its true essence which cannot be reproduced mechanically.

According to Walter Benjamin (1935), “the presence of the original is the prerequisite to the concept of authenticity.”; “the whole sphere of authenticity is outside technical—and, of course, not only technical—reproducibility.”; “confronted with its manual reproduction, which was usually branded as a forgery, the original preserved all its authority.”

Walter Benjamin (1935) also expressed that “with the different methods of technical reproduction of a work of art, its fitness for exhibition increased to such an extent that the quantitative shift between its two poles turned into a qualitative transformation of its nature. Only later did it come to be recognized as a work of art.” A simple explanation would be:  the accent of the reproduction of art is on its exhibition value; as the quantity increases along with its exhibition value, the quality of the work considered being higher; then, it is recognized as an art.

Along with the mechanical reproducibility make arts more accessible to the public, the concept of reproducibility, however, does cause negative impacts on society by way of counterfeiting. Nowadays, the issues of counterfeit goods are affecting the world’s economy on a global basis. The conducts of reproduce a particular piece of work without authorization are affecting society as whole.

Is photography art or contribution to the art? Is it just a tool used by artists?

Art is defined differently by individuals.

Britannica Online defines art as "the use of skill and imagination in the creation of aesthetic objects, environments, or experiences that can be shared with others. (Art, n.d.) "

Wikipedia defines art as “product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect. It encompasses a diverse range of human activities, creations, and modes of expression. (Art, n.d.) "

In my mind, real art is a mean to unite people via communication.

No matter according to which definition, photography is definitely art, and it can also be a contribution to art.

There has been an auguring whether the very invention of photography had not transformed the entire nature of art. However, I think there is no certain restriction when it comes to the nature of art. Photography is not just an image; it is a way to capture and express modes, emotions, characteristics, and other invisible elements as well as external aspects. It is a tool, but not just!

How and why Henry Pitch Robinson created Feading Away? What was the reason?

Henry Pitch Robinson generated his most famous print "Fading Away" in 1858. It depicts the peaceful death of a young girl due to tuberculosis. Her grieving family, her sister, mother, and fiancé precisely, are shown surrounding her (Labedzki, 2009). The print was made from five negatives. The model in the picture was a fine health fourteen year old girl, and the picture was done to see how near death she could be made to look. Although, the photograph was the product of Robinson's imagination and the subjects are merely posing to create a touching albeit a realistic portrayal of a grieving family, many viewers felt that using a traditionally 'truthful' medium as photography to depict such a scene in falsity was too painful and shocking (Labedzki, 2009).

Photography has impacted the world of art and influenced some changes in the area of accessibility to art. If mechanical reproduction created revolution, what is happening now with the digitalization?

With the development of photographic technology, photography has become a huge impact worldwide. As a form of art, photography is more accessible than any others. Through digitalization, photos can be easily manipulated and reproduced. Digital photography captures the image which is then stored as a digital file ready for digital processing, viewing or printing. The number of prints can be made at will, and there is no such concept as the “authentic” print. Moreover, photograph can be shared easily through web and other electronic devices. Digitalization affects globalization greatly and makes business, advertisement, journalism, and even communication easier than ever.

References

Art. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved January 27, 2012, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art#Art.2C_class.2C_and_value

Benjamin W. (1935). The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. Retrieved January 27, 2012, from http://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/philosophy/works/ge/benjamin.htm

Labedzki A. (2009, Aug. 19) His Most Famous Photograph (Fading Away) - Henry Peach Robinson. Retrieved January 28, 2012, from http://ezinearticles.com/?His-Most-Famous-Photograph-(Fading-Away)---Henry-Peach-Robinson&id=2785850

★ Introduction ☆

Hello All !  O(∩_∩)O  Welcome to my Blog ~~~

Something about Me:

Academy:
This is my fifth semester in Business Administration - Accounting (CO-OP) program at George Brown College.
I have finished my two semesters of co-op: first in the Courtyard by Marriott Downtown Toronto, second in the Michener Institute for Applied Health Sciences.

Life:
I have been in Canada for three years now. I really am enjoying my life here - all the fresh, new experiences and environment around me, as well as the new people I'm meeting every day.
I was amazed about Canada's beautiful nature when I first came here. At that time, I never go anywhere without a camera. That's when my passion for photography started.

I believe that photograph is the best way to express truth and keep a moment alive.  

Enough talking~~~ Now it's SHOW TIME!