Week 11

 

Henri Cartier-Bresson, Behind the Gare St. Lazare, 1932


When photography was born, it was not considered art, but photography did change painting. Photography democratized art by making it more portable, accessible and cheaper. Since photographs were much cheaper than having someone produce a painting of a portrait, portraits ceased to be privilege of the well-off. In many ways photography has altered the sense of what was suitable for observation. Photography was considered incontestable proof of an event, experience, or state of being. To define naturalism, it is art based on observations of the appearances of nature. When you paint you can add or eliminate things from the painting that you cannot with a photo until photoshop was made. It is hard to see and artistic value in photography when it is possible to make nearly identical copies of the same thing. Since digital photography has become the norm there is a belief that anyone can take a photo. Entry level DSLR cameras are cheap, and I know this after taking a photography course both in high school and here in CSU Pueblo. Owning an expensive camera means little to nothing now when phones are taking photos just as good if not better than an intro level camera. Despite this, photography can still be seen as art.

Dr. Asa Simon Mittman, "Naturalism, realism, abstraction and idealization," in Smarthistory, July 11, 2019, accessed April 7, 2021, https://smarthistory.org/naturalism/.

Comments

  1. Sara YaunApril 7, 2021 at 6:00 PM

    In my opinion I feel like sometimes photography takes away from the artistic value instilled in people. Don't get me wrong, I couldn't be happier that you can look up anything and there are already thousands of pictures on the topic. Unfortunately, when I think of it in an artistic way, of course you have to align the photo up so that it carries your eyes all over but there's no extreme raw talent like seen in some paintings. Anyways, you wrote an altogether very solid post :) I liked it.

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  2. CaytonWagnerApril 8, 2021 at 2:59 PM

    It is interesting to compare a photographed portrait of someone to a painted portrait. Most often people think of photography as expensive back in the day. Although your statement about a photo portrait being cheaper than painted portrait is very true, it really puts it into a different perspective. I also think there can be value in a photo reproduce, depending on context and formate of displaying. Almost like prints of a famous painting don't lesson the value of said painting. Great explanation about photography spreading to the masses and the accessibility people have to photo documentation.

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  3. Xaiyne Calma-ViloriaApril 10, 2021 at 11:22 PM

    While I do think it is super talenting for a person to paint a realistic portrait of a subject, I do think it can also be a "waste of talent" at the same time (to a certain extent) because of the invention of photography. Both are a genuine art form in my opinion, but in their own ways. But I do think that when working collaboratively, an artistic and photographic combination would open a whole new door to opportunity. For example, it was the combination of motion picture and art that gives us the first cartoons.

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