photo-secession 1820-1930s

Lecture 2: Pictorialism & Successionism

1870-1930

“Art is not so much a matter of methods and processes as it is an affair of temperament, of taste and of sentiment... In the hands of the artist, the photograph becomes a work of art... In a word, photography is what the photographer makes it - an art or a trade.”

(William Howe Downes, 1900. A World History of Photography, Naomi Rosenblum, 1997)

The invention of the camera meant that artists no longer had to depict the world in a realistic way. The Impressionists focused more on capturing the changing qualities of light and atmosphere. In 1874, French Impressionists hold first group exhibition.

Monet‘Impression Sunrise’,1872

Impressionism

Alfred Stieglitz

‘Waiting for the return’

1895

PictorialismPictorialists hoped to express and engage feelings and senses and felt that their images should be concerned with beauty rather than fact.

Edward Steichen

Right:

Edward Steichen

‘Woods Interior’, 1898

Photo Secession

• The photography ‘movement’ begins in New York

• 1903- ‘Camera Work’ : an art / photography journal, is founded in the U.S

• 1905- Steiglitz opens ‘Little Galleries of the Photo-Secession’ in New York.

Right:

Alvin Langdon Coburn

‘The Thames’, 1904

The movement was founded by Stieglitz in 1902. It had the ideals of Pictorialism but the concerned photographers also wanted the mechanical origins to be apparent.

Alvin Coburn

Right:

Alvin Langdon Coburn

‘The Octopus’, 1912

Alfred Stieglitz

Above: Alfred Stieglitz ‘The Steerage’, 1907

The End of Secessionism

Right:Paul Strand ‘Blind Woman, New York’, 1907

World War I ended the pre-war leisurely life many had enjoyed. Steiglitz felt the work was lacking creativity and ‘Camera Works’ began including less and less ‘artistic’ photography replacing it with more candid images by photographers such as Paul Strand.

f64 Group

Right:

Edward Weston

‘Shell’, 1927

The f64 group placed emphasis on "pure" photography, sharp images, maximum depth-of-field, smooth glossy printing paper, emphasizing the unique qualities of the photographic process. The significance of the name lies in the fact that f/64 is the smallest aperture on the lens of a large-format camera and therefore provides the greatest depth-of-field.

Above:

Edward Weston ‘Pepper’, 1930

Above:

Edward Weston ‘Nude, 1936

Imogen Cunningham

Right:

Imogen Cunningham

‘Two Callas’ 1929

Cunningham was interested in botanical photography especially the form of the flower, and between 1923 and 1925 carried out an in-depth study of the magnolia flower.

Ansel Adams

Above: Ansel Adams ‘Frozen lakes and cliffs, Sierra, Nevada’, 1932

1) In your own words, explain the aims of the following photographic movments and some of the photographers involved:

- Pictorialism

- Photo Successionism

- F64 Group

2) What was the name of the system that Ansel Adams developed to create maximum exposure?

Questions on PowerPoint (1)