Photography in art
When Photography was invented the world was still engrossed in the portrait as a painting. It was ground-breaking as, from this moment, it enabled us to see things true to life, captured in that moment. It challenged the view of the skilled painter-sculptor, to the subject itself being seen in a true light. Giving birth to a new way of seeing, it could be said that it enables the painter to stand still beside a subject being the model, allowing you to see something true to life that you could capture.
It came alongside traditional art landscape painting, sculpture and portraits and changed the way we see real life, capturing a moment with such accuracy. The time scale for portraiture had been narrowed by the photographer although they are different. Photography would have been an impressive moment to really see, you would have seen a mirror reflection .
Recently, I watched a documentary on Vivian Meier. Her photography was discovered locked away in boxes and she was not known as a famous photographer until after her death.
When looking at her black and white photography she had a way of making the everyday look extraordinary making you curious about the world at that time and her life through her self-portraits. This kind of photography interests me. To see into worlds and not alarm anybody but to capture ordinary moments. This is a skill I would like to develop. However, at the moment I feel a bit self conscious with my camera .
I have always liked the photography work by Steve McCurry with his famous image of
‘Afghan Girl’. His photographs are often taken in countries such as Afghanistan and India, taking the ordinary into the extraordinary but with lots of use of colour. He works often with non-Western cultures but he shares these with other cultures and the western world. His portraits are not staged and he does not put the narrative of the culture but he allows the photo to tell its own story, showing the vulnerability and the truth.
These artists are both American, however, Vivian has embraced her own environment whereas Steve McCurry has gone to other cultures and recorded the unfamiliar. This has allowed him to stand back more as it is a different world. For me, this makes me want to take the opportunities offered to step into the unknown and record the experience, capturing the ordinary in an unusual place for me.
Title Afghan girl 1984 Steve McCurry
Bicycles on train West Bengal, India, 1983 by Steve McCurry
Work of Vivian Maier (Untiled)
Work of Vivian Maier (Untilted )
