The photographer Erwin Blumenfeld once said: "My life began with the discovery of the magic of chemistry, the interplay of shade and light and the double edged problem of positive and negative." Through a variety of techniques, from solarisation to montage and including the use of mirrors, much of Blumenfeld's work emphasizes artistic duality. Considered as one of the most innovative and influential photographers of the 20th century, Erwin Blumenfeld made a significant contribution to the fashion industry between 1940’s and 1950’s. His photographs were on the postwar pages of Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Cosmopolitan, Life and Look magazines. Besides the fashion photography, his oeuvre includes portraits of celebrities, fine art photography, as black-and-white nudes, drawings and Dada collages. The undiscovered part of his work consists of the hundreds of Dadaist photomontages produced between 1916 and 1933, never exhibited during his life, and …show more content…
He ended up committing suicide by running up and down the Spanish Steps in Rome to induce a heart attack. Although he was never afraid to celebrate the sexual ambiguity in himself (the family believe he had an affair with Cary Grant) he had a succession of mistresses, one of whom he arranged to marry his son. But it was his artistic legacy that was to prove even more divisive. After his death, it was revealed that he had left the management of his photographic estate — 30,000 transparencies, 8,000 black-and-white prints, dozens of groundbreaking fashion films from the Sixties — to his final mistress, Marina. She turned out to be a reluctant champion. She divided the work into four lots, gave one to each of his three children and kept the rest for herself. “The people in my grandfather’s life failed to co-operate and, to this day, much of his work has not been seen,” says
slipped into a diabetic coma. His body was not agreeing with all the years of
Peanut butter and jelly, a common combination of two separate entities, most people have heard of this duo, many enjoy it, but only one manufacturer packaged them together in a handy snack. Much like the tasty treat that is Goobers is the tasty duo of Adam Fuss and Roland Barthes. Two separate men, Adam Fuss and Roland Barthes put together in one reading, complementing and accentuating each other. Fuss and Barthes, they share an interest in photography, they share an interest in the foundation and principles of photography, more over they share an interest in photography that is deeply personal. Fuss takes the camera out of photography. Barthes takes photography out of art. Both men want to get to the essence of what a photograph is, one by thinking and writing about it and one by doing it. In this paper I will show how Adam Fuss’ work matches up with and demonstrates the ideas of Barthes’ in Camera Lucida. I will look at one body of work at a time and show which parts of Barthes’ ideas are present in the work, in its creation and its theory. I will start with his first professional body of work, move through to his most recent work and then look back to some of his childhood pictures. Whether Barthes' ideas actually influenced Fuss’ work I am not sure of, I have not found any text or interview that leads me to believe that it is, however I would not be surprised if it has.
According to the book entitled Ways of Seeing written by John Berger, the power of an image is extraordinary given that it can speak a thousand words. This has also been enhanced by the rapidly evolving technology that elicits more subconscious views about an image by anyone who sees them online or in real life. Some professional writers like Susan Bordo have emphasized that pictures of men often receive a wide range of negative tones or opinions due to the physiological effects that are fashionable to society or any other individual who approves or disapproves the beauty in a portrait of two men or women (Berger 38). This essay offers my opinion concerning the pictures of the Doloce and Gabbana, the gay Italian designers, as well as that of
Andrew Warhola was born August Sixth, 1928, in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. He was the youngest son of Julie and Andrej Warhola, both immigrants from Czechoslovakia. After a quiet childhood spent alternately alone and in art classes, Andrew went to college. He then got a job doing commercial art, largely advertisements for large companies. Over time his name was shortened and Andy Warhol changed the face of modern art. Through his silver lined Factory and the many people who frequented it a revolution was born. This paper will discuss some of these people and examine the impact they all made on modern art.
John Mahtesian's photography offers a visual poetry of the human condition. It is a direct expression of his warmth, depth of spirit, and humanity. A true gentleman, extremely humble and unfailingly polite, he achieves an invisibility that is the success of his art. His patience and commitment to his vision allow him to capture moments others could not. If his subjects are aware of his presence, his gentle nature so enchants them that they are unguarded and their essence is revealed. So compelling are his images that we are truly convinced his insights are our own. They make us rejoice in the world around us, and in the nature of human existence.
drunk himself to death. He was only 47. He died a lonely death. A sad ending to the sad
Buelteman has utilized a variety of media to present his vision which depicts "the universe as designed and life as purposeful." He finds his sources in the visible world of nature and each seem particularly chosen. Buelteman uses the lights and tools of photography to create his works of art "as painters use brushes and pigments to create theirs." He begins the process by choosing his subject, in this case, pampas grass. He uses surgical tools to sculpt the pampas grass then takes it into a darkroom to manipulate it on his imaging easel. The easel he works on is surrounded by a safety fence of wooden 2x4s to avoid electrocution. It is constructed with a piece of aluminum sheet metal which floats in a solution of liquid silicone, and is sandwiched between two sealed pieces of 1/8-inch thick Plexiglas. He builds the exposure matrix on top of his easel. The 8x10-inch color transparency film is laid flat on the easel. Then the sculpted pampas grass is placed on the film and wired to a grounding source with cable and clamps. Buelteman then introduces high frequency, high voltage electricity into the exposure matrix. Without the use of this medium, the blue aura that stems from the pampas grass wouldn't be present. Next, a variety of light sources including xenon-strobe, tungsten, and fiber-optic light are used to paint the grass by hand so the light is scattered through the diffusion screens, through the subject, and onto the film where the exposure is recorded.
Many associate the Berlin Dada movement with Raoul Hausmann, Johannes Baader, Hans Richter, George Grosz, John Heartfield and Weiland Herzfelde, and very few associate the art movement with Hannah Hoch. Although Hoch was overshadowed by her male contemporaries, she did not hesitate from being an active member of the Berlin Dada creating timeless and critical artworks. She is best known for being a pioneer in photomontage, a technique that was instrumental not just for Hoch, but for many Berlin Dadaists. Her most well-known photomontages are satirical and political commentaries on Weimar’s redefinition of the social roles of women, also known as the concept of the “new woman”. If during her early years she would create artworks that attempted to portray the concept of the “new woman”, in her later years she began creating artworks that responded to this new Weimarian
Ernst was one of multiple artists who emerged from military service emotionally wounded and alienated from European traditions and conventional values. It is believed that many or Ernst’s views and expressions of some of his works are from the emotional impact and devastation came while serving in the war. After his war service, he began to develop his own style. “He made a series of collages, using illustrations from medical and technical magazines to form bizarre juxtapositions of images” (Hopkins 3). In 1918 Ernst was demobilized and he returned to Cologne. He then married art history student Luise Straus, who he met in 1914. He and Luis had a son Ulrich ‘Jimmy’ Ernst who was born on June 24, 1920. Ernst’s marriage soon began to fall apart shortly after the birth of his
Ganeva, Mila. 2008. Women in weimar fashion: Discourses and displays in german culture, 1918-1933. Rochester, NY: Camden House.
Winton, Alexandra G. "The Bauhaus, 1919–1933." The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Web. 03 May 2014.
In the following essay I will discuss how the Bauhaus changed the way design was thought forever. Educators such as Johannes Itten, Gerhard Marcks and Hannes Meyers were significant in the shaping of the Bauhaus’s education system. Although their attitudes towards education differed, they worked together to bring a change to the world. I will also discuss the graduates; Josef Albers and Annie Albers, their work and how the Bauhaus influenced them.
Although the Bauhaus died in Germany, due to the dangerous years of World War II many of its key figures spread out into the free world predominantly the United States, and birthed the ideas of the Bauhaus (Kentgens-Craig, 1999). Here the Bauhaus idea had more potential than ever, as the American city became the architectural proving ground for the industrialized world (Kentgens-Craig, 1999), which inspired all facets of design and contemporary design. For example Alain Silberstein Bauhaus 2 Titan watch (image 5) displays the use of the primary colour and simple shapes, a clear influence from the Bauhaus preliminary theory course, and of Piet Mondrian’s De Stijl movement.
Pop art is an art movement that questions the traditions of fine art and incorporates images from popular culture. Neo-Dada is an art trend that shares similarities in the method and/or intent to Dada art pieces. Both these movements emerged around the same time periods in history, the 1950s and 1960s, and artists from both generally got their inspiration from the Dada movement, which developed in the early 20th century. The movement altered how people viewed art, and it presented a variety of new methods and styles. Dada artists, also known as Dadaists, believed in showing their anti-war beliefs through their artwork. The Dada movement produced a different style of art, and pieces created controversy because they were outside the realm of what society considered art and what was expected and acceptable. This set in motion a chance for artists to be able to create the kind of artwork that inspires them, even though it was considered unorthodox. Even though they were controversial, many pieces that were created during Dada heavily influenced other styles of art to come after, such as Neo-Dada and Pop art. The influence of Dada can be seen in Robert Rauschenberg’s work, who was a Neo-Dadaist, and it can also be seen through Andy Warhol’s work, a Pop artist. Even though Dada affected both artists, they created very different pieces. This paper will analyze Warhol’s Campbell’s Soup Cans and Rauschenberg’s White Painting (Three Panel) and discuss how they were impacted differently by the Dada movement, and why they are each considered to be different styles of artwork. The time in history of each artist was the same, and the same movement influenced them both, but the outcome of the art that they each created was incredibly different....