In 1979 Stephen Shore, "Merced River, Yosemite National Park,” 1930 Walker Evans, "Factory street in Amsterdam, New York,” and in 1941 Dorothea Lange, "Road on the Great White Plains,” these three photographers transformed their landscape photographs into their own distinctive significance through the expression of realism, a movement in modern photography. Shore transforms a common place to an escape, Evans documents the effects of one of the most important historical periods in American social history and Lange uses her photography as a tool for political change. Although they all embodied their photograph with their own significance, they don't share the same motives.
In 1979 Stephen Shore's coolly detailed photograph, "Merced River, Yosemite National Park, California,” transforms the environment into evocative tableaus. In this photo, he captures realism. Shore transforms the common place and captures its true remarkableness. You can see this work is modern as he uses color to record the intensity of hues seen in life to project happiness, love and freedom. Shore's intention seemed to be to advertise Yosemite National Park as an escape or vacation for the family.
From an elevated perspective, the image captures a family at play, describing Yosemite as another place for families to go and spend quality time, relax and enjoy. Although this is a landscape photograph, he has no intention to conceal human presence. If you look closely, you notice one of the kids posing for another family member to take his picture. As your focus recedes, you start to notice the landscape that surrounds the family. You see a swath of verdant forest fading into the mountains beneath a beautiful blue sky. There is great distance captured from the w...
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...t to Shore, Evans photograph is in black and white conveying hopelessness. His significant motive is to document the truth, representing social realism while preserving the effects of one of the most important historical periods in American social history. Dorothea Lange uncovers the effect of unemployment after the great depression. She uses her documentary photograph as a tool for political change. Similar to Evans, Lange's photo is in black and white, projecting hopelessness. Her photo publicizes a cry for help to the government. Shore advertised, Evans preserved a historical period, and Lange used her photograph as a cry for help. They all had different incentives, however they all demonstrated a sense of realism as they depicted nature and contemporary life truthfully, as they really are, transmitting individual style and purpose, therefore expressing modernism.
Johnson, Brooks. Photography Speaks: 150 Photographers on their Art.” New York: Aperture Foundation Inc., 2004. Print.
According to Coles and an outside source I found, Lange is a documentarian who vividly portrays human actuality in her writing. Lange is depicted through Robert Coles as a caring individual, whose innermost thoughts, concerns and beliefs are transferred onto her photographs, especially in her photograph of the “Migrant Mother,” which is from her most well-known photograph during the dustbowl era. Jack Hurley’s book, Portrait of a Decade, describes more about Lange’s motives and background, thus making me able to better understand Coles’ ideas and the other parts of the essay regarding Lange:
Richards focus is that of the ignored; a people that otherwise have been forgotten. It’s his compassion to his subjects and his commitment to them that surpasses the act of making a pretty picture. Spending days with his subjects in the slums of Harlem or the hardly developed mountains of West Virginia he immerses himself into the frequently bitter life of his next award-winning photo. Often including word for word text of testimonials recorded by junkies and destitute farmers, Richards is able to provide an unbiased portrayal. All he has done is to select and make us look at the faces of the ignored, opinions and reactions are left to be made by the viewer.
Adams' love for Yosemite was portrayed through his elegant words and pure black and white images of the valley. The natural beauty of Yosemite was shared with the world through his images of unspoiled rushing streams, raging waterfalls, crystal clear lakes, lone trees and high sierra mountain peaks. In the combination of his photographs and writings, Adams demonstrated "that those who appreciate the earth's wild places have a duty and responsibility to use them wisely and well...
Landscape painting was extremely important during the middle of the nineteenth century. One of the leading practitioners of landscape painters in America was Thomas Cole. He visited many places seeking the “natural” world to which he might utilize his direct observations to convey the untainted nature by man to his audience. His works resolved to find goodness in American land and to help Americans take pride in their unique geological features created by God. Thomas Cole inspired many with his brilliant works by offering satisfaction to those seeking the “truth” (realism) through the works of others.
Although technically he was born on the East coast, he grew up in Colorado, and moved to Southern California in 1956 to attend the University of Redlands, where he received a Ph.D. in English in 1965 (Chuang 2009). When Adams returned to Colorado to begin an anticipated career as an English Teacher, he was in shock by the changes he saw in the landscape. Due to the increase of migration into the ‘wild west’, the once familiar wilderness was becoming inundated with industrial development and sub-urban cities. Shortly after returning to Colorado, he bought a 35-mm camera, taught himself the fundamentals of photography, and began making pictures with a passion for the geography of his ‘home’ state (Lippard 2011).
The photographers of the Farming Security Administration contributed to modern times both educationally and visually. Photographers like Russell Lee took photographs that not only captured the lives of those who suffered greatly with the Great Depression hovering over them, but also the emotions that these people felt. Russell Lee, like Dorothea Lange and Walker Evans found his opportunity to prosper during the Great Depression with his photographs that would document the average American life suffering the wrath of the Depression from either unemployment or lack of home or even both. ...
The mass media carries with it unparalleled opportunities to impart information, but also opportunities to deceive the public, by misrepresenting an event. While usually thought of as falsifying or stretching facts and figures, manipulation can just as easily be done in the use of photography and images. These manipulations may be even more serious – and subtle – than written manipulations, since they may not be discovered for years, if ever, and can have an indelible and lasting impact on the viewer, as it is often said, “a picture is worth a thousand words”. One of the most significant images of Twentieth Century America was the photograph of a migrant mother holding her child. The photograph was taken during the Great Depression by photographer Dorothea Lange, and has remained an enduring symbol of the hardship and struggle faced by many families during the Depression Era. This image was also an example of the manipulation of photography, however, for it used two major forms of manipulation that remain a problem in journalistic photography.
Alan Wallach, "Making a Picture of the View from Mount Holyoke," in American Iconology: New Approaches to Nineteenth-Century Art and Literature, ed. David C. Miller (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1993), 83-84
From the piece of artwork “Rain at the Auvers”. I can see roofs of houses that are tucked into a valley, trees hiding the town, black birds, clouds upon the horizon, hills, vegetation, a dark stormy sky and rain.
This is an image that I think of when I consider Japanese culture. They love gardens like this and you see similar images often when considering their culture. It is difficult to tell for sure, but the people in the distance appear to be dressed up. It is as though they have put on their best clothes to step out and enjoy this relaxing setting. I believe that this print is successful at capturing a moment in the mid 1800’s very well. It causes me to sense and experience what the artist was trying to capture. This print seems to conform to the formal theory of art. The print has only images of each object. None of them are particularly detailed or real to life but they do a very good job of organizing and describing the basic elements of the scene. It uses similar colors, shapes, and lines to those one might find in this garden in
that includes a village, a tree, mountains, and the night sky. Keep in mind that Van Gogh was in
Schwartz, Donna. “Objective Representation: Photographs as Facts.” Picturing the Past: Media History & Photography. Ed. Bonnie Brennen, Hanno Hardt. Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1999. 158-181.
When going for a walk, a person takes in the beauty around them. On this particular day, the refulgent sun is extra bright, making the sky a perfect blue. White, puffy clouds fill the sky, slowing moving at their own pace. The wind is peacefully calm, making the trees stand tall and proud. There is no humidity in the air. As this person walks down the road, they see a deer with her two fawns. The moment is absolutely beautiful. Moments like this happen only once in a great while, making us wanting to stay in the particular moment forever. Unfortunately, time moves on, but only if there were some way to capture the day’s magnificence. Thanks to Joseph Niépce, we can now capture these moments and others that take our breath away. The invention of the camera and its many makeovers has changed the art of photography.
Photojournalism plays a critical role in the way we capture and understand the reality of a particular moment in time. As a way of documenting history, the ability to create meaning through images contributes to a transparent media through exacting the truth of a moment. By capturing the surreal world and presenting it in a narrative that is relatable to its audience, allows the image to create a fair and accurate representation of reality.