Category: Photography

Surrealism, which started after the World War I, in photography is one of the indicators of most important revolutions that have taken place over the history in the area of photography. This article analyzes the concept of surrealism in photography.

The pioneer of this movement was Andre Breton. Surrealism is useful in the expression of emotions in ones mind without altering anything. This movement had a lot of similarities with the Dande movement.

The different forms of arts in the category of surrealism are intrinsically different from the conventional forms. This is because surrealistic arts lack a definite shape.

Surrealistic arts can therefore take different shapes such as putting across some of the human instincts or things that one imagines but remain in the subconscious memory.

Initially, many people were very skeptical about the possibility of the existence of surrealism and its success but it experienced a great breakthrough through the work of Man Ray.

However, it was after the publication of the work of Andre Breton, who was a poet, that surrealism was initiated as a movement officially. The publication of this poet was known as ‘Manifesto of Surrealism’.

This happened in 1924. The works of those who adhered to this movement were not based on reason. Instead, they saw basing their work on reason entirely was hindering their breakthrough to imagination; hence reason was shunned because it was a stumbling block to them.

They embarked on an adventure on how to use their creativity and this venture led them to a world characterized by dreams and other activities that can only be described as madness.

After emerging from this venture of obtaining pictures from their sub conscious, the images they came up with were applauded and even prizes given to the owners. They were characterized by physic connotations and were provocative in nature.

Surrealism is a movement that involves obtaining images from ones subconscious. The images are mostly characterized by psychic images that are provocative but still have a touch of beauty.

Walter Benjamin’s Aura in Photography and How This Has Changed Today.

The term ‘aura’ has to do with the tensions that are present in works of art in terms of time and distance. This article discusses the concept of ‘aura’ and how it was changed today.

The term ‘aura’, as part of Benjamin’s most critical contribution, is used in relation to tensions that characterize most of his works. Tensions that result from experiences in life such as experiencing lateness and being early at the same time are part of what comprises of his work.

He defines aura as something strange that intertwines the quality of space and time or a distance in terms of the proximity of something to another.

The central point in the concept of aura is that of something that can not be accessed, with a lot of value attached to it but is illusory and beyond anyone’s reach.

Benjamin argues that the concept of aura was mostly present in the artwork of nineteenth century but can no longer be traced after the commencement of modern photography.

He further explains that initially, photographs were more of imitations of paintings but with the introduction of technology, photography detached itself from painting and took a different direction.

This move resulted to the ruin of traditional concepts of fine arts. He notes that any image that is captured in a photograph has the capacity of being mechanically reproduced.

He views this characteristic of an image being reproducible as one that is very vital in photography. Benjamin also associates aura with distance in that, when an image is reproduced, the distance decreases.

The concept of aura was most pronounced in the artworks of the nineteenth century but seems to have been outdone after the introduction of modern photography.

Roland Barthes’s Stadium and Punctum and Photography.

The concept of stadium and punctum are addressed in details by Ronald Barthe in his book ‘Camera Lucida’. The book deals with the nature and real meaning of photography. The effects that a photograph has on its viewer are mostly tackled.

The object that is captured in a photograph is referred to as the ‘spectrum’ by Barthe. Stadium deals with the different interpretations of a photograph in terms of one’s culture, language or even political affiliation.

Stadium therefore deals with the different meanings that people attach to a photograph because of the diversity among people. Punctum on the other hand, refers to the effects that the photograph has on its viewer, for example piercing one’s heart or wounding.

It is this concept that also explains the emotions that arise as one becomes able to identify with what is in the photograph. Punctum therefore, is not an aspect that would interest anyone viewing the photograph, for example beautiful scenery of the sun setting.

On the contrary, it is something that one sees and others might not see when they look at the photograph. It is unique to an individual. It is seen as a way of developing individuality and is meant to capture the attention of the people on the little details that are overlooked by many people.

Barthe held the opinion that for any photograph to impress him, both stadium and punctum should be present. Barthe was concerned with the lack of punctum in many photos because many photos did not have the ‘pricking effect’ that punctum should produce.

Barthe believes that stadium and punctum are very important in any photograph.

Andre Bazin’s Opinion in Photography Trend.

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Andre Bazin is a renowned critic of the film and the film theory. Bazin argues that the essence of arts such as painting and making of sculptures is to transform what is mortal into something immortal.

He argues that when a painter or an artist paints of carves an image of someone, what they are doing is trying to make the person live on years after their death.

He sees the work of artists as one geared towards preservation of life. In fact, Bazin views the artists’ work as an attempt to compete with death whereby the artist triumphs.

However, Bazin believes that what the artist represents in his painting is not the true outward appearance of the object but instead, it is a representative of the painters’ skills in painting.

He sees this as a mistake which painters commit because even though they attempt to reproduce the actual object through their work, they fail to do so.

This flaw in painting is what makes him believe that film and photography are more successful than painting and carving, in their attempt to reproduce the real thing.

His views are in favor of film and photography because they are able capture images of real objects and present them exactly as they are. He says that the only role a person plays in photography or film is in the selection of what they want to capture but the rest is not done by human hands like in painting whereby the painter does everything.

Bazin believes that photography is superior to painting because it has an advantage of the absence of the photographer in the finished work.

Gestalt theory and photography

Gestalt theory was developed by psychologists from Germany and Australia. ‘Gestalt’ is a term that means shape. The main agenda was to find out how people perceive and visually interpret things.

These psychologists discovered that the perception of things is usually affected by the proximity of the object from the viewer. In photography, it is important to bear in mind the positive and the negative constituents in the photograph.

The positive constituent is the person or the object being focused on while the negative is the rest of the things that are present while the photograph is being taken.

One should therefore make sure that the proximity between their subjects and them is such that the negative constituent will not affect the photograph and seem like it is the subject.

There is also the need for balance when doing photography because it affects one’s visual judgments. Equilibrium is therefore a vital constituent in any photograph.

The other useful principle according to gestalt theory is that of the figure or the background. This is classified as one of the most basic principles.

This involves the capacity to detach the various elements in a photograph on the basis of contrast. Isomorphic correspondence is the other principle of this theory.

This concept simply refers to the idea that people have a tendency to respond to meanings. Interpretation of a photograph and other works of art depend on people’s experiences in life.

Having a photograph with isomorphic correspondence is a challenge to many photographers. Despite this being a challenge, it is considered to be the aspect that distinguishes between a good photograph and a bad. Balance, proximity, figure or background and isomorphic correspondence are some of the principles of the Gestalt theory.

Landscape photography in 19th century.

Landscape photography is one of the activities in photography that has been in existence for a long period of time. This article evaluates the concept of land photography in the 19^th and 20^th centuries.

Daguerreotype and calotype were the most pronounced processes of photography in the 19^th century. The first one was chosen by photographers who were taking photographs for commercial purposes whereas the second was preferred by people working in the landscape area of photography because of the ability to take a crisp and sharp photo.

The two processes also distinguished photographers with their social classes. Those who opted for the first method were seen as traders whereas those who practiced calotype were viewed as people who were educated and polite in the society.

Those who practiced this type of photography could afford to buy expensive cameras and other accompanying accessories. Landscapes of association were the most common choice for most photographers. As the 19^th century drew close to an end, the search for aesthetic quality of photographs began.

After the First World War, a lot of changes were witnessed in photography because of the concept of modernism that had affected this area and brought a lot of change in the landscape.

Those who used to photograph landscapes slowly began to drift away from the kind of photography they were practicing which used to yield painterly effects, to the more modern form of photography that yielded different kinds of photographs that were clearer and had a tonal effect.

Photographs of landscape and nature continued to be the essence of photography, until the Second World War that photographers began to switch to color photography due to their quest for a colorful image of what they captured in the landscape.

There were a lot of changes happening in photography in the 19^th and 20^th century, most of which have been highlighted in the article.

Differences and Similarities between works by Ansel Adams and Minor White

Ansel Adams and Minor White are believed to be among the greatest contributors in the field of photography and especially within a scope of fifty years.

The two had a passion for photography and committed most of their time in it. Both have contributed significantly to the modern photography. Adams developed his passion for photography after attending several family trips with the parents.

Among the many achievements of Adams in photography include developing a department dealing with photography in a school in California, composing twenty eight books offering assistance to a museum in the department of photography.

Photography, according to Adams, should not only have the visual aesthetic but also a superb technique of printing. Beauty in terms of the visual and technical concepts in photography, are therefore the essence of photography, according to Adams.

Although Minor was not as famous as Adams, he also contributed significantly in photography. He explored his creativity to improve the quality of photographs produced.

One of his major beliefs that made him stand out from the rest is his belief that photographs possess a sacred and most importantly, spiritual aspects.

Although what people saw in the image was something important, Minor believed that the meaning underlying the image was more important. Minor was a deeply spiritual man, compared to Adams who is not as passionate as minor in matters of spirituality. Minor used photography as an avenue to pass across messages about his spirituality.

Both Adams and Minor left behind an unmatched legacy in the area of photography. The two of them were also involved at some point in their lives, in teaching some of their students these concepts and their students ended up being great photographers. Both Adams and Minor were great photographers who have affected modern photography.

Barthes, in his Camera Lucida-Reflections on Photography tried to bring out some unique meaning from a photographic image. In addition, his view was that a photograph could signify a very real scenario in life, a quality that he considered very distinctive in an individual interpreter.

Following the death of his mother in 1977, Barthes wrote Camera Lucida – whose primary focus was to bring out the significance and the meaning of her childhood photograph. His attempt to demonstrate the relationship between studuim (the observable photographs’ symbolic meaning) and punctum (the subjective and personal view which penetrates through the viewer), was particularly remarkable and somewhat sensible.

Barthes was disturbed by the fact that such peculiarities fall down when the personal significance that is connoted on a photograph is made known to others, and can have its representational logic streamlined. Bathes, therefore, found a remedy to this sort of personal significance from his mother’s picture.

He maintained that a picture has a potential to create deceitfulness in the fantasy of ‘what is’, where the description of ‘What was’ is so specific. His mother’s death has led to physical representation of what has vanished. The reminiscence of the worlds’ dynamic nature is depicted to us, by way of avoiding the reality. These views reflect a very unique and personal sentiment that cannot be parted from him. He felt a great loss after the departure of his mother, an ordeal that kept reflecting back in his mind whenever he viewed the photograph.

Besides serving as a source of dedication to his mother and a portrayal of his grief, this work generally demonstrated the relationship between cultural society, meaning, and subjectivity. When he differentiates between stadium and punctum, he admits that certain aspects in the photograph could have adopted ‘The Look’.

The inner intention could have been understood by the subject’s reflection. Therefore, the photograph relies on circumstances, and is a sign of ongoing course of reinterpretation, and the work is generated out of a particular time in history. At this juncture, interpretation of the photography is flexible, and what is not disclosed in a photograph is the one that creates the difference between self identity and photographic understanding.

Barthes seems to hold the opinion that photography has a strong power to communicate, and that such power depends on its direct relationship with the theme. Therefore, there is no need of associating it with the ordinary cultural information. However, regardless of the kind of understanding in a certain photograph, straightforward meaning must be present. An example of this is punctum which is actually pre-linguistic.

The kind of experience that can be associated with puntum is connected with a kind of photography description that directs physical association, which may prompt a spontaneous reminiscence. The reactions are only some of its kinds to the spectators of a photograph. The uniqueness of Barthes interpretation is also evident because he saw no need of reproducing the photograph, because after all, other people would not recognize its meaning or attach deep meaning in it.

The punctum is only seen by Barthes, while the rest of the aspects are visible to others. Bathes has managed to reveal to us that photograph is for the indexical rather than the iconic. This is because the ‘symbolic photograph’ reflects an image which is optionally not real, but essentially the actual object that was posed in front of the camera for a photograph to appear.

A Too-perfect Picture

The essay written by Teju Cole dwells on the controversial photos taken by Steve McCurry. One of the most notable pictures taken by McCurry in the photograph of a green-eyed Afghan girl. Another infamous McCurry’s photo set reflects the Indian culture and people. His photography is marked by some outstanding traits or features – big beautiful eyes, whitish irises, or the extras that make the picture look like it is one of a kind (Cole 1). The author of the essay claims that the pictures taken by McCurry are bewildering but rather boring at the same time. The majority of his photography looks like it has been staged. From what can be seen in McCurry’s photographs, it may be safe to say that he is most probably keen on exploring the cultures that are gradually disappearing from the face of the Earth (Cole 1). Even though his pictures look as if they were staged, in most cases he is appraised for the efforts made in an attempt to summarize a certain culture and present it to the viewers in a reasonable and enjoyable form.

Cole believes that another photographer that is worth mentioning is Raghubir Singh. He is also known for his culturally-focused photography. His works have numerous parallels with the works of McCurry – colors that stand out, human presence, and the life that can be noticed even on still images (Cole 1). The eminence of Singh’s photographs is supported by the approach that he uses when taking pictures. The first and foremost factor is the content that is captured by Singh. His pictures are vivid, representative, and reflect real life. Second, Singh is acknowledged as an expert in composition. Numerous pictures taken by him showed his mastery of finding order and peace in the chaos of everyday life (Cole 2). Singh’s composition is a combination of coherence and pure skill of a professional photographer. As seen in his pictures, he always tries to find a perfect balance between a disturbing and exciting perspective while operating bright and vivid colors that attract the attention of the viewers.

According to the author of the essay, Singh’s biggest accomplishment is that he evades compositional clichés and his photographs are aimed at provoking certain predictable responses (Cole 3). Moreover, it should be noted that his photography is marketable. As Cole also states, photography should not be short-lived. On the contrary, the key function of photography is to elicit emotions that would last longer than the photograph itself.

Photographs of Agony

In his essay, John Berger states that the war in Vietnam was one of the most influential transformations of the world (Berger 211). He explains the importance of correctly representing the information and states that there are not so many pictures of Vietnam in modern newspapers. Nonetheless, Berger pays particular attention to the photographs taken by Donald McCullin. One of the most infamous is the black and white picture of a man holding a child in his hands (Berger 212). This picture was taken in one of the major Vietnam cities that was heavily bombed by the American military. The atmosphere that the photo emits is rather dislikeable yet astonishing as one cannot take their eyes off of the picture.

Berger argues that war pictures were not usually posted in the newspapers due to the shocking depiction of grief and gore (Berger 212). He claims that modern society is currently aware of the revulsions of war and is probably ready to face the truth. Nonetheless, Berger sees this also as a violent race for sensationalism and an array of individuals who are interested in seeing these shocking things in order to divert themselves. This sounds quite controversial as these two arguments actually do not correlate to each other due to the fact that the former represents an idealistic concept of modern society and the latter is merely cynical in each and every way possible (Berger 212). Nonetheless, the majority of today’s world population would come to an agreement, saying that such photos should be taken into consideration because we should never forget the terrifying things that happened in the past. In other words, not posting these explicit photographs in today’s newspapers means that we refuse to accept the mistakes of the past and choose to ignore our so-called legacy (Berger 212). This supposition goes way beyond political theories, numerous statistics, and other abstractions that tend to take us away from the real-life experience.

The author of the essay goes further and reviews McCullin’s typical photographs. The majority of this photographer’s portfolio consists of pictures that represent negative emotions and display agony and terror (Berger 213). McCullin’s photography covertly triggers our sense of anxiety. He himself states that only uses the camera to let it do its direct job properly. In accordance with these words, Berger made a conclusion that McCullin was only interested in capturing the moment in order to do what he had to – hinting at the extreme limits of this photographer’s contemplation (Berger 213).

Conceptual Relationship between the Essays

At the outset, it may seem that there are no visible connections between the essays. Nevertheless, these articles have several points of contact. Before reviewing the common ideas, it would be beneficial to underline that the two points of view presented in the essays are two sides of the same coin. Only when the diverse nature of photography is embraced, we can draw parallels between the essays. First, we should take into consideration the ways in which both essays describe the art of photography. It is something sacred, and it is not available to a man in the street. One should possess a certain skill set and an outstanding vision in order to see uncommon things that attract attention and look spellbinding. It will not be superfluous to mention that this assumption relates not only to a peaceful setting but a hostile as well. Both authors highlight the ability of photographers to turn a still image into a storehouse of memories and emotions. Essentially, it does not matter what kind of emotion the photograph elicits as soon as it fascinates the viewer. As both authors of the essays claim, the art of photography is a complex mechanism which should be carefully launched in order to obtain startlingly wonderful pictures.

Another point of contact is the ability of the photographers to expose the viewers to some shocking (or not so shocking) revelations. This point is perfectly outlined by both authors as they describe the influence that the photographs of the chosen photographers had on the society and overall interpretation of art. Moreover, this point of contact also exposes the way that the ideas covered in Berger’s essay depend on the ideas listed in Cole’s essay. On a bigger scale, both authors come to an agreement that art is a multi-faceted platform, and it should be perceived as a means of telling the people’s stories without actually saying anything. The beauty of still imagery may come in many shapes and perspectives. Berger’s ideas on the moral aspect of photography are an accurate reflection of Cole’s thoughts on the ethical limitations set by photographers. No matter what is in the picture, the key responsibility of the artist is to capture the emotion and seize the moment.

Yet another point covered by both authors is that photographers, in their majority, are making history and composing the heritage. One should not underestimate the photographers’ contribution to the life of any given individual or society as a whole. Despite the horrors of McCullin’s photography and apparent tediousness of McCurry’s depictions of human life, these photographers are majorly involved in composing the heritage for future generations. Of course, one might advocate for the duality of the art of photography, but the value of this craft is undeniably unappreciated. Photographers are responsible for seizing the most important moments of human lives. Consequently, this aspect is the cornerstone of the photographer’s occupation and another representation of how Berger’s ideas correlate to Cole’s outlooks. Regardless of what we think about photographers and their occupations, they do their job to keep us informed and aware of the things that go on around us. The nature of photography is not an essential topic of discussion when it comes to contributing to the cultural foundation of society. Therefore, it is vital to revise our attitude toward photographers and give credit where it is due.

Works Cited

Berger, John. “Photographs of Agony.” About Looking, Routledge, 2011, 211-13.

Cole, Teju. “A Too-Perfect Picture.” New York Times, vol. 45, no. 3, 2016, pp. 1–3.

Introduction

Mads Nissen is a Danish photographer who has won several awards because of his talent in photography. He started photography at a very young age and he has developed his act over the years that he has been taking photographs. Mads has been focused on press photographs and he has won awards with photographs covering different events and capturing different moment (Lauridsen 23). His talent in photography was more developed because of his love for journalism.

He started taking pictures and photos that were fit for journalism purposes and he perfected his act by doing a lot of photographs and capturing the moments that have brought him good fortune and fame in the journalism industry. He has become famous for some of the best photographs ever taken in the world and has expressed a lot of stories and emotions through his photography all around the world

Background

Mads Nissen is Danish who was born in Denmark in the year 1979. He studied Spanish when he was a child and engaged in voluntary work when he was in Venezuela. This helped in nurturing his talent and his desire of being a photographer. This is because he used to take photos where he volunteered.

He went ahead to work on personal photographic projects in South America and Ghana and thereafter finished a three year course on education. His passion for journalism was burning and he decided to join the Danish school of journalism in a course of photojournalism (Lundelin 45). He graduated with a distinction he attended the joop swart master class.

This class is usually organized by the world press photo annually and it has gained recognition from all over the world as one of the biggest events in photojournalism and photography in general. The goal of this class is to bring together several individuals who have good qualifications and experience in photojournalism with young and promising photographers who wanted to share their knowledge and also learn from the experienced people (Word Press Holland Foundation 12).

Mads participated in this annual seminar so that he could nature his talent and experience and also gain more experience and knowledge that could put him in the right direction in his career life. He then moved to Shanghai China to document the social and human consequences of the economical changes in the environment of China (Merian 56).

While in China, he worked for famous publications such as Time and Newsweek before returning home where he decided to be base himself. He is now in Denmark working for the Danish national newspaper which is called Berlingske (Lundelin 54). He is however continuing with his personal projects which are long term in nature because of the constant demand for his work by personal contractors and also because of his personal goals and desires.

Mads has majored on contemporary issues in the society such as poverty, overpopulation and global warming. Most of his works have been directed towards these categories of issues. He has helped in expressing the plight of the minority groups in the society and also in championing of human rights of the people all over the world. This he has done through his photographs that show the human rights violations and how human beings are engaged in activities that destroy nature (British Journal of photography 32).

Nissen’s work has been appreciated all over the world and has been in high demand for several photograph exhibitions and other exhibitions related to photography such as art exhibitions and journalism exhibitions. His photographs have been exhibited mostly in Europe and in Bangladesh. He has also won several awards both in Denmark and in other parts of the world.

Among the prestigious award ceremonies that he has been nominated or has won an award are the Manuel Rivera Ortiz foundation for international photography that were recognizing the hard work and talent of photographers all over the world so as to help in developing more the Manuel Rivera Ortiz foundation which is for aspiring young artists. He has also won a prize in the world press photo in the daily life picture story category.

He has also won several prizes in different categories in the Danish press photo of the year award ceremonies. Among the categories that he graced were the best multimedia, photographer of the year, best foreign picture story, best foreign news picture story and news picture of the year (British journal of photography 65). He has also won awards in the POYI awards in the categories of photographer of the year and issue reporting picture story category.

Nissen has had several works that have won awards or have sought a lot of audience. Some of his works include the Libyan Revolution pictures which were photo stories of how Gaddafi put Libya under constant war because of his refusal to step down from the presidency seat. Another work of Nissen is the fallen. This was a piece of work that consisted of different collages.

Nissen was working with the relatives of the fallen soldiers to make collages of the private pictures of the fallen soldiers. This work was so influential because it showed the private and intimate life of soldiers (Nissen 102). These photographs were so sentimental to Nissen because of their value and the message behind it and he has them exhibited next to his own photographs. Fever Gold was also among the popular photographs of Nissen.

The photos were telling a story about the gold mines in the Amazon Forest in Brazil. The photos showed how innocent poor Brazilians would camp at the mine for long hours just to get a means of survival. This photo won a prize for showing and expressing the need for creating of better employment opportunities in Brazil and in developing countries.

The photos also showed the harsh conditions in which the workers were subjected to and how they had several wounds on their bodies from the mines. The photos showed how the rights of the Brazilians were violated by being subjected under the harsh conditions (Newsweek 11). The photos also won a prize because it could identify with many people in developing countries who were subjected to such conditions and it appealed to many humanitarian organizations all over the world.

His other work was the overpopulation in Manila. These photographs showed how Manila is overpopulated with too many people who are fighting over too little space. The photos were full of so many people and children just to show how much the population was increasing at a high rate in Manila and yet there was no space being created. Another one of his works was Oumas wedding-child marriages in Niger.

Nissen was trying to tell the story of the increased incidences of child marriages in Niger (Livingston 37). The story behind the photographs was that in Niger, every three out of four females are married before the age of eighteen. The marriages are usually arranged between the parents of the girl and her future husband.

The photographs that Nissen took on this story covered the story of a specific girl in Niger called Ouma. The pictures showed Ouma’s wedding as a second wife to a man almost twice her age. Several non governmental organizations have concluded that the issues of Child marriage and several other problems that are faced in Africa such as poverty and illiteracy are part of Africa’s dilemmas (Newsweek 21). Nissen was trying to explore the dilemma of child marriage since he is focused on expressing dilemmas in Africa and all over the world.

Another work of Nissen is in the name of Victoria. These photos were of an eighteen month old orphan from Nepal who was born with several defects at birth. The photographs showed how the baby girl was lying in a hospital room alone and waiting to die because the medical staff had no way of helping her.

This photo first appeared in Berlingske in September (Newsweek 22). The story behind the photographs was that of a little girl who had just been born and doctors in Nepal left her for death even though the condition could be treated in the West. Danish business executive was highly affect ted by the photo and decided to help the little girl. She named the girl Victoria to mean victory and made arrangement for the operation of the girl but she later died from heart failure.

These photographs won the third prize in the word press photo awards. The photos were taken to show the nature of the medical centers and how incompetent and uncaring they are towards extreme medical cases (British journal of photography 76). The girl in the pictures had extreme medical conditions but it was possible to treat or correct the conditions.

The medical center just decided to ignore the possibilities of trying to correct the conditions and they left the girl to die. The photo has drawn a lot of media attention both to the medical center and to the photographer. Nissen captured different moments of the girl while in the hospital alone, when she was with her rescuer and when she was under operation. The photographs of Victoria won an award because of the intensity of the photos and how the photographer captured the moment precisely.

Just a look at the photo would give you the mood and the setting of the place and the person in the photo (Nissen 23). Nissen also brought out the peacefulness of the girl in the photo. This is considered great work because only a good photographer can capture good moments in a photograph and exploit the mood and setting of that moment in a photo.

This particular work of Nissen on Victoria has a little difference with his other works. This peace of work is very special and catchier than all the other works. It brings out different emotions to the person viewing the photograph. At one point the photographer brings out emotions of concern and pity to the young girl who is left to die. At another point the photographer tries to bring out the peacefulness if the child while she is laying in the hospital bed alone.

The photographs show how peaceful the child is not aware of its fate in the future and just waiting for anything to happen to her. These mixed expressions and portrayals helped to invoke different emotions in people. Some felt pity for the child, some felt nothing and thought that the child should just die while others were deeply touched for example the business executive who was highly touched and resorted to helping the young girl.

This photo helped to show the difference in societal values and personal values for example the difference between the values of the doctors who left the child to die and the business executive who saw a possibility of a cure and resorted to help the child.

Nissen also helped in exposing the bad practices of doctors in Nepal such as leaving a patient to die without even trying other measures or consulting with other doctors from other parts of the world. The photographers solicited a lot of media attention from all over the world and it is part of the reasons why the piece was nominated for the world press awards and it went ahead to win the coveted prize even though it was a third price

The practical and theoretical framework in which the photographer was working in had a great impact in his photographs. Practically Nissen is working in Denmark and he is currently working for a big journalism firm. Because of his classical pieces, awards and international recognition, he has been trusted to do all the assignments that cover the contemporary issues and dilemmas of the society.

This way he has been able to cover several stories because he is always being sent on assignments in different countries and he is able to relate to the people there and cover stories through his photographs which he can take freely because of the relationship that he has with the people in those countries. Theoretically Nissen has worked on several classical pieces that have caught so much attention.

This way he has gained experience and confidence and he has been able to take on more stories and share it with the world through photography. Nissen also has special and personal assignments which helps him to build his experience more and be able to be better at his work. The work is produced under little pressure and at a lot of comfort and a free environment. This has ensured that the work is well done without any pressure at all and that the viewers of the photos can view them easily and comfortably too

Works Cited

British journal of photography, Volume 156. New York: Henry Greenwood & Co., Ltd. 2009

British journal of photography. Volume 156. New York: Henry Greenwood & Co., Ltd. 2009. Web

Lauridsen, Esther. Second evaluation of an international series of Melina provenance trials. Boston: DANIDA Publishers. 1995. Print

Livingston, James. Driving force: the natural magic of magnets. Harvard: Harvard University Press. 1996. Print

Lundelin, Kari. World Press Photo 08. California: Thames and Hudson. 2008. web

Merian, Volume 61. Denmark: Hoffmann und Campe. 2008. Print

Newsweek, Volume 151. China: Newsweek, inc. 2008. Web

Nissen Mads. Rapport for indsamling af plantemateriale i NV-Amerika: efteråret 1991. Denmark: Arboreret i Hørsholm. 1992. Print

The Author’s & writer’s who’s. California: Burke’s Peerage, Ltd. 2007. Web

Word Press Holland Foundation. World press photo. Holland: Haagse Gemeentemuseum. 2010. Web

Photography is visual communication or literacy, which involves sending and receiving images with the aim of constructing a meaningful message. The skills required to form meaningful images in this process entail exploitation, critical assessment, and reflection. In the multimedia world of photography, various combined abilities are required, skills that call for one’s capacity to read visual information. Most visual communication techniques are for capturing people’s attention, reinforcing knowledge, and encompassing the audience’s extra responses. The audience, on the other hand, needs the ability to interpret images within a certain period in the present, past, and future.

The various forms of visual communication include gestures, signs and, symbols in various fields, but mainly in films, dance, fashion, photography, advertisement, monuments, designs, or lighting, among others. Visual literature requires one to have the ability to analyze, interpret, and understand images with the aim of acquiring meaning through the cultural context in which the image exists. Significant skills include the ability to analyze the syntax and techniques of the image, including style and composition, for image production. The ability to evaluate the synthetic merit, purpose, anticipated audience, synergy, interaction, innovation, effectiveness, and feeling of any visual image also requires some expertise skills.

Photography has the capacity to communicate instantly and universally; indeed, “Photographs may have placed greater importance on the visual over the written literature.” Since a picture is worth a hundred words, most sensory learning is visual, but the viewer should be in a position to interpret the idea in order to understand the message. According to Oring (58), the need to learn this interpretation skill is urgent because photography touches on all levels of society. The level of visual literacy in a person determines his or her ability to read images in a meaningful manner as a vital aspect of enriching life.

Images today, especially photographs, have become part of the principal structure of communication. From the technological world where users interface graphically via computers to various other media platforms, the need for visual representation over text seems to increase day by day. The current era emphasizes this culture of the visual, which influences attitudes, lifestyles, values, and beliefs. Such visual representation can be in a public or private domain, in various forms, and can occur through different channels of communication (Rose, 7). It offers the strength of visual interpretation and the discrimination of actions, symbols, and events. Through the proper understanding of the basic principles of visual literacy, one can be in a position to communicate effectively by the use of images.

A great connection exists between consumerism and photography because they have been evolving over the same time span and feature an initial basis of personality (Howard & Pintozzi, 174). Like modernized photographic communication, consumerism has equally evolved as indicated by the architectural designs on churches as well as most museums in the United States. As economies expand globally, they have major effects on architecture and design.

According to (Vosjan 3), this art ought to possess principles that represent oral communication so as to enhance the integrity of design, regardless of the common external forces. Current consumerist designs fail to meet these requirements because artists are focusing on lifestyles, innovation, and, beliefs, just as branding and marketing fail to meet personality because of mass production. Therefore, consumerism seems to be drifting away from individual images and toward combined enhancements, just as in photography.

For both photography and consumerism, images are visual aspects that enable people to produce and communicate thoughts about reality. Compared to oral communication, the symbols of visual communication are diverse in terms of vocabulary and exist in a particular context. Meaning finds a formulation from perception and thinking; therefore, the conventions in use for these cases entail a combination of syntax and semantics from universal or culturally-based conventions.

Syntax assists in building up the image, thus representing the pictorial organization or structure of a message, while semantics is the way images relate to the external factors to gain more meaning. This is the way images bond with the cultural procedure of communication, thus presenting the relationship between the meaning and the form of an image. Photographs undergo semantic formulation, from the form and structure of an image and the ideas that go through cultural construction to shape the interpretation of pictures, signs, symbols and other visual appearances. Photography also involves interactions among images (Vosjan, 5).

While it is possible to analyze the syntax and semantics of an image separately, when the semantics work jointly with the syntax, some joint considerations occur within an image. Just like written or spoken content, visual images depend highly on the context and purpose of communication, just as in consumerist advertisements. For instance, one would consider a family photo to be less formal compared to a school photograph.

The aspects also change according to usage, as well as the person using the image; for instance, images that enhance communication among adolescents are quite different from those used for adults or children. The images also differ depending on gender differences, age, and ethnicity. The grammar of visual communication may be constant when considering various media settings, but all the media settings have different skills and characteristics of interpretation.

Although a distinct style of communication, visual enhancements, such as pictures, are stronger than written literature because of the various requirements for interpretation. A person may be in a position to use greater sophistication of perception in order to distinguish between superficial, pseudo-code sophisticated meanings, glamorous and variable images. This also requires a strong visual and lingual vocabulary. Arguably, photographic interpretation requires very little guidance unless in cases of emotionally related themes.

The skill development occurs automatically as a standard procedure at lower levels, and the skills develop continuously in a procedural manner since talents are easy to identify and teach. When one is in a position to understand the implications of imaging, such as photography in advertisements, one is able to become more resistant to imperative usage. Pictures are very powerful tools in teaching because, for the individual consciousness, they involve coming up with solutions for problems and engaging in critical thinking as applicable in all areas of learning. The pictorial representation in education is the basis for all formulation of reasoning as a foundation for understanding visual resistance.

Initial stages of education require the use of images, such as pictorial presentations, to improve the required critical knowledge. This is achievable by exposing the brain to a variety of photographs, which can provoke thoughtful insights and critical analysis to gain imaginative responses. The essence of teaching through photography is to create minds of aesthetic openness with a critical awareness of the capacity for manipulating images (Rose, 47).

Technological changes today have made a variety of software available, such as Adobe Photoshop Elements, for learning and expressing meaning through photography. Such programs broaden the scope of visual expression because they allow one to discover and explore personal thoughts. The students also have the advantage of being in a position of representing their skills and enhancing modes of communication.

Photographs may have placed greater importance on the visual over the written literature especially in early childhood development and education, where language meaning and information have to be embedded in photos or other images as opposed to text. Photography is liberalized to overcome the constraints of written text. The learner and teacher are able to encode meaning in a direct and intuitive manner, thus enhancing proper understanding, since photography varies in complexity depending on the person perceiving the image. From the early development point of view, one is able to find more meaning or sense through images, plus the probability of forgetting the information represented through photography is minimal. A picture, after all, is worth a thousand words.

Works Cited

Howard, Kindred & Pintozzi, Devin. “Passing the North Carolina United States.

History End-of-Course Test.” American Book Company, Inc., 2006.

Oring, S. A “Call for visual Literacy.” School of Arts. Jones and Bartlett Publishers, Sudbury, MA. 2000.

Rose, Gillian. “Visual methodologies: an introduction to the interpretation of visual materials.” Visual Culture Series. SAGE Publishers, 2001.

Vosjan, Karen. “Overt Consumerism.” Overt Consumerism. 2008 EzineArticles.com.

Introduction

After the major wars in the 19th and 20th centuries, museums were set up for photography and this trend continues even in contemporary times. Photographers started breaking free from the repressive structures of taking straight artistic and documentary expression pictures. The documenters then begun to probe the social landscape, which mostly mirrored their real life experiences – the fretfulness and alienation of the urban lifestyle.

Consequently, these introspections caused increased personal form of documentary photography. Many young photographers then felt that the documentary aspect was better than collage and multiple images. Because of the message that photography communicates, it has been used to expose some truths that can even be used for solving crimes.

This paper compares Weegee and Goldin’s photography to address the connection between the middle years of the twentieth century, when photography began to expose realities in life, and the modern distrustful era.

Capturing Reality

Both Weegee and Goldin are of American-Jewish decent (Mirzoeff 78). Both their works mainly feature the east coast city life and cover a wide range of themes, but in essence concentrated on violence, crime, and sexual transgression (Blair 2). Both these build their reputation from photography and essay books (Mirzoeff 78).

Arthur Fellig, herein referred to as Weegee, (His famous nickname) became famous because of the Naked City book in 1945 and photography in it. Nan Goldin came to the limelight after writing The Ballard of Sexual Dependency in 1986 (Blair 2). It is also fascinating to note that, both these artists featured photographs of Duke and Duchess of Windsor as a unique example of romantic passion (Mirzoeff 78).

Besides the named similarities, these artists had some differences because of their attitude towards their works. While Weegee mainly used his camera as a tool of voyeurism, Goldin often turned the lens on herself, probably because she felt guilty to intrude where she was not accepted or little known (Mirzoeff 78).

In most of photography that Weegee did, he depicted the city’s underclass lifestyle – the environment where he had grown up (Keller 8). The images of people at a crime scene or a beach helped Weegee reveal the squalor, brutality, and rawness of life in the City (Fellig 10).

Weegee was a shameless voyeur who exploited the sensational event and humanity degradation to expose real life in urban centres (Mirzoeff 78). Some people describe him as compassionate based on the photographs taken, and he helped solve crimes in his city- crime lifestyle he could easily have fallen in during his days (Mirzoeff 78). Therefore, photography helped him escape this lifestyle (Fellig10).

Source: Amber Online.

The crowd seems to have turned to look at the camera, which was at an elevated position. This picture depicts beachgoers crowded on the beach under the noonday sun. This startling picture encompasses bodies of people just bashing and carefree. The photographer has weird focus and specifically brings to bear the raw dispassion of his assault work and previous crime scene shots (Mirzoeff 79). This photograph literalizes the apercu that each photograph was a possible crime scene.

Weegee also photographed New York population, especially those who loved partying and active life in the city (Keller 8). He hence captured the city life as an arena where people acted out their lives and obsessions (Fellig 10). The famous crowd at Coney Island is one such classic example of his photographs.

Instead of focusing on crowds and crime scenes, Nan Goldin by contrast was obsessed with personal intimacy. She did not take photographs of strangers, and all of them had consent that their photographs were being taken. Therefore, this allowed her photography to be a record of private lives of people close to her. She made this art by exhibiting them. This works change the photography mode conducted by Weegee from voyeur to witness (Mirzoeff 79).

This simply means that a witness takes part in the scene and later reports on it. The witness can be seen on be hidden. However, voyeur specifically means that the capture of the picture is trying not to be seen. Goldin in essence takes her photograph indoors in contrast to Weegee who liked outdoor activities or public places (Keller 8). This way, Goldin ethically testifies to the existence of the realities of sex, drugs, and other intimacies (Mirzoeff 79).

Goldin’s documentary works is about her life and her friends’ relationships, which she is also involved. Inevitably, this meant documenting her life, as well. Sometimes, the picture documented unusually intimate moments where the camera can only capture the physical and not emotional bareness (Goldin “Devil’s Playground” 2).

The pictures reflect realities in life. They are pictures of experiences in her life and her experiences with others close to her. Her self-portraits are a proof of the tough times in her life, which was full of drugs and violence as well as love and passion.

In one of Goldin’s photographs shown above, her boyfriend had battered her so badly that she almost became blind. This battering incident was a serious violation of her healthy life. This also marked a significant stage in her life. It shows the dangers of a clingy and possibly destructive relationship.

Years later, she realized the self-destruction she was causing to herself, and she went to study. She was determined to quit drugs, and in that bold step, she had to leave the documentary photography of sex, drugs, violence to documentaries of hope, happiness, and the abundant life (Goldin “The Ballard” 1).

From the rehabilitation centre, Goldin begun to live a settled life and she moved from her previous house and dropped use of drugs as her source of inspiration. It can be affirmed that indeed Nan Goldin’s work uniquely captured realities of life. Her photographs were impulsive and uncut.

These characteristics helped her to capture with insight and sincerity, the glamour and pathos of urban life subcultures (Goldin “The Ballard” 1). Her works have helped to expose the urban-social problems ranging from drugs to drag queens. There are many unrefined truths of human relationships, lifestyle, and death.

Goldin celebrates lives of people by going back to their stories decades later. She has captured couples in intimate movement, people taking drugs to friends dying of AIDS. Therefore, she has not failed to capture any human condition.

It is sad to note that many of the people she photographed in 1970s and 1980s died of AIDS. This deadly disease was discovered only few years after she quit drugs and dirty lifestyle. Her works hence depicts a tremendously fundamental lesson to humanity. Drugs and sexual intimacies can be particularly dangerous. Nearly all the drag queens Goldin ever stayed with disappeared as well as the other faces she documented in the Ballard.

This must have inspired her to make the Heartbeat, which was a more positive approach to what life offers. This documentary is primarily about babies and children. They are mainly a symbol of renewed hope. All this shows that Nan Goldin has gone full cycle of describing real life highlighting themes of deaths, love, violence, sickness, hate, and happiness.

Punctum and Studium

Roland Barthes has identified two features in photographic that make it striking to the viewers. One of the features in the stadium, it is the element, which draws attention or captures the interest of the observer (Roland 12). It also exposes the intention of the photographer but the viewers have to interpret it.

Looking at the Picture of the crowd at Coney Island, the picture capture people having fun on the beach, this brings out the feeling that many activities are taking place among the crowd. Observers culturally get involved in the activities, setting and gestures in the picture (Roland 12). The picture of buttered Nan Goldin produces the same effect where the plainness of pain is expressed through the scares on her face.

Puntum is the second element. It is used to describe the uniqueness of an image or object in a photograph, which captivates the imagination of the viewer. Punctum and stadium can exist together, but punctum causes the disturbances, thus creating an element, which rises from that specified object or scene to cover the entire image unintentionally (Roland 14).

Punctum is the rare image that attracts an individual to the picture. This makes it a particularly powerful feature of a photograph – very powerful and compelling to viewers. This changes the notion of the observer from liking to loving the image. Everyone has different punctum, as this scenario is normally highly personal (Roland 14). It could be something that stimulates childhood memories to a theme that inspires reflection on personal life.

Conclusion

Although documentary photography is taking new shape in the modern era, photographers still have the unique mania, an obsession of capturing every little sparkle or emotion that is encountered in their lives. This phenomenon is specifically noted by Nan Goldin from her Ballad of Sexual Dependency, under the preface where she declares that the people in her pictures said the camera was part of her and part of them being with her like other aspects of getting to know her.

It is as if her hands were in the camera. She says if it were possible, she would have loved to capture the moment without any mechanism between her and the moments. The camera is part of her like talking, having sex, or eating. This makes the moments part of her lifestyle. On the other hand, Weegee talks fondly of the Coney Island images.

In his book, he says that, Saturday was unusually hot, so he thought that following day would be the best for making crowd shots. The following day he arrived at the Island unusually early for the pictures. These statements give him a connection to the place he knew very well. Photography hence renders certain social realities monumental importance.

This is particularly true when these realities affect certain group of people in the society, like those with deviant behaviour. In this case, Goldin seems to capture reality better than Weegee. She has managed to focus on drug users and drag queens who are mostly her friends, as well.

Insofar as the photographs were personal, they conveyed a remarkably strong, social, and political message to the audience. The message being that, drug abuse is taking a toll on young people and many are suffering in impoverished existence portrayed by hollow eyes, unmade beds, and dirty sheets and peeling wall paints.

Works Cited

Amber Online. Weegee collection. Crowd at Coney Island, 1945. Web.

Blair, Sara. “Jewish America through the Lens.” Jewish in America 42.1 (2003): 2-11.

Fellig, Arthur. Naked City. New York: Essential Books, 1945. Print.

Goldin, Nan. Devils Playground, 1986. Web.

Goldin, Nan. The Ballard of Sexual Dependency, 1989. Web.

Keller, Judith. Weegee: Photographs from the J. Paul Getty Museum. Los Angeles: Getty Publications, 2005. Print.

Mirzoeff, Nicholas. The Age of Photography (1839-1982): An Introduction to Visual Culture, 1999. London: Routledge Taylor and Francis. Print.

Roland, Barthes. Camera Lucida: Reflections on Photography. New York: Hill and Wang, 1982. Print.

The most striking aspect of the photo in Appendix 1, which consists of a horse, is the manner that the photo is taken in terms of the photo’s point of focus. The photographer could have opted to take the photo of the entire horse. However, he or she eliminates the horse’s head, tail, and legs. As highlighted by the focus of the light and the enlargement of the image, this makes the ribs of the horse to be the photo’s point of focus.

I believe that this is intended to pass a message across. Essentially, the ribs are highly visible as if protruding from the skin. Historically and up to date, human beings value and take care of horses. The protruding ribs highlight several possibilities. It could be that the horse is being neglected by its owner, most probably because that owner cannot take care of it due to ill health or other reasons.

It could also be a sign that in the area where the horse is located, there is persistent poverty that the horse cannot get any feeds. Optionally, it could be that the horse has been stricken by a disease that makes it difficult for the horse to feed well. This brings about uncertainty and sadness as it becomes apparent that under whichever circumstances, the horse is of ill health, and its survival chances may be limited.

Nevertheless, by today’s standards, horses are owned by the affluent and persons with a passion for keeping horses. Considerably, one cannot say that there is extreme poverty that could make a horse experience similar starvation depicted in the picture. Poverty and starvation are significantly controlled. Also, medicine has advanced to the extent that most diseases are curable or manageable.

This highlights that a person can only think of an incurable disease as the only cause of the horse’s ill health. In this case, the horse’ ill-health resonates with the fear of the unknown, the inability to tell what may happen next. Importantly, the horse’ ill-health resonates with death, a hidden feeling that most would dare not explore. One can picture human beings and the rest of animals getting infected with the contagious disease in case a cure is not found soon. It can lead to massive death incidents, which people are not prepared to handle.

The photo depicts a political landscape that is as weak and paralyzing as the disease or level of poverty that affects the horse. It seems that there is poor political leadership that is unable to take care of the needs of its people. It may be that the political leadership is so disoriented that it has caused an economic depression that is epidemically fatal like the disease that could have infected the horse. Policy direction may be poor with very little attention to pertinent matters, such as dealing with diseases, animal rights, and poverty eradication. Otherwise, horses would not be suffering because of ill health, poverty, or negligence.

There is also a possibility that the government has been struck by a massive problem that is beyond its control. This may include a contagious disease that is affecting horses and tragic economic downfall. This also goes for other distractions, such as increased war that may shift the government’s attention from the issues affecting people and animals, such as diseases. Essentially, whichever the perspective, the political landscape is highly disoriented to address the plight of the people.

Pablo Picasso, Guitar, Sheet Music, and Wine Glass: what is papiers colles? What are faux bois? How do they relate to this image?

It would be close to impossible to count all the works of art that people have created. The styles differ in originality, difficulty, and simplicity. Pablo Picasso and his work are considered to be a pivotal point in the art of the world and are still widely discussed and valued today.

Picasso’s “Guitar, Sheet Music, and Wine Glass” is a part of his later work. The distinct elements of papier colles and faux bois stand out and instill unique originality to the work of art. Papier colles is a technique of making art through the usage of separate shapes. The original idea is based on a collage but is different at the core. A collage uses several overlapping and complementary features and parts of the greater image, whereas papier colles consists of separate shapes that are each taken for what they are. In “Guitar, Sheet Music, and Wine Glass”, each shape has its meaning. The opening in the body of the guitar is a white “imperfect” circle.

Because of its bright white color, it stands out and attracts the viewer. The center and misshaped form represent one of the most important parts of the guitar, as it adds acoustics and gives originality to the instrument. The bottom is black and repeats the shape of the guitar, which is a distinct end to the whole instrument. The guitar’s neck is a trapezoid that has little in common with the regular shape of a guitar, but together with the other objects of the work, it leaves no doubt of its purpose.

The incomplete page of notes and the “glass” are compositions in and of themselves. The notes represent the melody created by the guitar, seemingly separate but at the same time, a major part of the instrument. The “glass” has an abstract form and is much different from the other shapes, aiming to signify the complexity of the instrument and the whole work. A part of the body of the guitar is made with the use of faux bois, which is also a separate entity but is made to look like a wooden piece. The predominant nature of faux bois is that its specific finish represents wood. Several finishes can be made, but Picasso chose a less bright shade of brown for his work.

Marcel Duchamp, Bicycle Wheel: why did Marcel Duchamp limit the number of readymades he made? Rather than the “uniqueness of the object,” what, according to Duchamp, made a work of art?

Not all artists have the same or even similar style and Marcel Duchamp stands out as one of such people. His art was based on getting as far as possible from the obvious art, away from the visible and into the unintended, internal meaning. Duchamp and his work have a connection through the refusal to accept the views of the majority of artists and art lovers. His goal was to criticize the standards of many and create a different, forgotten perspective.

The Renaissance was the time of the rise of culture and arts. Knowledge also became very valuable and the development of sciences and the study of natural occurrences were commonplace. Individualism and abstract expression were the defining features of the period, giving life and uniqueness to each work of art.

The sixties were a flourishing time of arts and an emergence of many painters. Art has become a combination of pictures and forms, becoming livelier and technologically affected. Marcel Duchamp based his art on minimalism. He wanted to take the regular objects and present them as something that deserved attention, as well as had an important and deeper theme within the idea.

Interestingly, he had no particular plans to start making readymades. These objects were industrially made and needed the least addition to the work. “Bicycle Wheel” is a simple wheel that is put upside down and connected to a stool by the wheel’s frame. Marcel Duchamp created the composition as it gave him aesthetic value and was pleasing to the eye. This form of art has been revolutionary and the fascination with everyday and simple objects became a part of the art industry. According to Duchamp, a work of art was much more than a visual representation of an idea; it was a seemingly empty object that required a closer examination and a certain relationship with the viewer. Each person would find their connections to the work which might never be recognized by others.

Rene Magritte’s The Human Condition: what are the “two strands of Surrealism”? In this particular painting, what does Magritte’s “classic play on illusion” imply?

One of the most interesting qualities of art is that it uses illusion and makes the viewer wonder what it is they are seeing. Also, it is important to consider that each time the artist has a specific message they want to convey, they are creating a unique mix of ideas that relates to something exterior to the work of art. This technique can be observed in the work of Rene Magritte and the works titled “The Human Condition”.

The particular nature of the work offers “two strands of Surrealism”. One pertains to the use of other objects to cover up the major picture. An example would be a work where a person’s face is covered by a separate object, but the harmony is still present, and the object is a part of the work. The unification and connection of two incompatible objects into a single entity is what makes surrealism so unique. It offers an illogical understanding of the surrounding world and does it in a thought-provoking manner.

The second type of illusions that Rene Magritte created was classified by having a direct connection between the painting and the reality. This is visible in the work where the painting connects to and extends the background, which is itself a painting but is made out to be part of the real world. This represents the direct and constantly present unity between the visible and invisible worlds. It also offers the viewer to take a different angle and look at the world through a personal “lens”.

Frank Lloyd Wright, Kaufmann House: though he embraced the machine and modern materials and technology, Frank Lloyd Wright-designed a house to be__?

Art is often a part of the greater world and it is sometimes built into daily life. One of the greatest works of art can be seen in the architecture that designers have made to function as a part of the surrounding environment. Frank Lloyd Wright is an American architect who has designed Kaufmann House which is sometimes called the Fallingwater. This work has received much praise and has become one of the most significant designs in the American history of art.

The house is unique because it is built on a waterfall, having numerous viewing terraces, and fully integrated into the waterfall theme. The dynamic connection between technology, human thought, and nature surprise the viewer, as the harmony and unity of the design, adds to the beauty of the surroundings. The water runs through the bottom of the house, making the borders between humanity and nature completely disappear.

Inside, some features are taken directly from the building site and make a connection with the environment even more obvious. The house answers to all technological advancements of the time and is often thought to be a bold statement of the designer. Another theme present throughout the design is that a person must separate from the fast pace of the world and unite with the most basic style of existence. The sound of running water is made to calm down any thought activity so that the person can be by themselves with the most primitive origins of life. It is important to note that some of the design was modified on-site, as Frank Lloyd Wright saw the value that nature has placed into his hands.

At the same time, Wright wanted to make the waterfall unexpected and “unreal” in comparison to the house, which is why the entrances and viewing areas are made in such a specific way. The main entrance is distanced from the waterfall, so the person has to walk to it, in a way, paying respect to the natural wonder. The viewing galleries are characterized by large window glass, which allows for a richer view of the surrounding nature. Even though several parts of the house were added later, they were carefully selected to represent the main theme of the building. The style of design shows that the work was very personal and dear to Wright, as the attention to detail is enormous.

Reference

H.H. Arnason (Revising Author: Peter Kalb), History Of Modern Art: Painting Sculpture Architecture Photography. Prentice Hall (Pearson) 7th Edition, (2013).

Julia Margaret Cameron (1815-1875) was already forty-eight when she received her camera as a gift from her daughter and son-in-law. The year 1863 is considered to be a starting point of her career as a photographer, which, was rather short – only 11 years in total. It is known that the fame did not come to Cameron at once; at first, her photographs were regarded as ‘mistakes’ due to the fact she took an unusual approach to photography and treated it as an art.

As the photographer later wrote in her unfinished memoir “Annals of my glass house”, from the moment of the first shot, the camera had become a link to the world of artists, scientists, and writers. Naturally, Cameron’s beginner steps were quite uncertain: she had little idea of how to focus a sitter or where to place a dark box. However, during the next eighteen months, she had sold eighty printed photographs to the Victoria and Albert Museum and even managed to establish a studio within its walls.

It needs to be mentioned that the photographer never had any interest in arranging a commercial studio. In the majority of cases, she preferred to picture her own family, household staff, and close friends. Cameron often referred to costuming as the means to transform her models into religious and literary figures: her maid was once the Madonna, and her husband is known to try the role of Merlin. Inspired by the Italian spiritual concept of the fifteenth century, the woman put forward all the artistic goals in what referred to as photography. Alas, those goals were not understood in the right manner by other photographers of her time and, thus, Cameron had to look for acceptance elsewhere. Luckily, pre-Raphaelite artists had found her works exciting and then helped to become a symbol of modern photographers’ inspiration.

Photography effects on war

Photography in the modern society is important and contributes positively to the life of human beings. This article is about ways through which society has progressed as result of photography. This paper is about the impact of photography on war. Louis Daguerre did not begin photography but his invention of the metal plate, which could produce photos within thirty minutes, had a major contribution in the field of photography.

This ability to capture and store images so that it is possible to view them in future explains what photography is. Photography has transformed the world where it has enabled the storage of memorable events for future reference making it easy for anyone to remember important events.

The society has been able to have perception of reality through what they see in photos. This means that even though someone did not have a real experience in an event or someone on seeing a photo he or she perceived as if that was the reality (Todd, 2009).

Photography and war history

Human warfare is one of the oldest aspects of human existence, and many historical narrations have narratives of battles, which have taken place since time immemorial. However, there was no better way of narrating those events except through photos. The photography depicting sceneries of war and massacre have done a lot in reducing human warfare as its effects on people make them fear war and avoid it at all costs.

The pictures taken from scenes of dying soldiers in the American civil war are some of the reasons that evoked strong emotions, which led to the end of the war. The reality brought about by photography is of major effect to everyone. Photos taken from Vietnam War or even the American civil war are evidence of this development.

Photos from the Second World War are some of the stories that have been used to show war photography. Photos of devastated Hiroshima and Fukushima after the United States of America dropped the atomic bombs on the two cities remain engraved in the heart of many concerning the dangers of nuclear and atomic weapons. This was the last time in the world to use atomic bombs and it is still remembered.

The role which photography played to portray those scenarios is important. It is certain that such weapons would still be in use if there were no means of recording the reality of what happened after attack through the two bombs. Photography is therefore critical in shaping the course of war all over the world.

Kyoto protocol is one of the developments that were implemented to take care of the dangers caused by the use of atomic weapons in war (Joel, 1994).

The photos from Vietnam War showing suffering American soldiers changed the public mood about the Vietnam War and this led to the withdrawal of troops from Vietnam. It is evident that photos influenced the war in Afghanistan, which has led to withdrawal of American soldiers from the troops. Photos of soldiers harassing the civilians resulted to public outcry against the occupation of American soldiers in Afghanistan.

The image of dead Osama bin Laden made it certain that Bin Laden was no more. Without the evidence of the photos of his capture and death, the information that he was dead could not be true. Likewise, the images and photos of Gaddafi and his capture ascertained that the strong man was already dead. This shows how the photography has shaped the perception of reality.

Without photos, the information on the newspapers would not be credible and they would have a certain degree of doubt. The photos enable people to have certainty that the information provided is real. Although with digital technology, it is possible to alter images and maneuver them, the public are still relying on images as the source of reality and truth (Gustafson, 2011).

Photography and promoting rights of civilians

There is a tendency of the conflicting parties to abuse the rights one another. This happens to the innocent young children and vulnerable women. When the young children are denied their right, it becomes difficult to be taken care of because it goes without being noted by the relevant authority. Photography has however changed this aspect in a great way through providing photos of different scenes.

War journalists are capable of predicting the reality and cases of torture and abuse of civilians by the armies in a way, which is real in order to provide information to the public. Photos of young children who were fighting for their rights have been appreciated and respected all over the world. The Congolese warlord Lubanga was jailed after trial by the international criminal court for violating the rights of young children.

The evidence used against him consisted of photos of young children in uniform of the army. The other pictures that were used to show the violation of human rights were in the case of the Darfur in Sudan where genocide occurred and mass slaughter of civilians by the government forces.

The depiction of such genocide would be impossible without photography. This has made the President of Sudan Omar al Bashir to be accused for crimes against humanity (Gustafson, 2011).

Photography in military search and rescue

The other aspect of war where photography use is common is in search and rescue missions. Modern photography is not based on the white light alone because they have X-ray films that are sensitive to the X- rays from any source.

There are films, which are also sensitive to the infrared and have been used in search and rescue mission helicopters or in Unmanned Aerial Vehicles that identify a warm human being who is in a cold background. This has enhanced search and rescue operations during war as the soldiers may use the unmanned aerial vehicles to identify the location of their lost soldiers in the dark as well as in the territory of the enemy.

This aspect of search and rescue has not only been used for war purposes but also in search and rescue of people in calamities such as Hurricane Katrina and Tsunamis (Todd, 2009).

Photography and war intelligence

Photography has also changed the scope of war on the aspect of spying the enemy territory. With the advent of digital technology and the creation of films with forty mega pixels or more it is now easy for the country to locate the hiding places of the enemies and take pictures showing the topography and geography for further study.

This has improved the efficiency of spying where spy cameras are mounted on satellites with orbit around the world and they are used to take pictures in different places where a particular country want to study or to spy. Recently, there has been uproar against North Korea launching a satellite, as it may be intending to spy the enemies.

The recent development of micro cameras that are tiny with the capability of storing images has changed intelligence of war. Due to the rise of cases of terrorism in many nations, there has been need for the nations to protect themselves against terrorism. This has made many countries to use the secret micro cameras for monitoring people as well as their activities.

Hotels and supermarkets are some of the places, which have used this surveillance. The supermarkets and homes are secure because with such cameras information is recorded and it is retrievable if need arises or if there is investigation to be done.

However, not all people have appreciated this development of micro cameras with accusations of invasion of privacy directed toward photography. Cases of crime have significantly reduced because of installation of micro cameras. Security in offices where cameras are used is high and efficient compared to offices, which do not have micro cameras (Waterbuck, 2001).

Photography and storage of classified military information

The other area that photography has great influence regards data storage. Many nations after awareness of attacks by their enemies store their security data and classified information in films. The films are part of photography and are used to make work easier. With the advent of digital technology scanning of huge amount of documents nowadays and producing them as new documents is the norm.

This has made it possible for conversion of ancient texts and books found in libraries into digital formats. These digital formats are convenient to store a lot of information in small portions. Many armies have since time immemorial has stored a lot of files and inventories, which consumed a lot of space.

Photography has enabled scanning of these documents in a way that they are typed and stored in digital formats. Medical records involving soldier’s health such as X- ray’s scans are nowadays stored in digital format, which make it possible for easy tracking of the patient’s medical history (Prasad, 2005).

Conclusion

Photography has influenced the society in different ways some of which are positive while others are negative. The influence of photography in war is one of the positive ways in which photography has influenced the society. Prevention of many issues with tendencies to escalate into war by solving them using other mechanism such as economic embargo and no fly zones is the norm.

Human beings all over the world have worked to ensure that war is the last option after seeing its devastating effects. Without photography, nuclear weapons would still be in use as it would be difficult to express its effects without the realism which photography brings across.

The intrusion of privacy is questionable in terms of ethics in photography and is one of the major aspects ignored by the modern photographers. Nevertheless, the role played by photography in changing the world receives appreciation from all people. The influence of photography all over the world is evident with photos being part of life and thereby creating a situation where their use and appreciation is for everyone.

References

Gustafson, T. (2011). 500 cameras: 170 years of photographic innovation. New York: George Eastman House.

Joel, L. (1994). Bystander: A history of War photography: Boston, Boston Press.

Prasad, S. (2005). Digital photography in War United Kingdom: York Hospitals NHS Trust.

Todd, L. (2009). Role of photography today. New York: Oxford University Press.

Waterbuck, C. (2001). The sidewalk never ends street photography since the 1970s. Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago.