Oct 15th – Notes from class – Storytelling
Edward Weston (1886-1958): Geometric, curvature, patterns, harsh/hard, concise, convergence, contour lines – at the time this style of photography was unfamiliar. “The camera should be used for a recording of life, for rending the very substance and quintessence of the thing itself, whether it be polished steel or palpitating flesh.”
Dorothea Lange (1895-1965): Emotion, struggle – observer of people, “social scientist”, storytelling across multiple mediums (photography and writing). Died of cancer and struggled with polio throughout her life. Earlier portraiture career seen in depression-era work. Well respected by (San-Fransisco) photographic community leading up to the depression, and became restless with less business as the depression set in. Street photography. “‘Oh don’t go there’; I ignored them … I just saw something and I shot it”. Despite her paid work by the FSA during the Dust Bowl, her own struggles are reflected in her depression-era work. Shot from low angle so the subject would be looking down on the camera or viewer of printed photo. In many cases this angling would be a reflection or inverse of the government looking down on the poor during the great depression.
Oct 31st – Notes from class
Richard Avedon (1923-2004): Portrait photographer – “My photographs are more about myself than the people I photograph”, brought out character in the subject, unique features and unconventional methods to achieve this goal.
Cindy Sherman (1954-): Both the photographer and the subject. “Through a photograph you can make people believe anything … it’s not the cameras doing it’s the person behind it”. Breaks norm using camera, finds ways to “lie” to the viewer and create images that may not be possible, but provoke necessary thoughts and ideas about our culture and normalized practices, especially regarding women in society. Very clearly conveyed unique stories in single frames, telling a story in a moment.
Diane Arbus (1923-1971): “I had a sense of if I was so terrific at it I shouldn’t do it”, this I think embraces a struggle we should all welcome into our lives. The things we are good at already we shouldn’t be praised for, at least not exclusively. Struggling to do something new presents learning opportunities and it’s attempting, not succeeding, to do something different deserves more praise than repeating the same old in a terrific manner.