Pictorialism and Photo Secession

Late 1800’s – Early 1900’s

Invented 1839

Is it art or is it science?

William Henry Fox Talbot“Impressed by natures hand”

Louis Daguerre“Chemical and physical property which gives [nature] the

power to reproduce herself.”

Neipce“Spontaneous reproduce, by the action of light …”

These inventors, or founders of Photography, unknowingly laid a foundation of this perception that Photography could not be art or self expression. This may have led to the movement we know of as

Pictorialism.

An early photograph produced on a silver or a silver-covered copper plate.Positive images produced directly onto the plate, could not be reproduced.Developed with warm mercury vapour.

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The earliest reliably dated photo graph of a person, taken in spring 1838 by Daguerre

Henry Fox Talbot called his work the 'art of photogenic drawing’. His process produced prints on paper that were coated with silver iodide (salt and silver), which made it light sensitive. This process was called calotype - 1841. First to produce a negative that you could get prints from. Talbot went on to develop the three primary elements of photography: developing, fixing, and printing.

“… the idea occurred to me... how charming it would be if it were possible to cause these natural images to imprint themselves durably, and remain fixed upon the paper."

Calotype

Heliogra

ph 1826 - Niépce experimented with bitumen on pewter or

zinc plates

Joseph Nicéphore Niépce

Lady Filmer – 1864

Lady Hawarden 1860

Wet Plate &Albumen Prints

Gustave Le Gray 1859

Oscar Rejlander 1857

1888 – Kodak Camera

Eastman Dry Plate Company – Made the Kodak camera – first handheld “instant” camera.

Dry plates that were exposed by photographer and sent back to the company for development.

The snapshot was born!

Anyone could be a photography now …

“You push the button, we do the rest!”

http://www.kodak.com/ek/US/en/Our_Company/History_of_Kodak/Milestones_-_chronology/1878-1929.htm

George Eastman selling his camera on ocean liner – 1890

Art photographers were trying to get photography recognized as “Art”!

This snapshot emergence from Kodak didn’t help their case! How could it be art if everyone could do it!

Pictorialism

• Mimicked Painting

• Born as a reaction to the point and shoot approach to Photography made possible by Kodak.

• Art Photographers wanted to make a distiction:• Make it a hard process! Not point and shoot!• Relied on labor intensive processes that showed the human hand in the

process• Emphasized photographer as craftsman• Heavily worked negatives: Retouched negatives; printed on textured paper

Gertrube Kasenbier, 1903 American PhotographerFounding member of photo secessionists

Heinrich Kuhn, 1898 AustrianFirst photographer to do unique “above” perspectiveUsed Autochrome Kodachrome later replaced Autocrome

Clarence White American Early 1900’sSelf taught Opened first Photography School – Modern Photography

Edward Steichen – 1904

Trained painter/drawerEditor of first photography publication – Cameraworks MagazineOpened first gallery, NYC1st Fashion PhotographMilitary Photographer WWI & WWIIFounded Photo Secession MovementFirst and highest paid fashion photographerFilm makerHead of Photography Dept at MoMA

Alred Stieglitz 1892

Grandfather of Art PhotographyFormed photography collectionAmerican camera clubAdvocate to push photograph as art mediumShowed photography next to painting in his art gallery

“Are these clouds?”

“I DON’T SEE WHY THAT MATTERS?”

“What do you see? What does it make you feel?”

“Equivalents idea or emotion attached to it by the viewer or photographer.”

Pushed the way people that about photography and what it could be.

Equivalents

Photo Secessionists