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Modernism Report
In
this essay, I will discuss my own attempt at photographing the urban
environment in Stirling in light of some of the modernist approaches that have
dominated the field of urban photography. I will begin with some background to
modernist photography and its relationship with the urban, and I will continue
with the discussion of my own photographs.
Modernism
refers to a movement in art and design, which emphasises modernisation from the
mid-19th century onwards, and more particularly from the turn of the
20th century until the 1970s. It is associated with sets of
progressive ideas in which the modern, especially in terms of new technologies
and innovations in production, is emphasised and welcomed. (1) These ideas are
expressed through avant-garde art movements focusing on materiality and form in
such mediums as paint, marble, bronze and in photography, which itself becomes
a major carrier and shaper of modernism. (2)
In
contrast to pictorialism, and even reacting against it, modernist photography
rejected traditional art trends focusing on aesthetics, and instead offered a
new way of looking at things emphasising gritty realism, geometrical
compositions, clean lines, repetition, machine forms, and and hard-edge
designs. Images in the pictorialist tradition (emphasising softness, darkness,
and blurriness) were now being replaced with images focusing on clarity,
illumination, sharpness, and precision. (3) Strange viewpoints were
used to capture and document a new and changing world, where technology and the
urban environment dominate.
The most notable trends that dominate modernist photography include:
a)
straight
photography - documenting the “truth” and depicting a scene as realistically
and objectively as possible (as adopted in photo journalism, studio portraiture
and commercial art). Influential artists include: Paul Strand, Ansel Adams,
Alfred Steiglitz and Edward Weston. (4)
b)
surrealism -
notable works by Man Ray and Maurice Tabard, whose images emphasise double
exposure, combination printing, montage and solarisation to create an illusion
of dream and reality (5).
c) cubism - the use of multiple images like a cubist artist to create an image, like in the photographs of David Hockney - 1970s (6).
d)
formalism- emphasising
austerity, and geometric compositions that unite form and content, such as the
work of Ansel Adams, Paul Strand, Emma Jean Cunningham and Alfred Steiglitz.
e) Expressionism - using the camera to reveal one's personal feeling
as symbolized by objects in the real world as in the work of Minor
Martin White (7)
The
development of the modern city is naturally closely associated with modernism
and modernist photography. The urban setting, with its skyscrapers, intricate
road systems, industries, etc. is a dramatic collision of people and
architecture, providing an interesting and varied photography subject. For
example, Alfred Steiglitz’s (1864-1946) images of New York are some of the most
famous urban images. (8)
The
images I have chosen were all shot around the Stirling
campus. The group of photographs is concerned with the built environment and
its relationship with the surrounding landscape and especially roads. The
feature they all share is a sign (either a road sign or a directive/building
sign). The interesting thing about these images is that wherever we go, there are signs to direct us or signs that indicate rules that have to be followed, like speed limit or forbidden places to park, etc. These images are supposed to represent something that is included in urban society. These images also include roads, houses and footpaths. What is also interesting is the fact that, while they all share signs as their common element, other images share element types that other images don't. Those unique commons include, again, the roads, houses and footpaths.
To
sum up, the process in taking these images were fun, the fact that I was experimenting with
different angles on the subject. I do like taking pictures of the urban, though this was a slightly different way of thinking about the way of photographing the urban. In other words, I enjoyed it a lot as it challenged me to think of the built landscape and how
it is represented in photographs in different ways. This was a great experience.
(1) - Wells, L. (2009) Photography: A critical Introduction, Fourth Edition, New Your: Routledge, pg.348.
(2) - Wells, L. (2009) Photography: A critical Introduction, Fourth Edition, New Your:
Routledge, pg. 19.
(3) - Wells, L. (2009) Photography: A critical Introduction, Fourth Edition, New Your:
Routledge, pg. 272-273.
Bibliography
(1) - Wells, L. (2009) Photography: A critical Introduction, Fourth Edition, New Your: Routledge, pg.348.
(2) - Wells, L. (2009) Photography: A critical Introduction, Fourth Edition, New Your:
Routledge, pg. 19.
(3) - Wells, L. (2009) Photography: A critical Introduction, Fourth Edition, New Your:
Routledge, pg. 272-273.
