AH 331 History of Photography Spring 2021 Compendium

Essay 1

             The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines art as “the conscious use of skill and creative imagination, especially in the production of aesthetic objects.”[1] Characteristics of visual art include “[s]pace, form, size, shape, line, colour texture, tonal values, perspective, design and aesthetic organization of visual elements in art object (composition)”.[2]  The photographs that I selected contain several of these characteristics.  The photographs are black and white, but the father’s black suit contrasts with the lighter colors of the daughter’s dresses, and in particular that of the youngest child.  The globe and the pages of the books are the brightest elements in the photos, perhaps signifying the “enlightenment” that comes with education.  Organization and shape are also important as the family members are placed in a circle around the globe and under an arch.  Placed side by side, the photograph on the left has a much darker tone.  The curtain and the arch in the background of the first image are barely noticeable, whereas on the right, they are much more visible.  The contrast indicates that the photographer, in developing the photographs, was manipulating brightness and light to set a different tone or perspective.  
             In the Victorian era, there was debate as to whether photography constituted art.  One vocal critic, Joseph Pennell, a famous illustrator, argued that that photographers were not as highly trained as painters and illustrators.[3] Pennell seemed particularly incensed that photography exhibitors had other jobs, with photography being only “his amusement, his relaxation” [4] in contrast to artists who devote their entire lives to developing their skill.  Pennell’s second argument that photography was not real art is based on the mechanical aspects of photography.  Pennell sarcastically denigrates the photographer for relying on the camera.  He “plants his machine…and, with the pressing of a button…creates…a nocturne which shall rank with the life work of the master.” [5] Pennell believed that the machine, not the person behind it, did everything – as the photographer could “reproduce a scene without doing a scrap of work.” [6]
 


 
 
[1] Merriam-Webster Dictionary, 11th ed. (Springfield: G. & C. Merriam Co., 1996). 
[2] MLSU, Visual Arts.  
[3] Joseph Pennell, "Is Photography Among the Fine Arts?" in Photography In Print: Writings from 1816 to the Present, ed. Vicki Goldberg (New York: Simon And Schuster, 1981), 211 - 212.
[4] Joseph Pennell, "Is Photography Among the Fine Arts?" in Photography In Print: Writings from 1816 to the Present, ed. Vicki Goldberg (New York: Simon And Schuster, 1981), 211.
[5] Joseph Pennell, "Is Photography Among the Fine Arts?" in Photography In Print: Writings from 1816 to the Present, ed. Vicki Goldberg (New York: Simon And Schuster, 1981), 211.
[6] Joseph Pennell, "Is Photography Among the Fine Arts?" in Photography In Print: Writings from 1816 to the Present, ed. Vicki Goldberg (New York: Simon And Schuster, 1981), 211.




Sources


Joseph Pennell. "Is Photography Among the Fine Arts?" in Photography In Print: Writings from 1816 to the Present, ed. Vicki Goldberg (New York: Simon And Schuster, 1981), 210 - 213.

MLSU. Subject: Visual Arts. www.mlsu.ac.in/upload/124_visual%20arts.pdf

Merriman-Webster Dictionary. 11th edition. Springfield: G. & C. Merriam Co, 1996. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/art

This page has paths: