Break a wall一 From painting to photography and photography to wildness
At the beginning of photography’s history, the timing was indeed right for the invention of this technology and media. As Walter Benjamin observes in, “A short history of photography” : “The fog which obscures the beginnings of photography is not quite as thick as that which envelops the beginnings of printing. Perhaps more discernible for photography was the fact that many had perceived that the hour for the invention had come.” If it came about so naturally and was so immediately intelligible, it is not only because of its documentary function, but also its capability of capturing the mysterious and hitherto elusive qualities of visual experience. It was perhaps …show more content…
From Friedrich Kittler’s book, “Optical media” , “After 1836, there were two possible options available to everyone: either to write letters or books or else to send telegraphic signals. After 1839, there were also two options for images: either to paint or to photograph them.” Because this new technology was available – and better suited – to document visual realities, painting was relieved somewhat of its social function (realistic portraiture) and freed up to explore its expressive possibilities.
Although it was awhile yet until the appearance of film, ‘time-based art’ was also beginning to emerge. Muybridge’s 1878 photographs of horses in motion are an early notable example. In order to capture a horse’s running, Muybridge set several cameras in a line and photographed images moments apart as the horse passed by. The photographs taken together create the illusion of movement. This idea of ‘freezing time’ was the first notion of film, a medium that would come to fundamentally change the way people see, opening the possibility of an art that could work with the raw material of time and …show more content…
As printing and photographic technology improved and became more readily available, photo surrealism and photomontage arose and began to break down the limits of traditional photography, creating an alternate line of inquiry which is fundamental to the photography artist today. In retrospect, this can be seen as the time when self-conscious concerns of photography began to coincide with those of fine art, and when photography became an art form in its own right. The lively creative environment gave artists a wild imaginary space, allowing for a fertile cross-pollination of influence. From Man Ray to Thomas Ruff, Hannah Hoch to Lucas Blalock, photography has become wilder and wilder, less constrained by traditional pictorial concerns and more open to experimentation. Not only in its aesthetic - huge technological advances were and are exerting their influence on the whole of photography and the art world. The invention of the computer, the digital camera, and numberless software programs have changed the face of photography.
To take one example, Thomas Ruff - a German photographer who studied with Bernd and Hilla Becher (who themselves made pioneering use of the 8x10 inch view camera to photograph buildings and architecture) - is known for his works which use 3D software to create abstract digital compositions. Ruff’s early work has explored his interest in the possibilities of new
At the beginning of photography’s history, the timing was indeed right for the invention of this technology and media. As Walter Benjamin observes in, “A short history of photography” : “The fog which obscures the beginnings of photography is not quite as thick as that which envelops the beginnings of printing. Perhaps more discernible for photography was the fact that many had perceived that the hour for the invention had come.” If it came about so naturally and was so immediately intelligible, it is not only because of its documentary function, but also its capability of capturing the mysterious and hitherto elusive qualities of visual experience. It was perhaps …show more content…
From Friedrich Kittler’s book, “Optical media” , “After 1836, there were two possible options available to everyone: either to write letters or books or else to send telegraphic signals. After 1839, there were also two options for images: either to paint or to photograph them.” Because this new technology was available – and better suited – to document visual realities, painting was relieved somewhat of its social function (realistic portraiture) and freed up to explore its expressive possibilities.
Although it was awhile yet until the appearance of film, ‘time-based art’ was also beginning to emerge. Muybridge’s 1878 photographs of horses in motion are an early notable example. In order to capture a horse’s running, Muybridge set several cameras in a line and photographed images moments apart as the horse passed by. The photographs taken together create the illusion of movement. This idea of ‘freezing time’ was the first notion of film, a medium that would come to fundamentally change the way people see, opening the possibility of an art that could work with the raw material of time and …show more content…
As printing and photographic technology improved and became more readily available, photo surrealism and photomontage arose and began to break down the limits of traditional photography, creating an alternate line of inquiry which is fundamental to the photography artist today. In retrospect, this can be seen as the time when self-conscious concerns of photography began to coincide with those of fine art, and when photography became an art form in its own right. The lively creative environment gave artists a wild imaginary space, allowing for a fertile cross-pollination of influence. From Man Ray to Thomas Ruff, Hannah Hoch to Lucas Blalock, photography has become wilder and wilder, less constrained by traditional pictorial concerns and more open to experimentation. Not only in its aesthetic - huge technological advances were and are exerting their influence on the whole of photography and the art world. The invention of the computer, the digital camera, and numberless software programs have changed the face of photography.
To take one example, Thomas Ruff - a German photographer who studied with Bernd and Hilla Becher (who themselves made pioneering use of the 8x10 inch view camera to photograph buildings and architecture) - is known for his works which use 3D software to create abstract digital compositions. Ruff’s early work has explored his interest in the possibilities of new