Chey schaefer
Research paper
12/1/2017
Tseng
Alexander Rodchenko and his use of alienation
Alexander Rodchenko's marvelous photography -- for which he is now best remembered -- tilted the world in a new direction. He would typically skew the angle of his shots, so that our eyes are not dominated by the usual dead-on rectangle. Trying to break the habits of seeing and slide space itself into new dimensions, his rigorous compositional sense visually "holds" the elements of the photograph in place. Alexander Rodchenko used perspective as a tool of alienation to signify his style.
Concerned with the need for analytical-documentary photo series, he often shot his subjects from odd angles—usually high above or down below—to shock the viewer and …show more content…
“Stairs” captures a normal scene of a woman and her child walking up a set of stairs, but the ordinary subject is made eerily abstract by the camera’s perspective. The woman and child are juxtaposed with the rigid black and white stairs in a way that seems to reflect the the polarization of humans in the shadow of industrialization during the Soviet Union’s more utopian days. "Asphalting a Street in Moscow," made in 1929, provides some insight as to why Rodchenko's work was disparaged, since the tilted horizon line, rapidly receding diagonals, and low vantage point may be regarded as a purely formal statement. In addition, these devices encourage the viewer to identify with the machinery which seems ready to steamroll the shadows of the bystanders, suggesting that the inevitable path of technology is one of destruction rather than construction. In “Walking Figure”, the stride of the man may appear grotesque and puppet like. But his shadow springs to life. Even Rodchenko's famous photograph “Pioneer Girl”, in which he makes a monument of clear-eyed youth, is unexpected. The face is beautiful but not pretty.
Revolutions temporarily change the way the world is run, but they permanently alter the way it is seen. During the 1920s, the Russian artist Alexander Rodchenko set out to document the new social reality. His aim, he said, was to see 'with morning eyes', as if the revolution had electrified his optical nerves. His use of angle,perspective, and alienation proved successful in un-familiarizing and distorting common subjects to convey a deeper meaning of the
Research paper
12/1/2017
Tseng
Alexander Rodchenko and his use of alienation
Alexander Rodchenko's marvelous photography -- for which he is now best remembered -- tilted the world in a new direction. He would typically skew the angle of his shots, so that our eyes are not dominated by the usual dead-on rectangle. Trying to break the habits of seeing and slide space itself into new dimensions, his rigorous compositional sense visually "holds" the elements of the photograph in place. Alexander Rodchenko used perspective as a tool of alienation to signify his style.
Concerned with the need for analytical-documentary photo series, he often shot his subjects from odd angles—usually high above or down below—to shock the viewer and …show more content…
“Stairs” captures a normal scene of a woman and her child walking up a set of stairs, but the ordinary subject is made eerily abstract by the camera’s perspective. The woman and child are juxtaposed with the rigid black and white stairs in a way that seems to reflect the the polarization of humans in the shadow of industrialization during the Soviet Union’s more utopian days. "Asphalting a Street in Moscow," made in 1929, provides some insight as to why Rodchenko's work was disparaged, since the tilted horizon line, rapidly receding diagonals, and low vantage point may be regarded as a purely formal statement. In addition, these devices encourage the viewer to identify with the machinery which seems ready to steamroll the shadows of the bystanders, suggesting that the inevitable path of technology is one of destruction rather than construction. In “Walking Figure”, the stride of the man may appear grotesque and puppet like. But his shadow springs to life. Even Rodchenko's famous photograph “Pioneer Girl”, in which he makes a monument of clear-eyed youth, is unexpected. The face is beautiful but not pretty.
Revolutions temporarily change the way the world is run, but they permanently alter the way it is seen. During the 1920s, the Russian artist Alexander Rodchenko set out to document the new social reality. His aim, he said, was to see 'with morning eyes', as if the revolution had electrified his optical nerves. His use of angle,perspective, and alienation proved successful in un-familiarizing and distorting common subjects to convey a deeper meaning of the