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ART100_Fall2016_Class12.2

Photography originated from the camera obscura, which was a darkened room or box with a small hole that projected an inverted image on the opposite wall. Over time, the camera obscura shrank in size and lenses were added to focus images. Two main photographic processes emerged in the 19th century - the daguerreotype invented by Daguerre and Niépce, which produced sharp detailed images on silver-coated plates, and the calotype process invented by Talbot which allowed for negatives and multiple prints. Entrepreneurs like Nadar and Disdéri popularized portraiture studios and new formats like cartes-de-visite. The development of photography influenced painting as Impressionists captured light

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Class 12.2 Making Multiples II: Photography A r t 1 0 0 U n d e r s t a n d i n g V i s u a l C u l t u r e Diane ARBUS, Crying Child, New Jersey, 1967
Photography seems like an inevitable fact of modern life. But, where did it come from? When and how did it actually arise?
The original “camera” was as big as a nice walk-in closet!
Origins of the “camera” These diagrams are two early depictions of the workings of the “camera obscura” (meaning "dark room”), in which an external image enters a darkened chamber through a pinhole opening and appears upside down on the opposite wall. The resulting image can be traced. It's essentially a very elaborate "drawing aid."
Slowly the camera obscura gets smaller and more portable. Here it has contracted to the size of a small cabinet with legs.
Gradually it shrinks to a tabletop apparatus, and finally, to the size of a small box.
The origins of the “camera” With the room-size camera obscura now contracted into a small box, the pinhole replaced with a lens that permits focusing, and a mirror installed to reverse the image, all that remains is to find a way of making the reflected image permanent.
The physics and optics of the camera are put together first, but the chemistry remains to be cracked.
As often happens in the history of technology, multiple competing solutions appear at more or less the same time. It turns out that a number of alternative chemical solutions to the problem are developed. Use these links to see some of the possibilities that were explored by early photographers: http://photographymuseum.org/primer.html http://www.edinphoto.org.uk/1_early/1_early_photogr aphy_-_processes.htm
Today some photographers still enjoy experimenting with different techniques from the 19th century. http://www.alternativephotography.com/wp/ processes A "how to" for some of these techniques is available at this link.
There are many competitors for best method, but two processes become dominant in the 19th century. The dominant technology in France is invented by Joseph Nièpce (NEE-eps) in conjunction with Daguerre (DAH- gair).
Joseph Nicéphore Nièpce, View from the Window at Le Gras, c. 1826, heliograph “the first photograph”
Joseph Nicéphore Nièpce View from the Window at Le Gras, c. 1826, sketch by Helmut Gernsheim
Joseph Nicéphore Nièpce View from the Window at Le Gras, 1826, 1952 print
http://www.hrc.utexas.edu/exhibit ions/permanent/wfp/ LEARN MORE about the "first photograph"
equipment needed for “daguerreotype” process
early daguerreotypes View of San Francisco, 1848 • tend to be quite small • produce a sharply detailed image • they produce a single, "positive" image (not multiple prints from a negative) • also known as "tintypes" because the image imprints on a metal plate
Portrait of Edgar Allan Poe, 1848 Note the decorative leather case, which is typical of how early daguerreotypes were presented.
early daguerreotypes The Barton family dog, Nero, 1848 Group of 10 unidentified boys, Date unknown
"calotype" In England, a competing process was invented by William Henry Fox Talbot. He called his process the “calotype.” It was rather different as it was a negative process, capable of generating multiple prints on paper. The image produced has a soft, "faded" quality.
Talbot published a beautiful folio of his photographs in 1844 to promote his new invention. He called photography the "Pencil of Nature" and thought of it as nature writing its own image in light.
Talbot, Bust of Patroclus, 1839
Talbot, Articles of Glass, 1839
Talbot, Books in a Library, 1839
Talbot, The Haystack 1839
Photography began as a plaything of the rich but quickly entrepreneurs and inventors sought to make it widely available.
Nadar Gaspard Félix Tournachon, “Nadar” Entrepreneurs quickly got hold of the new technology and figured out how to create businesses around it.
Nadar’s studio opened a deluxe photography studio at 35 boulevard des Capucines, Paris. As you can see, there is ample plate glass to allow natural light into several floors of photo studios. He plasters his name across the front of the studio. (see arrow)
Nadar created an elegant studio where the elites of the day would feel comfortable enduring the long pose times needed for a photograph.
Nadar, Portrait of Sarah Bernhardt, c. 1865 Sarah Bernhardt was a famous dramatic actress of the day. She was among the many celebrities in French culture who posed for Nadar. Anyone who could afford it rushed to have their portrait done.
Disdéri, Portrait of Rosa Bonheur, c. 1871 Artists, poets, intellectuals, writers and politicians all had photographs made, as well as ballerinas and actresses, and the nobility.
Disdéri, unidentified Ballerina, uncut sheet of carte-de-visite photographs A competitor, Disdéri, invented a popular format called the "carte- de-visite." This was a sheet of photos that could be cut up and left as visiting cards when people made their social calls upon each other.
Disdéri, uncut sheet of cartes- de visite
Queen Victoria in carte-de-visite format
Disdéri, Self Portrait The days of a handheld camera that anyone can use are still in the future! For now, the photographer has a unique set of skills.
Daumier, “Nadar, elevating the status of photography to an art,” May 1862 In this cartoon, artist and illustrator Daumier teases Nadar, suggesting he will never be able to "elevate" photography to a fine art, unless he goes up in a hot- air balloon (another state of the art technology at the time.)
Èdouard MANET Corner of a Café-Concert 1878-1879 National Gallery, London oil on canvas 38.4 × 30.5 inches So back to the world of painted representations. How does this new technology for making likenesses impact the traditional art form of painting?
There isn't a simple answer. In fact, the artworld continues to address the impact of new technologies, like photography, film, video, and the internet. It is not a settled question (it continues to be productive within the artworld). But let's point to one impact that can be felt right away.
Claude MONET Garden at Sainte- Adresse, 1867 oil on canvas 38 5/8 x 51 1/8 in The Impressionists signaled a major change, as you can see here. They are like a breath of fresh air into the art world, which in this picture takes the literal form of the crisp seaside breeze that the well-dressed tourists are enjoying on summer vacation. We are in the modern world now, bright, light, and always changing, as quickly as the weather does.
Claude MONET, Impression: Sunrise, 1872 The Impressionists also become interested in capturing atmospheric effects, like dawn and twilight, and all types of different weather conditions. Now that photography can capture the literal appearance of things, artists are freer to experiment.
Claude MONET The Saint-Lazare Station 1877 Oil on canvas H. 75; W. 104 cm
Claude MONET The Saint-Lazare Station 1877 Oil on canvas H. 75; W. 104 cm If we want to document the precise appearance of this train station, we can make a photograph (and there are many photographs of urban Paris at this time). However, if we want to feel some of the hectic quality of the train station, the crowds, and clouds of smoke, we might turn to Monet’s picture instead.
J.M.W. Turner Rain, Steam and Speed, 1844 oil on canvas 36 × 48 inches National Gallery, London
J.M.W. TURNER Rain, Steam and Speed, 1844 oil on canvas 36 × 48 inches National Gallery, London Working in England at an even earlier date, Turner also becomes interested in the look and feel of various forms of weather, to the point that portions of his canvases verge on abstraction.
J.M.W. Turner, The Burning of the Houses of Parliament, 1835
J.M.W. Turner, The Burning of the Houses of Parliament, 1835 Here Turner renders the giant fire that consumed the British Parliament in dramatic oranges. The buildings themselves are barely visible among the flames.
James Abbott MacNeill WHISTLER (American, living in London) Nocturne in Black and Gold: The Falling Rocket 1875 Whistler’s paintings push even farther into gorgeous abstractions full of color and texture that entice the eye while scarcely resolving into a recognizable picture.
Claude MONET, Waterlilies, c. 1920, MoMA, NYC Monet’s late pictures of waterlilies floating on the pond in his garden push toward abstract painting as well.