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​HISTORY OF MODERNISM IN ART & PHOTOGRAPHY

THE IMPACT OF PHOTOGRAPHY ON THE MODERN ART WORLD (1910-1950's)
​
MODERNISM
 was a major shift in art, literature, and music, which evolved during the first half of the twentieth century. Modernism implies a rejection of previous traditional conventions in favor of radically different forms of personal and artistic expression.  ​
The advent of photography is often credited with triggering this revolution in painting. Since the camera could produce such perfect transcriptions of reality, artists were suddenly forced to be more than clever copyists of nature. This led them to such new ideas as Impressionism.  However, modern art as a term applies to a vast number of artistic genres spanning more than a century.  Aesthetically speaking, modern art is characterized by the artist's intent to not only portray a subject as it exists in the world, but according to his or her unique perspective.  This practice represents the beginnings of abstraction in the visual arts.

Photography, too, went through its own dramatic changes as part of the broader shift to Modernism.  ​Most historians date the beginnings of Modernism in photography to the Photo-Secession, a movement founded by Alfred Stieglitz in 1902.  

The two images to the right demonstrate this shift in photographic conventions. On the top is a photograph from 1896 and the bottom was taken around 1935.  What about the top image do you consider conventional?  What is unconventional about the bottom image?


http://www.photographymuseum.com/modernism1.html

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Picture

Paul Strand (American, 1890-1976)


The Master of Modern Photography

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  • The distinctive place Paul Strand holds in the history of modern photography rests on his extraordinary artistic talent as well as his belief in the transformative power of the medium in which he chose to work. From his early experiments with street photography in New York to his sensitive portrayal of daily life in New England, Italy, and Ghana, Strand came to believe that the most enduring function of photography and his work as an artist was to reveal the essential nature of the human experience in a changing world. He was also a master craftsman, a rare and exacting maker of pictures. 
View Paul Strand's Portfolio Here ​
  • http://artdaily.com/news/73822/-Paul-Strand--Master-of-Modern-Photography--opens-at-the-Philadelphia-Museum-of-Art#.V87921srJkg
  • http://theartofphotography.tv/photographers/strand/
​

Henri Cartier-Bresson (French, 1908-2004)

The Father of Modern Photojournalism
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Picture
The Decisive Moment - Read The Art Story
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Picture
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Tina Modotti (Italian, 1896-1942)

Imogen Cunningham (American, 1883-1976)

Edward Weston (1886-1958)

Karl Blossfeldt (German, 1865-1932)

Whereas Blossfeldt, a German professor of fine and applied art, examined botanical specimens to the art of nature's design, Cunningham was not interested in plants but in pictures--in the art she could design with plants and light, and a camera.
Art Forms in Nature

Alfred Stieglitz (1864-1946)

The Photo Secession



Extended List of Modernist Photographers
(With Selections from the Museum of Modern Art)

Berenice Abbott (American, 1898-1991) - Architecture
Werner Bischof (Swiss, 1916-1954) - Photojournalism (WWII)
Karl Blossfeldt (German, 1865-1932) - Nature Still Life
Henri Cartier Bresson (French, 1908-2004) - Street Photography
Harry Callahan (American, 1912-1999) - Abstract Still Life
​Imogen Cunningham (American, 1883-1976) - Portraiture and Still Life
Roy DeCarava (American, 1919-2009) - Photojournalism (Harlem Renaissance)
Robert Doisneau (French, 1912-1994) - Street Photography
Walker Evans (American 1903-1975) - Architecture
Heinrich Kuhn (German, 1866-1944) - Portraiture
Dorothea Lange (American, 1895-1965) - Photojournalism (Great Depression)
Tina Modotti (Italian, 1896-1942) - Abstract Street Photography

Gordon Parks (American, 1912-2006) - Photojournalism (Civil Rights)
Irving Penn (American, 1917-2009) - Portraiture
Arthur Rothstein (American, 1915-1985) - Photojournalism

August Sander (German, 1876-1964) - Portraiture
W. Eugene Smith (American, 1918-1976) - Photojournalism (WWII)
Frederick Sommer (American, 1905-1999) - Abstract Still Life
Alfred Stieglitz (American, 1864-1946) - Street Photography 
Paul Strand (American, 1890-1976) - Street Photography
James Van Der Zee (American, 1886-1983) - Photojournalism (Harlem Renaissance)

Brett Weston (American, 1911-1993) - Abstract Landscape
Edward Weston (American, 1886-1958) - Portraiture
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  • Home
  • Photography
    • TOPICS in Photography >
      • Exposure >
        • Depth of Field
      • Composition
      • Genres >
        • Abstract
        • Animals
        • Environmental
        • Motion
        • Nature & Landscape
        • Photojournalism
        • Portraits
        • Still Life
      • Photoshop >
        • Masking
        • Blending Images and Text
        • Photomontage
        • Duotone
        • Symmetrical Designs
      • Research Topics >
        • Early Photographic Inventions
        • Cameraless Photography
        • Modernism
        • Cross-Cultural Explorations
        • Women of Vision
        • Photographer Quotes
        • Careers
  • Yearbook
    • Topics in Yearbook >
      • Introduction to Yearbook >
        • Yearbook Vocabulary
        • Yearbook Staff Positions
      • Yearbook Photography
      • Theme, Voice, Coverage
      • Yearbook Design
      • Yearbook Writing
    • Creator Studio
    • Photo Sharing
  • STEAM
    • TOPICS in STEAM >
      • Functions in Art & Design
      • Elements and Principles
      • Gestalt
      • Visual Hierarchy
      • Illustrator
      • Design History >
        • Monument Design
      • STEAM Research
      • STEAM Challenges
    • TIL@FXC
  • Engineering
    • TOPICS in Engineering >
      • Design Phase 1
      • Design Phase 2
      • Design Phases 3-5
      • Engineering Vocabulary
    • Project Partners
    • EPICS@FXC
    • STEM@FXC >
      • Engineering Olympics
  • Get Inspired
    • Research Links >
      • Art Criticism
      • Themes & Artists
      • History of Visual Arts
    • Mind Mapping
    • Artist Statements
    • Poetry Festival
  • Get Involved