Went to the Australian War Memorial today. The assignment was to find examples of photographic engineering and link them to today's technology.
During the first world war, portable cameras and printing were very NEW technology and as such were not used a lot to capture images of war. Photographic Journalism is very much a new profession, and it has it's roots in the First and Second World Wars. The Vietnam and Korean wars were the first wars that were shown photographically to the public because of the availability of portable cameras. It was the first time that the general public was able to view the reality of war. This caused mass protest of War and pushed the "hippy movement" into the 20th century.
An example of photographic images used during the first world war were stereoscopic images that were taken with cameras that were far from portable and were scarcely found. These were the first images taken of war that the general public was able to view, however these images weren't mass produced.
During the Second World War, photography played a larger role, with the invention of Aerial Cameras such as the british F. 52. This camera was used to take Aerial Shots of enemy bases. Three cameras would take one shot together to create a full view of the landscape. However, reconnaissance was not the only thing cameras became useful for. With the development of new ways of printing and portable cameras, Newspapers were able to print actual images of combat, but as the combat was mostly land-based, many of the images were of the Navy or the Airforce.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Feminism: Griselda Pollack
I believe that what Griselda Pollack is trying to say in her rather long-winded thesis on Feminism in modern art is that throughout the ages, women have been represented as THE art, not the artist. She talks of the "body of the artist" and the "body of the art" and is telling the reader that when looking at an image, you are seeing the image through the eyes of a male, not a female... and that women are just the canvas, owned and painted on by male artists.
I feel, however, that in the context of Modernism, her theory is over-reaching. Art is about expression and aesthetics, and rarely has anything to do with Feminism (partly because not many women have become famous in contemporary art). If more female artists were to present their art to the world, such a theory would never have been conceived. Jackson Pollack's art is representative of raw emotion and not JUST sexuality. Women rarely have anything to do with it.
Feminism in contemporary Art, however, is prevalent, with most underrated female artists attempting to represent the shekels of a male-orientated society and how they are affected by it. It IS unfortunate though, that most modern artists are, indeed, male... so it is rare to find a female perspective in Art. Griselda's thesis is a call for women in the arts to show themselves to the world, rather than hide in the shadows of the Modern Abstract Artists who have defined 20th century art.
I believe in the future, this will change. It is no longer the 20th century, and we need to stop thinking in terms of gender roles. Men are men, Women are women... when you break down what is expected of them, the only thing left is their emotions, their feelings and their perspectives. It is not the man's fault that women these days are still unable to see that.
I feel, however, that in the context of Modernism, her theory is over-reaching. Art is about expression and aesthetics, and rarely has anything to do with Feminism (partly because not many women have become famous in contemporary art). If more female artists were to present their art to the world, such a theory would never have been conceived. Jackson Pollack's art is representative of raw emotion and not JUST sexuality. Women rarely have anything to do with it.
Feminism in contemporary Art, however, is prevalent, with most underrated female artists attempting to represent the shekels of a male-orientated society and how they are affected by it. It IS unfortunate though, that most modern artists are, indeed, male... so it is rare to find a female perspective in Art. Griselda's thesis is a call for women in the arts to show themselves to the world, rather than hide in the shadows of the Modern Abstract Artists who have defined 20th century art.
I believe in the future, this will change. It is no longer the 20th century, and we need to stop thinking in terms of gender roles. Men are men, Women are women... when you break down what is expected of them, the only thing left is their emotions, their feelings and their perspectives. It is not the man's fault that women these days are still unable to see that.
Robert Hughes and Greenburg (Modernism)
Greenburg's thesis is a very hard one to follow but from it I discerned the following points:
Modernist Painting is:
- Mostly about the medium you are using. Instead of trying to represent the world, it focuses on using the paint to create an IDEA of the world.
- The images are flat, it is no longer necessary to create an image that is an exact likeness of the real world.
- It is self-critical, which I take to mean that instead of portraying outward things, it is mostly portraying the artist's feelings or emotions.
Other than that, I understood very little of what he was getting at.
Robert Hughes' documentary tries to illustrate how Modernist Art came into being. It is believed that it derives from the point in History, after the first and second world wars when everything became purely commercial. America's economy was booming thanks to the debts that the losers of the wars were asked to pay. Cars, Coca-Cola, McDonald's, Industry, all these things that were once mere PRODUCTS that ultimately meant nothing in the grand scheme of things became IMPORTANT, and thus people started to believing in NOTHING.
I believe that it was at this point when the artist started looking inward instead of looking outward... or criticizing the outside world and their relation to it. Pollack focused on the ACT of painting, throwing it about the place as if nothing mattered... Bauhaus was a movement that took that commericialism and made art based on functionality, it pretty much says that ANYONE can have art. Warhol took it to the next level, taking normal, everyday things and mass-producing prints of the items calling them Art and thrusting art in the public's face yelling: "SEE WHAT YOU WILL CONSUME!!!"
Modernism is art for art's sake... It rejects everything and nothing... it is confusing... and pure chaos, and that is why people love it.
Modernist Painting is:
- Mostly about the medium you are using. Instead of trying to represent the world, it focuses on using the paint to create an IDEA of the world.
- The images are flat, it is no longer necessary to create an image that is an exact likeness of the real world.
- It is self-critical, which I take to mean that instead of portraying outward things, it is mostly portraying the artist's feelings or emotions.
Other than that, I understood very little of what he was getting at.
Robert Hughes' documentary tries to illustrate how Modernist Art came into being. It is believed that it derives from the point in History, after the first and second world wars when everything became purely commercial. America's economy was booming thanks to the debts that the losers of the wars were asked to pay. Cars, Coca-Cola, McDonald's, Industry, all these things that were once mere PRODUCTS that ultimately meant nothing in the grand scheme of things became IMPORTANT, and thus people started to believing in NOTHING.
I believe that it was at this point when the artist started looking inward instead of looking outward... or criticizing the outside world and their relation to it. Pollack focused on the ACT of painting, throwing it about the place as if nothing mattered... Bauhaus was a movement that took that commericialism and made art based on functionality, it pretty much says that ANYONE can have art. Warhol took it to the next level, taking normal, everyday things and mass-producing prints of the items calling them Art and thrusting art in the public's face yelling: "SEE WHAT YOU WILL CONSUME!!!"
Modernism is art for art's sake... It rejects everything and nothing... it is confusing... and pure chaos, and that is why people love it.
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