ART 111 Week 13
Moving Images before Film
-Zoetrope: antique toy that gives the illusion of movement -Theory of persistence of vision: separate images presented to the human eye at regular intervals appear as a continuous sequence -To make moving pictures, motion first had to be frozen in still images
Loretta Lux digitally manipulates such elements as ________ to create the effect she wants in her pictures.
-backgrounds -proportion -scale -color
The earliest photographs were black and white because ______.
-color processes were complicated -color photography was impossible -the chemistry used captured gray tones -color was more expensive
Camera vs. human eye
Camera is a mechanical recorder and an artistic tool
Frederick Scott Archer - 1850
Got silver nitrate to adhere to glass, forming glass negatives that were just as clear as the Daguerreotypes, and could still produce an unlimited number of prints.
How was the camera obscura first used?
To draw images
style
a characteristic way in which an artist or group of artists uses visual language to give a work an identifiable form of visual expression
collage
artwork assembled by gluing materials, often paper, onto a surface. From the French coller, to glue
Why does color seem important to Skoglund and Burtynsky?
create a surreal effect, as if this is a scene from an alien world. call attention to things not usually in our consciousness
cibachrome
dye-destruction process for making direct positive photographic images available in the 1960s
When were the first successful photographs made using a camera?
early 1800s
collecting an image Film VS. digital
film: negative and positive digital: pixels, computers
biopic
movie that tells the story of a person's life, often filling in facts with narration and plotlines
documentary
non-fiction films based on actual people, settings, and events
Videos, like those Bill Viola creates, are designed to be art are often made to be presented ________.
on television screens in art galleries or at art events in such a way that they transform a space projected on walls
In his photograph Two Ways of Life, Oscar Gustav Rejlander employed methods that emulated the process of ________.
painting
analog
photography or movie made using a film camera that chemically records images using a continuous graduation of value ranges from light to dark, so that they directly match the actual appearance of the object or scene
One of the earliest surviving photographs is a still life by Daguerre featuring:
plaster casts, a framed picture, and a wine flask, by a window
Daguerreotypes are made on ________.
polished metal plates
dubbing
post-production addition or mixing of voices (or sounds) that do not belong to the original recording
The name of the opening that lets light into any camera is called ________.
the aperture
As Eadweard Muybridge's experiments with motion showed, ________.
the camera can capture what the human eye cannot see
motion
the effect of changing placement in time
Hannah Hoch (1889-1978)
was one of the first to make photomontages. She used them to protest social conditions
IMAX
"Image Maximum," a format for film presentation that allows presentation of films ten times larger sizes than the conventional one
Film as Art: Video
-Often made for galleries or art events -Shown on television monitors or projected onto walls -May transform a space by creating an environment -Artistic experimentation
Garry Winogrand frequently posed his subjects and set up his shots beforehand.
False
Match the early photographic innovator with his invention: -William Henry Fox Talbot -Louis-Jacques Mandé Daguerre -John Herschel a. cyanotype b. calotype c. daguerreotype
William Henry Fox Talbot b. calotype Louis-Jacques Mandé Daguerre c. daguerreotype John Herschel a. cyanotype
When light-sensitive film is exposed to light, ______ image is formed.
a negative
positive
an image in which light areas are light and dark areas are dark (opposite of negative)
kodachrome
created by Kodak Research Laboratories, Kodachrome is a subtractive reversal process for making color photographic film slides
Fantasy
fiction genre set in an imaginary universe; often uses magical or supernatural elements in the plots, themes, or settings
science-fiction (sci-fi)
genre of film in which fictional stories include advanced science and technology, often in futuristic settings
Example of Photomontage
made with thirty different negatives Exposed negatives one at a time, while covering the rest of the photograph
composition
the overall design or organization of a work
Bill Viola: How Did Video Become Art?
-"Video as art exists somewhere between the permanence of painting and the temporary existence of music" -"The digital image has become the common language of our time"
Photographic Genres
-19th-century argument: "A photograph is not a work of art..." (John Ruskin, 1850s) -But photographers, like painters, create images in artistic genres (e.g. portrait, landscape, still life) -Some photos are factual records, while others pursue artistic goals
More about camera obscura
-A small hole (aperture) is placed in an exterior wall of darkened room -Outside scene is flipped upside down and backward on opposite wall -A person could trace over the image projected on the wall to capture it
McCurry, Afghan girl/Sharbat Gula (artwork)
-Afghan Girl, 1984: after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan -For McCurry, images of the people involved tell the story of conflict best -Her eyes made her unforgettable -Sharbat Gula, 2002: McCurry returned and confirmed her identity by iris-pattern
Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Amélie (artwork)
-Animation and special effects help tell the story -Amélie's heart beats out of her chest; in another scene, she melts into a puddle -Mixes fantasy and reality to reveal the magical qualities of ordinary life
Still life
-Artistic arrangement of objects -Allows the artist to study formal relationships of light, shadow, and texture
Film as Art: Auteur Films
-Auteur theory: films are works of art because they are the realization of a director's creative vision -Controversial because movies are collaborative -Proponents focus on the artistic vision of the director (e.g. Jean-Luc Godard, Alfred Hitchcock, Woody Allen)
Black and White versus Color
-Black and white: makes elements of the composition clearer (lines, contrast) -Color: early processes were complicated; not commercially viable until the 1930s -Digital technology now makes it easy to alter the tonality of photographs
Sandy Skoglund, Radioactive Cats (artwork)
-Brightly colored, carefully organized narrative tableau, or arrangement -Skoglund makes all the objects, arranges them, then hires actors to pose with them -She photographs or exhibits the scene
Hayao Miyazaki with Kirk Wise, Spirited Away (artwork)
-Cel animation: uses a sequence of drawings called "cels" -Spirited Away is an Oscar-winning film -Influenced by Japanese mythology -125-minute film required between 90,000 and 200,000 drawings (12-30 drawings per second)
Sally Mann, " The New Mothers" (artwork)
-Collaborations between Mann and her children -Black and white transforms ordinary moments into nostalgic and provocative statements -Children's actions sometimes predict later adult behavior
The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (artwork)
-Combines live-action and computer-generated imagery (CGI) -Andy Serkis acted out the facial expressions, bodily movements, and voice of Gollum -Combined traditional acting, motion capture, and the skills of animators
Anna Atkins, Halydrys Siliquosa (artwork)
-Cyanotype (invented by John Herschel) -Atkins placed algae on light-sensitive paper -Areas exposed to light turned the paper dark; shaded places stayed white -Looks like a film negative
Stephen Marc, Untitled [...] (artwork)
-Digitally combines images from different sources -Highlights the dark and powerful history of a Mississippi plantation -Historical backdrop for a contemporary African American enhances our understanding
Silent Black-and-White Film
-Earliest films were short clips -Documenting daily life -Black/white, silent -Shown in nickelodeons: small storefront movie theaters -By 1896, movies were shown all over Europe and the US
Rejlander, The Two Ways of Life (artwork)
-Emulated the appearance and process of painting, hoping his photographs would earn the same respect -Made thirty separate negatives, cut out like puzzle pieces, and exposed them one at a time
Photocollage and Photomontage
-Fragments of separate materials (photo-based and pre-printed) are glued together to form an image -Photocollages are unique artworks that are not generally reproduced -Photomontages are made to be reproduced (re-photographed or scanned)
Sound and Color
-From the late 1920s, color film was promoted as a novelty to attract audiences -Before 1927, any sound was performed live in theaters -After that, dialog, background noise, and music were built into the film itself
Film Genres
-Genres are categories of film -Each has its own established conventions, plot lines, stock characters -Examples include: musicals, science fiction, romantic comedies, Westerns, action, horror, documentary, art films
The Art of Photography
-Historical debate: photography as a record of reality or an art form? -Photographs have only been collected in major fine art museums since the late 20th century -Photography is a favored medium of many contemporary artists
Julia Margaret Cameron, Angel of the Nativity (artwork)
-Known for her portraits of celebrities -Believed photography could show allegorical, poetic, and intuitive aspects of life -Used special lenses and long exposure times to create a soft-focus look
Ansel Adams, Sand Dunes, Sunrise [...] (artwork)
-Known for his landscape photographs of the American West -Arranges black, white, and gray tones to achieve a balanced effect -He was deeply involved with the Sierra Club, dedicated to preserving America's wilderness
Global Groove
-Korean-American artist Nam June Paik was a pioneer of video art -Thirty-minute video recording (1973) -Combines clips from television (commercials, news footage) and musical performance -Foreshadows music video
Making "Artistic" Photographs
-Labor-intensive methods, similar to those of traditional artists -Manual and digital technology to assemble elements in the composition -Scenes are created that did not exist before the artist made them
Landscape
-Landscape photographers take pictures of the land and its natural features -Can raise awareness of nature's grandeur
Edward Burtynsky, "Manufacturing, #17 [...]" (artwork)
-Large photographs (3 × 4 ft.) create an impression of the vast scale of urban landscapes -Shows a vista of workers in a chicken-processing plant -Encourages viewers to contemplate civilization's impact on the planet
Méliès, A Trip to the Moon (artwork)
-Méliès: magician and filmmaker -In his most famous film, astronomers launch themselves from a cannon and crash into the moon's right eye -He was one of the first to use multiple settings, repeated scenes, and cuts
Portraiture
-One of photography's most popular early uses -Substitute for more costly painted portraits -Some follow conventions of painting, while others take advantage of the camera's immediacy
The Cabinet of Dr.Caligari (artwork)
-One of the earliest horror films -Famous for its plot development and character types -Expressionist sets were designed by German artists; they mimic the narrator's tortured mind
Daguerre, The Artist's Studio (artwork)
-One of the earliest photographs -Daguerre, a painter and photographer, arranged objects in his studio -Used plaster casts instead of live models (exposure times took more than eight minutes)
Victor Fleming, The Wizard of Oz (artwork)
-One of the first popular films to use color -Brilliant colors of the Land of Oz transport us into a fantasy world far removed from Kansas -Color is prominent: ruby slippers, yellow-brick road to the Emerald City
Dorothea Lange, Migrant Mother (artwork) - how the famous photograph was created
-Portrait of Thompson has become a symbol of the Great Depression -Such documentary photographs raise many ethical issues -Do subjects have a say in their portrayal and its impact on viewers' perception?
camera obscura
-Projection of outside scene -First drawn, then captured on light-sensitive material -Room-sized then portable (eighteenth-century) camera obscura
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist (artwork)
-Recalls the impact of sound on the silent-film industry -Silent, black and white -Highly successful (won Oscar for Best Picture in 2011) -Shows how vividly actors can communicate through gesture and expression
Nadar, Sarah Bernhardt (artwork)
-Sarah Bernhardt was a famous actress -Nadar's style is straightforward; simple props (fabric, column) -Focuses attention on the sitter, highlighting her elegance and introspective personality
Alfred Stieglitz, The Steerage (artwork)
-Stieglitz actively promoted photography as a fine art medium -Shows the decks of a passenger ship; a composition of shapes and rhythms -Reminiscent of abstract paintings of that era
Recording Detail and Stopping Time
-Strengths of photography (according to Alfred Stieglitz) are its clarity and realism -Photography also has the ability to capture a fleeting moment in time honestly
Wong Kar-wai, Chungking Express (artwork)
-Tales of two Hong Kong police officers overlap; both involve transitioning romance -Wong's work is characterized by complicated narratives -Highlights the fast pace and isolation of contemporary life
Sinin' in the Rain (artwork)
-Tells the humorous story of a silent-film company transitioning to sound -Synchronizing sound with the actors' lip movements was a challenge initially, as songs had to be recorded separately
Muybridge, The Horse in Motion (artwork)
-To settle a wager, Muybridge photographed a horse running by using a line of twelve cameras -Proved what the human eye cannot see -A galloping horse has all its legs off the ground at once (underneath its body)
Abelado Morell Camera Obscura Image [...] (artwork)
-Turned an entire hotel room into a camera obscura -Projects an upside-down image of the Panthéon in Paris -Temporary until he took a picture of it
Film as Art: Experimental Films
-Use new technology or subject matter -Visually compelling and poetic, notable for their unusual content and idiosyncrasy -Low-budget formats -Innovative approaches (dream sequences, fantastic imagery)
Lewis Wickes Hine, Ten Year Old Spinner [...] (artwork)
-Used photography to expose the injustice of child labor -Impersonated a salesman, inspector, etc., to get access and record the dangerous working conditions and ages of children -Led to the establishment of new laws
What did stieglitz do for photography? How did stieglitz and Winogrand approach photography differently from Lux and Rejlander?
-stieglitz actively promoted photography as a fine art medium -stieglitz was struck by the composition of shapes and rhythms in the photograph -this composition seemed thoroughly modern and reminiscent of the abstract paintings of that era -to directly capture a fleeting moment in time -photographs to be serious and artistic with some room for interpretation on the viewer's part - Some contemporary artists prefer to focus on the strangeness of reality while others emphasize its fabricated nature
When did it become common for photographs to be collected in major fine arts museums?
1980s
What is the lest number of drawings that were required to create Spirited Away?
90,000
wet-plate collodion
A photographic process, developed around 1850, that allowed for short exposure times and quick development of the print.
Negative
A reversed image, in which light areas are dark, and dark areas are light.
What is a camera obscura
An early camera consisting of a large dark chamber with a lens opening through which an image is projected upside down onto the opposite surface in its natural colors
Animation and Special Effects
Animation: creates the illusion of movement -Still images are projected in sequence Special effects can be created by using models, props, or makeup during filming, or with digital technology
What still photographer's experimentations with photography (and settling a bet) were instrumental in the development of motion pictures because he observed that sequential images were perceived as fluid movement.
Eadweard Muybridge
baroque
European artistic and architectural style of the late sixteenth to early eighteenth century, characterized by extravagance and emotional intensity
Photographic portraits can never be poetic or introspective.
False
The visual effect created by a camera obscura can occur in any room, whether it is light or dark.
False
Introduction into Film Art
Of all the media chosen by artists, the moving image is one of the youngest and most widely used -Film -Video -Digital
Daguerreotype
One of the earliest forms of photography, invented by Louis Jacques Mande Daguerre in 1839, made on a copper plate polished with silver. -Discovered by Joseph Nicephore Niepce and Jaques-Mande Daguerre by accident -Used thin sheets of copper plated with photosensitive silver. -Could be exposed for about 30 minutes, and then be fixed with salt.
What does an artist do to make the process of using a mechanical device become artistic or on par with other two dimensional (like painting or printmaking) methods?
Oscar Gustav Rejlander (1813-1875) worked in a labor-intensive, time-consuming way, just as traditional artists do. By emulating the appearance and process of painting, Rejlander hoped his photographs would earn the respect that at the time was reserved for painting.
Orson Welles, Citizen Kane (artwork)
Revolutionary techniques -Fabricated newspaper headlines and flashbacks (now commonplace) -Dramatic lighting, innovative editing, natural sound, elaborate sets, moving camera shots, deep focus, low angles
What was the subject of the exhibition Here is New York, A Democracy of Photographs?
September 11, 2001
Calotype
The first photographic process to use a negative image, discovered by William Henry Fox Talbot. This could then be used to reproduce an unlimited number of prints. Formed the basis of photography today.
value
The lightness or darkness of a plane or area
Photojournalism
The use of photography to record major historical events. -The use of photography to tell a news story -Some of earliest examples date back to the Civil War -This medium was once thought to be inherently truthful, and even today credibility is crucial to news reportage
Shining a light through a film negative reverses the tones so that multiple positive prints can be made.
True
The mechanics of the camera are very similar to those of ________.
a human eye
postmodernism, postmodernist
a late 20th-century style of architecture and art that playfully adopts features of earlier styles and critically focuses on content
impressionist, impressionism
a late nineteenth-century painting style conveying the impression of the effects of light; Impressionists were artists working in this style
negative
a reversed image, in which light areas are dark and dark areas are light (opposite of a positive)
frame
a single image from the sequence that makes up a motion picture; on average, a 90-minute film contains 129,000 separate frames
photomontage
a single photographic image that combines (digitally or using multiple film exposures) several separate images
Tableau
a stationary scene arranged for artistic impact
RGB
additive system that mixes color based on the primary colors of light: red, green, and blue
developer
after an image has been recorded on light-sensitive film or photographic paper (usually in a camera), immersion in this liquid substance chemically transforms a latent (or invisible) image into a visible one
motion capture
also known as mo-cap or performance capture; technology developed to animate CGI characters by translating into a digital performance the live, exact motions of people or objects, using specially designed suits or equipment with sensors
what kinds of things do photographers do to play with and play up the artistic moment? Think about the examples Rejlander and Lux from the chapter.
although it may not look like it, Two Ways of Lif was made with thirty separate negatives, which were cut out like puzzle pieces. She takes pictures of her friends' children and then subtly manipulates the colors and proportions, making the subjects look as if they just stepped out of a fairytale. Lux's subtle use of digital technology, though, allowed her to alter certain attributes, such as scale and proportion, to create the effect she wanted.
Because the camera appears to capture an image of an event exactly as it occurred, viewers often believe that the resulting photograph is ______ record of events.
an absolutely accurate
zoetrope
an antique, European toy; contains a rotating cylinder with a sequence of images on the inside that creates the impression of a single action in continuous motion when spun
Positive
an image in which light areas are light and dark areas are dark.
form
an object that can be defined in three dimensions (height, width, and depth)
dada
anarchic anti-art and anti-war movement, dating back to World War I, that reveled in absurdity and irrationality
abstract
art imagery that departs from recognizable images from the natural world
propaganda
art that promotes an idealogy or cause
historical drama
based on real-life events or time periods; can be factual or fictionalized
collodion (wet plate) process
black and white darkroom photography process invented by Federick Scott Archer in 1850-51 and popular until the 1880s
A major benefit of the calotype process is that ________.
calotypes are negatives that can be readily reproduced
The ______ was an early form of camera.
camera obscura
Cyanotype
cameraless image
Cloud (the Cloud)
can refer to any electronic network; generally refer to any shared resources on the internet rather than local servers or devices for storage and computer applications
genre
category of artistic subject matter, often with a strongly influential history and tradition
subtractive color process
colors subtracted from white light by CMY dyes or pigmets; in photography light-sensitive film or paper absorbs the opposite colors of cyan, magenta, and yellow, dyes to create a negative image, reversed to make a positive print
What is a photomontage and how is this different from concepts of collage?
combination of text and images, like the image's title, is at once complex and apparently nonsensical. has meaning subverting that picture space by making a flat image with no prespective.
GIF (Graphics Interchange Format)
compressed image file type to reduce transfer time
CGI
computer-generated imagery
additive color process
creates colors by mixing RGB colors on a screen to create a direct positive print; same principle used in LED, LCD, plasma, and CRT video screens
soft focus
deliberate blurring of the edges or lack of sharp focus in a photograph or movie
Photography
derives from two Greek works, together meaning "drawing with light" -photos means "light" -graphein means "to draw"
autochrome
early additive color photography process patented by the Lumiere brothers in 1904 and primarily used from 1907 to the 1930s
hand-tint
early process for adding color to monochrome photographic products by adding pigment in a manner very much like painting
The most important difference between the photographic process invented by Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre and the process devised by William Henry Fox Talbot was that Talbot's images could be ______.
easily reproduced
Contemporary photographer Edward Burtynsky intends his Manufacturing series to make viewers think about human actions leading to ________.
environmental impact
puppet
figure in the form of an animal or person used for entertainment purposes that appears to move on its own but is actually controlled by a person's hand(s), strings, or another mechanism
stop-motion animation
figures, puppets, or dolls are photographed in a pose, moved very slightly, and then photographed again; the process is repeated until the desired sequence of movements has been acted out
When she made the photograph called Migrant Mother, Dorothea Lange:
first passed the pea-pickers' camp, but decided to turn back to take pictures
The American photographer Edward Weston focused closely on the subject of his Pepper No. 30, making the viewer concentrate on the ________ and ________ of the vegetable.
form . . . texture
auteur theory/auteur films
from the French word for "author," refers to films that notable reflect the director's creative vision above other criteria
2-D side scrolling game
gameplay is seen from a side-view camera angle with onscreen characters generally moving left to right and backgrounds made up of scrolling graphics
musical
genre of film in which the story is told through song, usually combined with dialogue and dancing
animation
genre of film made using stop-motion, hand-drawn, or digitally produced still images set into motion by showing them in sequence
SLR (a single lens reflex camera)
hand-held digital or film camera that uses a mirror and prism system so the focus screen matches the images captured
Paul Strand
helped to assign a new purpose for photography- straight photography. Did not try to imitate painting. Embraced abstraction.
Transparency
in film and photography, a positive image on film that visible when light is shone through it
A major benefit of the daguerreotype process is that ________.
it creates very detailed images
chromogenic (c-prints) prints
most widespread color process until digital prints; dyes couple with developers to create a negative image, reversed to make positive prints
The Steerage by Alfred Stieglitz depicts ________.
passengers on a steam ship
cyanotype
photographic process using light-sensitive iron salts that oxidize and produce a brilliant blue color where light penetrates and remain white where light is blocked; a variant of this process was used historically to copy architectural drawings
gelatin silver print process ( or silver gelatin)
process for making glossy black-and-white photographic prints in the darkroom based on silver halide gelatin emulsions
aesthetic
related to beauty, art, and taste
surreal
reminiscent of the Surrealist movement in the 1920s and later, whose art was inspired by dreams and the subconscious
The first cameras were ________.
room-sized
What is it called when a photographer chooses to make a photograph look candid and spontaneous?
snapshot aesthetic
pace
speed at which something moves; rhythmic flow of dialogue or action related to an overall scene or sequence
epic
style or genre in film/television that focuses on grand-scale storytelling with dramatic music, elaborate costumes, and high production values; may use historical events or people but does not focus on historical accuracy
key-frame animation
technique in which an animator creates important frames in the sequence, and software fills in the gaps
fixing
the chemical process used to ensure a photographic image becomes permanent
stroboscopic motion
the effect created when we see two or more repeated images in quick succession in such a way that they visually fuse together
color
the optical effect caused when reflected white light of the spectrum is divided into separate wavelengths
foreground
the part of a work depicted as nearest to the viewer
background
the part of a work depicted furthest from the veiwer's space, often behind the main subject matter
subject
the person, object, or space depicted in a work of art
CMY
the primary colors used in inkjet printing: cyan, magenta, and blue
rhythm
the regular or ordered repetition of elements in the work
proportion
the relationship in size between a work's individual parts and the whole piece
scale
the size of an object or an artwork relative to another object or artwork, or to a system of measurement
shape
the two-dimensional area the boundaries of which are defined by lines or suggested by changes in color or value
celluloid
tough, transparent plastic used to make motion- picture film, photographic film, and X-rays; until relatively recently most movies were filmed on celluloid
flashback
transition to an earlier time in a story that disrupts the chronological order of events
Photographs were only recently collected by fine art museums because for a long time they were considered by some not to be ______.
true forms of art
In order for photojournalistic news photos to be effective they need to be seen as ________.
truthful
atmospheric perspective
use shades of color and clarity to create the illusion of depth. Closer objects have warmer tones and clear outlines, while objects set further away are cooler and become lazy
What does the word "photograph" mean?
writing with light