(EP) Historical Subject & Styles in Photography Lesson

Photography_LessonTopBanner.png Historical Subject & Styles in Photography

It's Historical!

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Photography was invented in 1839. Prior to this, painting and sculpture were the major mediums of the art world. Though the image the camera created was valued, no real value was really given to the camera operator – Photography existed as a scientific and commercial commodity. It created a thing, but that thing was not considered art. It didn’t take long for artists to take up the medium of photography and begin pushing for its acceptance in the art world.

Art Movements

This lesson is all about the major artistic movements photography has been a part of. An art movement is defined by similarities in the art – a common style, philosophy, or goal. Sometimes this is agreed upon by a group of artists at the time of creation, and sometimes it develops more organically and is classified later by art historians observing history.

In this lesson, you will

        • Explore – Explore the major artistic movements of photography. You will learn about several movements, their characteristics, and the artist involved.
        • Challenge - Test your new knowledge! Identify the characteristics of each movement and the artists involved.
        • Application – Take what you’ve learned and create your own artwork in the style of one of these movements.

 

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Photography is Old!

In Photography’s 180 year history it has been used in a variety of ways:

“as a means of artistic expression, as a tool for science and exploration; as an instrument of documentation; to tell stories and record histories; and as a mode of communication and critique in our ever-increasingly visual culture.”

Photography has been a part of many modern and contemporary art movements and there are even some photography-specific movements. For the purposes of this microlesson we’re going to focus on 3 photo-specific art movements: Pictorialism, Straight or Naturalistic Photography, and Photo-Succession.

Watch the presentation below and be sure to take notes on each movement including its characteristics and the photographers involved.

Photographic Art Movements Presentation

 

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PHOTO_THEAPPLICATION.pngChoose a simple subject and use your cell phone to create two versions:

  1. Pictorialism photograph
  2. Straight photograph

Think about how each fits in its respective movement.

Use one of the example subjects below or choose your own!

Example subjects:

  • Self-Portrait
  • Lunch
  • Pet Portrait
  • Home
  • Feet
  • Nature
  • Landscape
  • Pattern

 

Photography_LessonBottomBanner.png IMAGES CREATED BY GAVS