The First Art Movements of Photography Pictorialism ‘The New Photography’

PICTORIALISM Pictorialism was an international photography movement during the later 19th and early 20th centuries. For the Pictorialist, a photographs should be like painting, printmaking or drawing. Pictorialists used elaborate printing techniques to make their photographs look like “art”

Julia Margaret Cameron was the inspiration for many Pictorialist artists. Julia Margaret Cameron, The Echo 1868

Gertrude Kasebier, Portrait of Evelyn Nesbit, 1902 Julia Margaret Cameron, The Echo 1868

Gertrude Kasebier, Blessed Art Thou Among Women. Platinum print 1899 Gertrude Kasebier, Miss N. Portrait of the actress Evelyn Nesbit, 1902

Gertrude Kasebier made highly symbolic pictures that were staged for the camera. This image depicts the Victorian ideals of motherhood and femininity. Gertrude Kasebier, Blessed Art Thou Among Women. Platinum print 1899

Edward Steichen, Torso, Paris photogravure

Edward Steichen, The Big White Cloud, Lake George, 1903 Edward Steichen, Torso, Paris photogravure

Edward Steichen, The Flatiron 1904 “This picture is a prime example of the conscious effort of photographers to assert the artistic potential of their medium”

Alvin Langdon Coburn was a Pictorialist photographer influenced by Impressionism and Japanese woodcut art. He used a telephoto lens to flatten perspective and make his compositions more graphic. His photographs were printed using the photogravure printmaking process which gave them a soft quality like prints or drawings. Alvin Langdon Coburn, from London 1910

Hiroshige, The 53 Stations of the Tokkaido Road, 1855

Hiroshige, The 53 Stations of the Tokkaido Road, 1855 Whistler, Nocturne in Black and Gold 1873

Alvin Langdon Coburn, from London 1910

In Pictorialism, even an industrial subject is made into a soft, dreamy art image. Harold Casneaux was Australia’s leading Pictorialist, and one of our greatest photographers. Harold Casneux, Steam and Sunshine, 1935

John Kaufmann, The Street Corner 1914

Jack Cato, Through a Collins Street Window

Alfred Stieglitz, The Steerage, 1907 This photograph has fascinated photographers for 100 years because it is so well designed and is so open to interpretation.

The madonna figure amongst the poor passengers in the bottom section gives the picture a symbolic quality. She resembles depictions of Mary, the mother of Christ. The bright gangplank separates the poorer steerage passengers below from the better-off ones above. This suggests the class divisions of society. Alfred Stieglitz, The Steerage, 1907

Its tight geometric structure and flattened depth predicts the coming of modernism and abstraction in photography. Alfred Stieglitz, The Steerage, 1907

The New Photography

THE NEW PHOTOGRAPHY In the 1920s and '30s unconventional new forms and techniques suddenly appeared in photography. -unusual camera angles -moving cameras and subjects -the use of small cameras, especially the Leica - new techniques such as photomontage and photogram This approach was promoted in the German Bauhaus school and in the Constructivist movement in Russia.

What is the subject of this photograph? Moholy-Nagy has photographed a park from a high angle, emphasizing its abstract qualities. Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, From the radio tower 1928

Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, abstract painting, 1922 Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, From the radio tower 1928

Boris Ignatovich, Construction Site, 1929 Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, From the radio tower 1928

Film and Foto, Exhibition poster 1929 Boris Ignatovich, Construction Site, 1929

Higher speed films were making faster shutter speeds possible. A high speed film in the 1920s was 100 ISO. Martin Munkacsi, Liberia, 1931

Willi Ruge, The Photographer, 1931 Small portable cameras like the new 35mm Leica, took photography into new situations.

Leica advertisement, c1930 Willi Ruge, The Photographer, 1931

Albert Renger-Patszch, Iron and Steel, book Industrial and architectural photography also reflected the aesthetic of The New Photography: clear, factual and well- designed

Albert Renger-Patszch, Iron and SteelAlbert Renger-Patszch

August Sander, Bricklayer, c1928 Portraiture changed from the romantic style of Pictorialism, to a more straight approach, called The New Objectivity. August Sander photographed in a simple, factual style, creating a cross- section of the German population through portraits.

One of the great portrait photographers was August Sander August Sander, Bricklayer, c1928 August Sander, Secretary, 1928

One of the great portrait photographers was August Sander August Sander, painter, 1928 August Sander, Secretary, 1928

August Sander, painter, 1928 August Sander, Soldier, 1936

The New Photography in Australia Max Dupain, Silos through Windscreen, 1935

The New Photography in Australia

Max Dupain, Silos through Windscreen, 1935Max Dupain, Pyrmont, 1935

Wolfgang Sievers continued the modernist aesthetic throughout his long career. He specialized in industrial photography Gears for Mining Industry, 1960

Sulphuric acid plant Hobart, 1959

Contemporary Photographers

Rocky Schenk, Nine Trees, 1998

Rocky Schenk, Winter, Central Park, 2002

Rocky Schenk, Promenade, 2003

Rocky Schenk, Holland Park, 1997

Barbara Kasten builds abstract studio constructions which echo the avant- garde photography and painting of the 1920s. She photographs the constructions and makes large exhibition prints. Barbara Kasten, Construct LB-4, 1982

Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, painting 1922 Barbara Kasten, Construct LB-4, 1982

Florence Henri, still life photograph, 1930 Barbara Kasten, Construct LB-4, 1982

Barbara Kasten, Construct XI-A, 1981Barbara Kasten, Construct LB-4, 1982

Barbara Kasten, Studio Construct 59, 2008 Barbara Kasten, Construct LB-4, 1982

Barbara Kasten, Studio Construct 59, 2008 Barbara Kasten, Studio Construct 8, 2007