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A.Miguel Oliveira
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| Country: | Portugal  |
| City: | Porto |
| Registered: | July 30th, 2007 |
| Num of photos: | 530 |
| Age: | 55 |
| Selected as fav: | 207 |
| Photogear: | Canon EOS 7D, Canon EOS 20D, old Canon F-1, EOS-3 and 5. Compacts: Canon G12 and Leica D-Lux 3 |
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Photography from the Classics -
Posted by A.Miguel Oliveira on February 5th, 2009 | 28 comments | 686 views
#2 - 05.02.2009
Try to guess the author's name till next Sunday (maybe also the decade it was taken), when I'll reveal his/her name .
You may post your guess since now!. New suggestion: if you are convinced you really guessed, please let the master's name initials, instead, for others to go on trying! Thanks.
I decided to post 3 pics from each photographer to show different views from himself, and to make it easier to guess.
You may choose, also, to make some comments on the pic itself, both in a "woophyan" way as you do in your comments [don't hesitate to criticize a Master, for bad or good;)], or in a more general point of view, if you like. Thanks and enjoy!
Time for revelation:
All the photographs come from the Hungarian/American Master, André Kertész!
1. Chez Mondrian (At Mondrian's) _ 1926
2. Distortion #40 _ 1936
3. Wandering Violinist _ 1921
Now, a small biography I organized about André Kertész and some Quotes from himself:
"I am still hungry." - André Kertész
(included in his obituary)
Mr. Kertész was known for his drive and enthusiasm. At 90, he produced a portfolio of new pictures and showed it to the photographer Susan May Tell. When she asked him what it was that kept him working, he replied this way!
"Everybody can look, but they don't necessarily see". and
“Seeing is not enough; you have to feel what you photograph”. - André Kertész
“Everything is a subject. Every subject has a rhythm. To feel it is the raison d'être (reason of being). The photograph is a fixed moment of such a raison d'être, which lives on in itself”. - André Kertész
“Born with photographic feeling”. - André Kertész - (describing himself and other artists of his age, like White, Stieglitz, Käsebier, Alvarez-Bravo)
ANDRÉ KERTÉSZ
(1894-1985)
André Kertész was one of the major photographers of all time. He made his mark on different kinds of photography, bringing new meaning to documentary photography and as an art form. He was born in Budapest 1894 and died in New York 1985.
We can find three periods along his working life as a photographer:
Hungary (1912 - 1925): André Kertész was born Andor Kertész (changed his first name to André at the age of 2), to the middle-class jewish family of Lipót Kertész, a bookseller, and his wife, Ernesztin Hoffmann. As a young student of commerce, Kertész bought his first camera in 1912 and made his first photograph while working as a clerk at the Budapest stock exchange in 1912. Those were years of amateur snapshot photography. He photographed people he met by chance and those he knew well, places he frequented. He set out to look at the world and contemplate it with the greatest attention and respect. At first he would explore, innovation was to follow.
Paris (1925 - 1936): In 1925 André Kertész moved to Paris and began a career as a freelance photographer. There the young transplant, speaking little French, took to the streets, wandering, observing, and developing his intimate approach to image making. He also met and began to photograph other artists, including Brassaï and Chagall, and members of the Dada Movement. One of them dubbed him "Brother Seeing Eye", an allusion to a medieval monastery where all the monks were blind except one. In the same way as he had roamed the Budapest countryside, he walked in the streets of Paris. As he was stimulated by the ideas of artists around him, his pictures became less sentimental and more sophisticated. Paris was to shape his way of seeing forever. He became the first photographer ever to have a one-man show in 1927.
New York (1936 - 1985): André Kertész, together with his wife Elizabeth, came by boat to New York 1936. It was intended to be a short stay but World War II came in between. In New York Kertész became a freelancing photographer for "Harper's Bazaar", "Vogue" and "Look". He became a master of straddling both worlds of fashion photography and of mirroring the fragile evolving nature of all human experience. He also earned his living photographing architecture and interiors for magazines such as House and Garden. However, his personal photographic style did not mesh well with the straightforward fashion photography the American public (and magazines) expected. He continued to exhibit his individual work as best he could but his reputation slowly faded, and he became disillusioned. Kertész then had a solo show at the Museum of Modern Art in 1964 which relaunched his career and reputation. He caught the mood of the times and became something of an elder statesman to the photographers of the late 1960s and early 1970s. By the mid-1970s he was showing his work in galleries all over the world. He continued working very productively into old age, and was experimenting with instant Polaroid photography shortly before he died. His legacy can be seen in the work of a great number of other seminal photographers, including Cartier-Bresson. Perhaps more obviously, his nude distortions also had a huge impact on the work of latter photographers like Bill Brandt.
Although Kertész rarely received bad reviews, it was the lack of them which lead to the photographer feeling distant from recognition. Now however, he is often considered to be the father of photojournalism. Even other photographers cite Kertész and his photographs as being inspirational; Henri Cartier-Bresson once said of him in the early 1930s, "We all owe him a great deal".
Kertész is now recognized as one of the seminal figures of photojournalism.
Text organized by me, A.Miguel Oliveira, with some extracts from Wikipedia, Profotos.com, Explore Photography.
[not ever Wikipedia has articles to be trusted, but this one on Kertész is very interesting and long enough. Please see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andre_Kertesz ]
Some extra photos from A.Kertész:
4. Satyric Dancer_1926
5. Martinique_1972
6. Circus Budapest, Hungary_1920
7. Le viaduc de Meudon_1928
8. Lost Cloud_1937
9. Underwater Swimmer_1928
10. La Fourchette (The Fork)_1928
I really have no time, now, for some more comments I want to make to his work, mainly what matters the pics I choose to post. I'm sorry for that. It took me a couple of hours to post all this. This way, I'll change my initial project for once a week (sundays or mondays). Being so, I will come back here (A.Kertész), not to deceive all those who really enjoyed this post. I'll make my comments to these photos during this week.
A quick tip: The "underwater swimmer" (#9) was the inspiration for the series "Distortions"... The "real" was photographed. Not the women but the mirror! (still so much to be said;))
Well, now (in a few more minutes), a new Master in a new post ;).
See U!
Try to guess the author's name till next Sunday (maybe also the decade it was taken), when I'll reveal his/her name .
You may post your guess since now!. New suggestion: if you are convinced you really guessed, please let the master's name initials, instead, for others to go on trying! Thanks.
I decided to post 3 pics from each photographer to show different views from himself, and to make it easier to guess.
You may choose, also, to make some comments on the pic itself, both in a "woophyan" way as you do in your comments [don't hesitate to criticize a Master, for bad or good;)], or in a more general point of view, if you like. Thanks and enjoy!
Time for revelation:
All the photographs come from the Hungarian/American Master, André Kertész!
1. Chez Mondrian (At Mondrian's) _ 1926
2. Distortion #40 _ 1936
3. Wandering Violinist _ 1921
Now, a small biography I organized about André Kertész and some Quotes from himself:
"I am still hungry." - André Kertész
(included in his obituary)
Mr. Kertész was known for his drive and enthusiasm. At 90, he produced a portfolio of new pictures and showed it to the photographer Susan May Tell. When she asked him what it was that kept him working, he replied this way!
"Everybody can look, but they don't necessarily see". and
“Seeing is not enough; you have to feel what you photograph”. - André Kertész
“Everything is a subject. Every subject has a rhythm. To feel it is the raison d'être (reason of being). The photograph is a fixed moment of such a raison d'être, which lives on in itself”. - André Kertész
“Born with photographic feeling”. - André Kertész - (describing himself and other artists of his age, like White, Stieglitz, Käsebier, Alvarez-Bravo)
ANDRÉ KERTÉSZ
(1894-1985)
André Kertész was one of the major photographers of all time. He made his mark on different kinds of photography, bringing new meaning to documentary photography and as an art form. He was born in Budapest 1894 and died in New York 1985.
We can find three periods along his working life as a photographer:
Hungary (1912 - 1925): André Kertész was born Andor Kertész (changed his first name to André at the age of 2), to the middle-class jewish family of Lipót Kertész, a bookseller, and his wife, Ernesztin Hoffmann. As a young student of commerce, Kertész bought his first camera in 1912 and made his first photograph while working as a clerk at the Budapest stock exchange in 1912. Those were years of amateur snapshot photography. He photographed people he met by chance and those he knew well, places he frequented. He set out to look at the world and contemplate it with the greatest attention and respect. At first he would explore, innovation was to follow.
Paris (1925 - 1936): In 1925 André Kertész moved to Paris and began a career as a freelance photographer. There the young transplant, speaking little French, took to the streets, wandering, observing, and developing his intimate approach to image making. He also met and began to photograph other artists, including Brassaï and Chagall, and members of the Dada Movement. One of them dubbed him "Brother Seeing Eye", an allusion to a medieval monastery where all the monks were blind except one. In the same way as he had roamed the Budapest countryside, he walked in the streets of Paris. As he was stimulated by the ideas of artists around him, his pictures became less sentimental and more sophisticated. Paris was to shape his way of seeing forever. He became the first photographer ever to have a one-man show in 1927.
New York (1936 - 1985): André Kertész, together with his wife Elizabeth, came by boat to New York 1936. It was intended to be a short stay but World War II came in between. In New York Kertész became a freelancing photographer for "Harper's Bazaar", "Vogue" and "Look". He became a master of straddling both worlds of fashion photography and of mirroring the fragile evolving nature of all human experience. He also earned his living photographing architecture and interiors for magazines such as House and Garden. However, his personal photographic style did not mesh well with the straightforward fashion photography the American public (and magazines) expected. He continued to exhibit his individual work as best he could but his reputation slowly faded, and he became disillusioned. Kertész then had a solo show at the Museum of Modern Art in 1964 which relaunched his career and reputation. He caught the mood of the times and became something of an elder statesman to the photographers of the late 1960s and early 1970s. By the mid-1970s he was showing his work in galleries all over the world. He continued working very productively into old age, and was experimenting with instant Polaroid photography shortly before he died. His legacy can be seen in the work of a great number of other seminal photographers, including Cartier-Bresson. Perhaps more obviously, his nude distortions also had a huge impact on the work of latter photographers like Bill Brandt.
Although Kertész rarely received bad reviews, it was the lack of them which lead to the photographer feeling distant from recognition. Now however, he is often considered to be the father of photojournalism. Even other photographers cite Kertész and his photographs as being inspirational; Henri Cartier-Bresson once said of him in the early 1930s, "We all owe him a great deal".
Kertész is now recognized as one of the seminal figures of photojournalism.
Text organized by me, A.Miguel Oliveira, with some extracts from Wikipedia, Profotos.com, Explore Photography.
[not ever Wikipedia has articles to be trusted, but this one on Kertész is very interesting and long enough. Please see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andre_Kertesz ]
Some extra photos from A.Kertész:
4. Satyric Dancer_1926
5. Martinique_1972
6. Circus Budapest, Hungary_1920
7. Le viaduc de Meudon_1928
8. Lost Cloud_1937
9. Underwater Swimmer_1928
10. La Fourchette (The Fork)_1928
I really have no time, now, for some more comments I want to make to his work, mainly what matters the pics I choose to post. I'm sorry for that. It took me a couple of hours to post all this. This way, I'll change my initial project for once a week (sundays or mondays). Being so, I will come back here (A.Kertész), not to deceive all those who really enjoyed this post. I'll make my comments to these photos during this week.
A quick tip: The "underwater swimmer" (#9) was the inspiration for the series "Distortions"... The "real" was photographed. Not the women but the mirror! (still so much to be said;))
Well, now (in a few more minutes), a new Master in a new post ;).
See U!
Comments
# posted by Leonor Lapa on February 9th, 2009 8:08 pm
Thanks again Miguel, GREAT WORK!!!
Jean Dieuzaide allowed me to know Kertész in Toulouse (see the gallery he offered to the city on my 693129).
thanks, Miguel, for adding "La fourchette", one of my favourite pics of A.K ! and, have a look on 238371 by BlackMind : its title could be " The spoon" :)
i agree with Virginia about Modigliani ( i am fond of this painter and "ceci explique peut-être cela" ! )
about "at Mondrian", now this building let its place to an UGLY tower , Montparnasse tower ( i don't remember who said the best place in Paris is INSIDE this tower because it's the only place where you can't see it !!! )
bravo for this very interesting biography but no bravo to Porto FC who just got 1/1 :)))))) ; obviously, they missed their most fervent supporter, too busy on Woophy :)
thanks, Miguel, for adding "La fourchette", one of my favourite pics of A.K ! and, have a look on 238371 by BlackMind : its title could be " The spoon" :)
i agree with Virginia about Modigliani ( i am fond of this painter and "ceci explique peut-être cela" ! )
about "at Mondrian", now this building let its place to an UGLY tower , Montparnasse tower ( i don't remember who said the best place in Paris is INSIDE this tower because it's the only place where you can't see it !!! )
bravo for this very interesting biography but no bravo to Porto FC who just got 1/1 :)))))) ; obviously, they missed their most fervent supporter, too busy on Woophy :)
# posted by A.Miguel Oliveira on February 9th, 2009 1:17 am
José, Kertész must be considered the less pretentious Master of all ;). And the 1st pic must be one of the most known pics of the XX century, at Mondrian atelier, and... well, advancing my own opinion (not better than yours, just different;)), just one of my favs, ever! I see that I have to extend the bio for tomorrow (please give me a 48h day;))), I even have no time for comments on woophy members nor to post my own), it is just an amazing one. Well, ok, let me add: A.Kertész stays, at least, at my top 3 photographers of all times! It was his big exposition in Portugal, in Braga (Biscaínhos Museum, 09.05.93), that make me look at him as the big Master! I also remember another great expo at Arles, France, (after 3 times watching them, between the late 80's and 2000, I really miss the "old" mood at Arles), and he stayed forever in my heart and soul! Hope to be able to make a concise but interesting mini-biography tomorrow;)
my prefered :third - not pretensious as first one.
about second the secret is with hands - that´s the erotical element and from where speech begins about
about second the secret is with hands - that´s the erotical element and from where speech begins about
I've read about Pic 2 that André Kertesz has a so-called Distortion period. He even used distorting mirrors to capture his models. I read no explanation about this precise pic, but it seems a little speculative to interpret the position or the condition of the woman - her skinny body - as due to anything but his own wish to shock or to differentiate himself from othe classic photographers.
He suffered the influence of painters and art currents of the time, such as surrealism and Dadaism. Someone says in his biography - and I found it a coincidence - that his women resemble those of Modigliani as I had noticed below.
He's a fascinating photographer and I look forward to reading what Miguel has got in store for us.
Have a nice week.
He suffered the influence of painters and art currents of the time, such as surrealism and Dadaism. Someone says in his biography - and I found it a coincidence - that his women resemble those of Modigliani as I had noticed below.
He's a fascinating photographer and I look forward to reading what Miguel has got in store for us.
Have a nice week.
# posted by A.Miguel Oliveira on February 8th, 2009 11:27 pm
Thank you, Paolo, for your participation! Never mind, you guessed and this one was the last day, so... that's alright, no stree;). Thank you Sérgio, I really think your try could only be the only one to be thought about, too. Funny, I almost was to post Bill Brandt this time;)). Well, it's André Kertész, indeed, the right answer! Tomorrow, by noon, I hope to post his biography, some 3 or 4 extra pics, and the new Master. (today I'm already too tired for it... football matters... yes, Virgínia;))). Till tomorrow!
Paolo is right, I think the photographer was Bill Brandt...my mistake.
Poor Miguel.....people do not read the rules and come up with the name before he returns from his Sunday drive!! Well, next time rules but be sent to every woophian personally!!
And now important things: GO FCP- destroy the eagles in this foggy night. They won't see a thing and you already know the place by heart! GGGGGGGGOOOOOOOOFCP!
And now important things: GO FCP- destroy the eagles in this foggy night. They won't see a thing and you already know the place by heart! GGGGGGGGOOOOOOOOFCP!
# posted by paolo la farina on February 8th, 2009 6:44 pm
Sorry Miguel! Only now I saw no duty to disclose the name! I apologize to everyone! I'm sorry! :(
# posted by paolo la farina on February 8th, 2009 6:30 pm
Miguel.. I know! He is Andrè Kertész (1894-1985)... :)
It's right?
paolo
It's right?
paolo
O Sorry for this bad helps....
# posted by A.Miguel Oliveira on February 8th, 2009 5:04 pm
Thank you again, Sérgio, for your participation again!
Oops,I'm sorry to have said "not yet found"!!!;))). I really didn't read well the post from La Rafale! I read her first word as a mistake in the "OK" expression! The dots were missing after each letter so I misunderstood what she wanted to say! This said, of course also Virgínia is right, for sure! Not this time Sérgio (3.1416) has guessed, though I know who he means. Indeed, there are many similarities with some of both masters;). Mainly with those surrealistic pics of distortions;). So, the name is A.K.! At 11.30 pm I'll reveal it, even if I have no time to post his/her biography before tomorrow by noon. See you!
Oops,I'm sorry to have said "not yet found"!!!;))). I really didn't read well the post from La Rafale! I read her first word as a mistake in the "OK" expression! The dots were missing after each letter so I misunderstood what she wanted to say! This said, of course also Virgínia is right, for sure! Not this time Sérgio (3.1416) has guessed, though I know who he means. Indeed, there are many similarities with some of both masters;). Mainly with those surrealistic pics of distortions;). So, the name is A.K.! At 11.30 pm I'll reveal it, even if I have no time to post his/her biography before tomorrow by noon. See you!
I don't think so, Miguel. The author was born in Hungary. I read a lot about the period in which he photographed the 2nd pic and it actually has a name correponding to the type of women he captured and how he did it. But I don't want to add anything else otherwise it will take the suspense of discovering the real photographer. I love this challenge....I learn a lot and I want to learn more....:)
Second help.
@Virginia, the second image in one of the most important image-style from this master. In the first years this photographer was influence for surrealism (Man Ray and others).
@Virginia, the second image in one of the most important image-style from this master. In the first years this photographer was influence for surrealism (Man Ray and others).
Small help, the photograper born in Germany but is know like british master photographer.
I already know who the photographer is, but I'm not going to write it down. The initials gave me the possibility of searching and we find everything on the net these days. It's been an hour since I wrote my comment. Now I know part of the story, but not much about the pics themselves. Can you give us more details about n0. 2. It intrigues me although I know the name of the pic already.
Sleep well.
Sleep well.
I would like to comment on the photos, which I find completely different from each other, and all of them quite interesting. I agree with someone who said the two first have resemblances with painting and could be used as models : the first "still life with a vase of flowers", the game of contrasts, light and dark, some mystery , a passage dimly lit leading to nowhere, a round staircase ( caracol) going down and the table with this vase with a flower looking artificial, a piece of furniture so lonely in this minimalist environment. Black and white convey some intimity.
The 2nd pic makes me really curious. Both interpretations, SJS or Abílio's are possible. The lady reminds me of Modigliani's models, all so skinny and long as if they were going to stretch themselves into the void. The photo attracts me and the position of her hands is extremely dramatic. She seems to be asking for mercy. But she could also be posing as the she was asked to. I like this photo a lot.
The 3rd one looks different to me, it's not so ecstatic, it reminds me of neo-realistic pictures, Italian or Portuguese, films of the 40s. I can't see it well - it's too small - but the man could be a gypsy playing the mandoline on the street. The children are so different from each othr, one is blonde, the other dark, do they belong to the same father, I wonder...
As for the photographer, he's a mystery to me...but curiosity killed the cat...so I'll wait until saturday!!
Thanks for sharing.
The 2nd pic makes me really curious. Both interpretations, SJS or Abílio's are possible. The lady reminds me of Modigliani's models, all so skinny and long as if they were going to stretch themselves into the void. The photo attracts me and the position of her hands is extremely dramatic. She seems to be asking for mercy. But she could also be posing as the she was asked to. I like this photo a lot.
The 3rd one looks different to me, it's not so ecstatic, it reminds me of neo-realistic pictures, Italian or Portuguese, films of the 40s. I can't see it well - it's too small - but the man could be a gypsy playing the mandoline on the street. The children are so different from each othr, one is blonde, the other dark, do they belong to the same father, I wonder...
As for the photographer, he's a mystery to me...but curiosity killed the cat...so I'll wait until saturday!!
Thanks for sharing.
# posted by A.Miguel Oliveira on February 7th, 2009 10:24 pm
Thank you Paulo and TGB. Not yet found ;). See you tomorrow late at night with the answer (or monday by 11 a.m. if I am too late tomorrow). Oh, a small help: the photographer changed his nationality ;)
The photographs seem to me to have a painterly touch - as if they were taken/prepared for another purpose.
I wonder if the photographer was a great painter early in his/her career; P.C. perhaps?
TGB
I wonder if the photographer was a great painter early in his/her career; P.C. perhaps?
TGB
# posted by paulo.trindade on February 7th, 2009 3:54 pm
I don't know the name of the photographer. ...maybe next week...hahaha...but fantastic photos well chose.
# posted by A.Miguel Oliveira on February 6th, 2009 8:55 pm
Thank you, Sérgio! Next... Sunday ;)
Hello again, I think this pictures are from the german photographer B.B. , see you the saturday with the correct answers.
# posted by A.Miguel Oliveira on February 6th, 2009 6:59 pm
Thank you Jan, Abílio, Stewart and La Rafale!
You're really helping to build this photo-blog up! It's wonderful to read your comments, to discover new visions, to realize the contrast of our visions, of our understanding of art! We must not forget we are looking at some pics from some of the greatest Masters of Photography! Neverthless, we are able to criticize, both liking or disliking their work, what's a great exercise of "watching", "feeling", "expressing"! I wish I had less work at school to get still deeper inside this new blog (my first ever, anywhere!). Organizing the small biographies is a though task! But... I like it;). I have now even less moments to make comments to pics, but I try to see as much as I can, even if I don't make so many comments (nor rating, without those...). Answering to Stewart about decades, by now I only tell you that 2 pics come from the same decade (beginning and middle) and another one from the "next" decade (middle;)). Does it help?;).
It's a pity we (every man and woman in this world) can't read and write in Esperanto, so more members could participate, but, by know, I'm pleased with the participation! Thank you all! Keep going till next Sunday night;)
You're really helping to build this photo-blog up! It's wonderful to read your comments, to discover new visions, to realize the contrast of our visions, of our understanding of art! We must not forget we are looking at some pics from some of the greatest Masters of Photography! Neverthless, we are able to criticize, both liking or disliking their work, what's a great exercise of "watching", "feeling", "expressing"! I wish I had less work at school to get still deeper inside this new blog (my first ever, anywhere!). Organizing the small biographies is a though task! But... I like it;). I have now even less moments to make comments to pics, but I try to see as much as I can, even if I don't make so many comments (nor rating, without those...). Answering to Stewart about decades, by now I only tell you that 2 pics come from the same decade (beginning and middle) and another one from the "next" decade (middle;)). Does it help?;).
It's a pity we (every man and woman in this world) can't read and write in Esperanto, so more members could participate, but, by know, I'm pleased with the participation! Thank you all! Keep going till next Sunday night;)
AK ;
my "woophian comment " would have been : "very special and disturbing atmosphere in those 3 pics ; you wanted to create something different and you reached your choice so, yes, it's an efficient work but .... why so small? ( this is my obsession: i like to see enlarged :)))
my "woophian comment " would have been : "very special and disturbing atmosphere in those 3 pics ; you wanted to create something different and you reached your choice so, yes, it's an efficient work but .... why so small? ( this is my obsession: i like to see enlarged :)))
Hmm, a fascinating new trio! As Jan, I have no idea who the photographer is, but I am concentrating fully on the examples you have exposed. At this stage, I am actually more interested in the "When?", then the "Who?". Possibly 1920s, but I wouldn't be surprised if earlier. Circa, 1905-1920. Do you choose your examples from the same decade, or different? Important to know.
#1, a B/W still-life, makes it unusual from today's Digital + Ph.Shop/Picasa, etc. perspective. This & #2, I think, both have to be considered in comparison with schools of painting, as I would guess there was more comparison, & increasing rivalry, 100 years ago. Liight/shadow, perpendicularity. A kind of "normal", bland, lower middle-class edge-of-poverty, but looking up.
#2...Difficult. It can't fail to make a strong impact. Jan, I'm not surprised that you don't find any beauty there. If you will allow me to say, I think the problem is in the words we use too easily, which then distort the concepts behind them. I've often thought "What does it mean in woophy? The NUC and the annual version automatically sticks "Most Beautiful" in the title, when "Strongest", or Best" would simply be a better, more accurate title.
If this 'experimental', surreal shot is from pre-World War 2, then it is clairvoyant of what too many bodies would look like, thanks to the Nazis, in the 1940s. Or Ethiopia 1980s, Balkans 1990s. How can we use the word, 'beautiful'? It conflicts with our concept. This pic is shocking, exploitative, because the 'model' seems to represent deprivation, poverty, losing. The Great Depression, late-1920s? This is me being subjective - not right nor wrong. Beauty? An image can be both beautiful and ugly at the same time. Was the World Trade Centre bautiful or ugly? You pays your money, you takes your choice.
#3, together with #2, have incredibly contemporary messages for the economic crisis unfolding today. "3 speaks of a world where people are abandoned, without work & must do whatever they can to fight for survival. Eloquent. Few of us in developed societies have ever seen children with bare feet, but our grandparents (& maybe our parents) would have remembered. Could be Italy, but not sure. Circa 1910? And today, in Western Europe at least, what parents would allow their 2 or 3 year-old to wander alone on a street of earth? Or in a shpping centre? Another world....or is it? Everyday street-life in a past age.
Once again, Mig, you bring us a photographer not afraid to point his camera at everything and anything in front of him.
The important thing is to react to art, not to be indifferent to it, or only look for "beauty".
Sorry I wrote so much (when I should be worrying about how to pay the rent), but I am reacting to your great, excellent challenge. Thanks!
#1, a B/W still-life, makes it unusual from today's Digital + Ph.Shop/Picasa, etc. perspective. This & #2, I think, both have to be considered in comparison with schools of painting, as I would guess there was more comparison, & increasing rivalry, 100 years ago. Liight/shadow, perpendicularity. A kind of "normal", bland, lower middle-class edge-of-poverty, but looking up.
#2...Difficult. It can't fail to make a strong impact. Jan, I'm not surprised that you don't find any beauty there. If you will allow me to say, I think the problem is in the words we use too easily, which then distort the concepts behind them. I've often thought "What does it mean in woophy? The NUC and the annual version automatically sticks "Most Beautiful" in the title, when "Strongest", or Best" would simply be a better, more accurate title.
If this 'experimental', surreal shot is from pre-World War 2, then it is clairvoyant of what too many bodies would look like, thanks to the Nazis, in the 1940s. Or Ethiopia 1980s, Balkans 1990s. How can we use the word, 'beautiful'? It conflicts with our concept. This pic is shocking, exploitative, because the 'model' seems to represent deprivation, poverty, losing. The Great Depression, late-1920s? This is me being subjective - not right nor wrong. Beauty? An image can be both beautiful and ugly at the same time. Was the World Trade Centre bautiful or ugly? You pays your money, you takes your choice.
#3, together with #2, have incredibly contemporary messages for the economic crisis unfolding today. "3 speaks of a world where people are abandoned, without work & must do whatever they can to fight for survival. Eloquent. Few of us in developed societies have ever seen children with bare feet, but our grandparents (& maybe our parents) would have remembered. Could be Italy, but not sure. Circa 1910? And today, in Western Europe at least, what parents would allow their 2 or 3 year-old to wander alone on a street of earth? Or in a shpping centre? Another world....or is it? Everyday street-life in a past age.
Once again, Mig, you bring us a photographer not afraid to point his camera at everything and anything in front of him.
The important thing is to react to art, not to be indifferent to it, or only look for "beauty".
Sorry I wrote so much (when I should be worrying about how to pay the rent), but I am reacting to your great, excellent challenge. Thanks!
# posted by Abílio Silveira on February 6th, 2009 12:53 pm
I see things in a different way from Jan's. Which is a good thing.
1. An allegory to the need of wisdom, of catching the few light that comes into one's life, of not letting an opportunity escape? The shadows/ignorance as a counterbalance to the lights/knowledge?
2. I see a prostitute with an altered self-image of her body, probably devastated by the use she's obliged to give to it. The only part that remains "normal" are her hands trying to protect her pubis from being "invaded".
3. The least intersting of the three (sorry, Jan, just my oppinion): in the time the picture was taken, this kind of scene should be perfectly normal, a snapshot of life (Paula C understands this expression); if it was taken nowadays, we could wander about the mysery and the differences of opportunities...
Finally, I don't know the name of the photographer.
1. An allegory to the need of wisdom, of catching the few light that comes into one's life, of not letting an opportunity escape? The shadows/ignorance as a counterbalance to the lights/knowledge?
2. I see a prostitute with an altered self-image of her body, probably devastated by the use she's obliged to give to it. The only part that remains "normal" are her hands trying to protect her pubis from being "invaded".
3. The least intersting of the three (sorry, Jan, just my oppinion): in the time the picture was taken, this kind of scene should be perfectly normal, a snapshot of life (Paula C understands this expression); if it was taken nowadays, we could wander about the mysery and the differences of opportunities...
Finally, I don't know the name of the photographer.
# posted by Jan Hemels on February 6th, 2009 9:54 am
Error: Started with nr. 2
# posted by Jan Hemels on February 6th, 2009 9:53 am
What strikes me first of course is photo nr. My first reaction was I do not like it. Even after thoroughly looking at it I do not change my opinion. Thhe body is represented in a far from esthetical way and the hands are in an unusual position. Maybe its composition is symbolic but personally I have difficulty finding the beauty of it.
Nr. 1 uses the incoming light in a beautiful way but the doorpost on the right is detrimental to the compo as I see it. I do not get excited over it.
Nr. 3 is a scene that pleases me most a daily life scene common in the 1930's in Europe, childeren on bare feet, streets without cover and a street musician accompanied by his son who should be at school, perhaps. A time story in its simplicity and for me by far the best of the three!
I hope you do not agree with me!
Still having no idea whom to thank for it!
Nr. 1 uses the incoming light in a beautiful way but the doorpost on the right is detrimental to the compo as I see it. I do not get excited over it.
Nr. 3 is a scene that pleases me most a daily life scene common in the 1930's in Europe, childeren on bare feet, streets without cover and a street musician accompanied by his son who should be at school, perhaps. A time story in its simplicity and for me by far the best of the three!
I hope you do not agree with me!
Still having no idea whom to thank for it!