Postmodernism

The Postmodern era was generally referred to as the significant shift in attitude away from the certainties of the Modernist idea which was based on progress. It developed from the end of Modernism which was roughly 1960, and from there created a new way of thinking from reacting to the rules of Modernism. Completely opposing the movement of Modernism it has no rules, the Postmodern era is based on parody, pastiche, irony and bricolage. Celebrating what might otherwise be known as Kitsch and collapsing the distinction between high culture and popular culture. Its aesthetic is that of complexity, far from the Modernist aesthetic which was based on simplicity. Postmodernism constantly questions the conventions set up by Modernism with a multiplicity of styles and approaches. Its themes explored the ideas of double coding, borrowing or quoting from a number of historical styles. Instead of creating art that celebrated beauty the Postmodernist idea was to make a comment on the unremarkable.  In Modernist photography it celebrated the idea of showing the beauty and simplicity in reality, Postmodernism put aside this notion. Instead it looked at how the photograph can lie, and mislead the viewer into believing that the interpretation of reality is honest. Mary Warner Marion questions in 'The Postmodernist View' that "While it once seemed that pictures had the function of interpreting reality, it now seems that they have usurped it."
 In a photographic sense Postmodernism put forward the idea of giving all and nothing, asking the viewer to create their own narrative instead of being given one. Gregory Crewdson's photograph 'Untitled' (Ophelia from Twilight) 2001, puts forward a 21st century Ophelia based on Millet's original pre-raphaelite painting. The style of the image is like a film still, its carefully lighted and staged in a way which makes it beyond the ordinary but however believable. Crewdson allows the viewer to indulge in clues to the narrative of the image. We can tell that this image is full of tragedy, could it be a murder scene? or is it a bizarre case of suicide? These questions are put forward to the viewer to try and discover what the story is behind this image. However in a typical Postmodern style this image has no ending, it is up to the viewer to make their own sense of it.

'Pure and Straight Photography' Edward Weston, 'Pepper, 1929'

  At first glance this image takes almost a human-like form, the shape could be of that of a couple embracing, full of movement and life. At second glance the viewer realises this is actually the mundane subject of a pepper. Edward Weston entices the viewer to take a closer look at the image, to re-evaluate form and shape through the balance of light and shadow. The image is called ‘Pepper, 1929’ which states factually what the subject of the image is, without this the viewer could only begin to guess what this strange and abstract form might be. The visual information of the image is that of the beauty of sharp focus, exquisite detail through print and the flawlessness of a natural form. These visual qualities are typical of the ‘Pure and Straight Photography’ style, the idea of keeping to the truth of a material. 

  This Modernist style moves away from the Pictorialist view of narrative manipulation and softness to an image to striving for sharpness and pure tonal values. Sharp detail and exquisite tonal value can be found in this image where the use of high contrast and shadows effectively changes the shape of the subject. Around this time the Modernist genre was in its prime element across all art forms. This image has a sense of a Henry Moore sculpture who at this time was creating pieces of work which were based on the human figure, full of shape and form. Edward Weston was a typical formalist photographer, and his work shows his mastery in capturing the beauty of shape. Through strong contrasts in light and shadow as well as using the camera to its highest potential through the means of sharp focus, Weston capitalises on the truth and honesty of this technology.    

Pictorialism: 'Struggle,1904' By Robert Demachy

Robert Demachy was a French Pictorial photographer who was best known for his painterly-like quality and intensely manipulated photographic prints. Demachy was prominent in the late 19th century through to the early 20th century. Around this time France and most of Europe had come out of the Long Depression and entered the new era of ‘Belle Epoque’; (The Beautiful Era). After such a dark period of time this new era was characterised by optimism and peace with the discovery of new scientific techniques and technology. In France at this time the arts were flourishing in this new era and Demachy here shows this through his romanticised imagery; The Golden Age.

Demachy’s photographic image named ‘Struggle’ produced in 1904 illustrates the revival of the gum bichromate process. This process allowed the artist to work colour and brushwork into a photographic image, portraying a style which balanced photography with the draftmanship of life drawing. Pictorialist photography thrived on the style of ‘soft’ imagery, creating almost ethereal characters through techniques such as long exposure to create a blur and intentionally leaving the camera out of focus. Demachy’s ‘Struggle’ illustrates this style by working into the image physically and using an orange pigment to evoke sanguine, a reddish chalk often used in life drawing. This image shows the female nude in a highly emotive and atmospheric pose which visually characterises its title, ‘Struggle’. This image is full of movement not only due to the figure but to how Demachy has physically manipulated it by scratching the negative through the process of gum bichromate. Demachy asks the viewer to question the image and its relationship with the title. What is the female figure struggling with? Is it the struggle between the Fine Arts and Photography? Is it a struggle of the female figures own personal mentality? Demachy pushes the viewer to constantly question the image, and to have their own impression. It is an image full of life, atmosphere and beauty, introducing photography as an art form in its own right.

"Triangulation" - 'Ways of Seeing' By John Berger

‘Seeing comes before words…It is seeing which establishes our place in the surrounding world; we explain that world with words.’

‘Ways of Seeing’ by John Berger here opens with the thought that the visual and spoken word are never settled and in a way disconnected. The idea that the initial response we have is to ‘see’; this basic first sense where words are not yet clouding the view. The second response is to explain what we see through the knowledge we establish from the surrounding world. This divide between how we ‘see’ and the way we explain it is an interesting thought; it is one that is an occurring theme throughout the book. Berger is exploring different elements of ‘seeing’, which ultimately aims to broaden a new understanding to the reader. This books intention is to also highlight how important it is to understand the ways of seeing. In general most don’t think about how we see things and how this impacts on our daily lives. Berger reveals this through many different ways which helps the reader get a balanced view of his argument. However I found Berger’s writing style a little off-putting, and generally never that straight forward. In a sense I feel this confusing style technique makes the reader double-take and re-read until they can clearly understand. This in some ways is good because it doesn’t let the reader speed through the book without having properly digested it. ‘Ways of Seeing’ I feel is worth a recommendation; it certainly opens your mind to the idea of ‘seeing’ which is after all the main aspect to the book!