The History of Photography will explore the principles of the photographic medium from the camera obscura (1490) to contemporary digital interfaces within the context of art, culture, and social/political foundations. This course will address photographic movements and the scientific methods that shaped their development and evolution. This class will consist of a series of lectures, visual presentations, projects, and discussions.

Monday, March 26, 2012

ROOM for April 2nd

We will be in room:

MAIN 1020

I look forward to seeing you next week.

Best,

Thomas.

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Take Home Quiz: Due next class (3.19.2012)

Pick two out of the three questions below and submit an answer of one typed page per question. (Two questions = two typed pages.)

1. Explain naturalism in photography. Be sure to talk about at least one photographer associated with this movement.

2. Explain Kenneth Clark's position on “naked” versus “nude” and its application to photography.

3. Identify and discuss photography's status as a “fine art” throughout the nineteenth century.


Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Midterm Images

As discussed, next class will be our midterm.

If you have any questions regarding our forthcoming midterm that were not addressed in our last class review please feel free to contact me.

Best,

Thomas.




















Monday, February 20, 2012

CLASS FIVE NOTES

The US Geological Survey

First Director: Clarence King (1879 - 1881)

The USGS was created by an act of Congress on March 3, 1879.  It was charged with the
“classification of the public lands, and examination of the geological structure, mineral resources,
and products of the national domain.”  This task was driven by the need to inventory the vast
Lands added to the United States by the Louisiana Purchase in 1803
Please visit the USGS at:   www.usgs.gov
West of the 100th Meridian along the 40th Parallel


Artists and expedition engineers to participate in the documentation and identification of the West.

 The Third View


http://www.thirdview.org/3v/rephotos/index.html



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Documentation:
Photographic documentation has come to refer to pictures created with the intent to inform
rather than inspire or express personal feelings. 



Industrial Development:
Industrial development symbolized and displayed the physical changes made possible by
new technologies and new materials.



Photographic Documentation:
 Photography was regarded as an exemplary record because it was thought to provide an
  objective - that is, unaltered -view of solid fact and achievement.


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The Crystal Palace: 1851


The Great Exhibition of 1851 in London was conceived to symbolize this industrial, military and economic
superiority of Great Britain.  Just representing the feats of Britain itself would have excluded many of the
technological achievements pioneered by the British in its many colonies and protectorates, so it was decided
to make the exhibit truly international with invitations being extended to almost all of the colonized world.
The British also felt that it was important to show their achievements right alongside those of "less civilized"
countries. The prevailing attitude in England at the time was ripe for the somewhat arrogant parading of
accomplishments. Many felt secure, economically and politically, and Queen Victoria was eager to reinforce
the feeling of contentment with her reign. It was during the mid-1850s that the word "Victorian" began to be
employed to express a new self-consciousness, both in relation to the nation and to the period through which
it was passing.

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Documentation of war and conflict

Early war coverage:

Roger Fenton

William Howard Russell:  Reporter for London Times provided dispatches
Detailing the horrifying conditions under which the soldiers lived.
Thomas Agnew (a Manchester publisher) and royal patronage
From the Secretary of State for War supported Fenton’s coverage


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 The Civil War in the United States (1861 - 1865)

Mathew Brady
Belief in the role of the camera as historian. 
Impresario:  Orginizer, supplier, and publisher -
Corps of about 20 photographers
July, 1861 - 1863

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Alexander Gardner
Gardner's photographic sketch book of the war