Topic 2
The Transformation of Portraiture
Photographic Studios From the 1840’s the daguerreotype was the most common form of personal portraits. People who were interested in capturing these portraits learned new skills and tried to interest people across Europe to sit for long their own portraits. In the early beginnings of these portraits, exposure times were often between 15-20 minutes and in as much light as possible; resulting in unflattering and uncomfortable images. Regardless of this, people of the middle level income wanted their portrait taken. Photographic ‘glasshouses’ were created, which were photographic studios with an immense number of windows to maximise natural light. Studio portraits introduced backdrops so customers could choose to place themselves within particular environments.
Holiday postcard from a Blackpool studio, 1910
Photographic Studios Almost all early portraits were carefully posed and touched up to produce as flattering as image as possible. This included putting a head brace on the customer to reduce blurs in longer exposures. Sometimes the posing individual was asked to lean on a table with the head resting on the hand; a very popular Victorian soulful look. As smiles were difficult to maintain over long periods of time, the subject was often asked to remain with a neutral expression. The more modern images that included people smiling should be regarded as a technological achievement.
A young man portrayed by J. Waller ‘Miniature painter & Photographer Pier Portrait Rooms Whitby’ during the 1870s
Carte-de-visite André Adolphe Disdéri invented the carte-de-visite in 1854, which were named after the leisured classes’ ‘visiting cards’. These were small paper prints mounted on the photographer’s own decorated card. Carte-de-visites were the first attempt at a form of mass production of popular photographs, resulting in less differentiation between classes. Some of the earliest photographic albums were not ‘family albums’, but bound volumes of pictures of royalty, celebrities and politicians. As there was pressure for middle-class women to make their lives within the confines of the home environment, hobbies such as collecting carte-de-visites fitted in well with other activities such as sketching and pressing flowers.
Mathew Brady, Julia Grant, 1870-1880
Carte-de-visite A relaxed picture of Princess Alexandra giving her daughter a piggyback became the best-selling carte-de-visite. The women members of the Royal Family took up photography, filling their own albums with views of family picnics and hunting parties.
Queen Alexandra when Princess of Wales (1844-1925) with her daughter Princess Louise (1867-1931)
Photo Albums A Victorian album could act as a visual novelty, with the portraits often cut up and arranged in decorative shapes, incorporating drawings and other scrapbook items. The album could act as a window into the lives of those who have been captured in the photographs within. An example of this is the album of the Helm family, which demonstrated not only the luxury and enjoyment of a free-spending class, but the decency and respectability of the middle-class suburbia.
One of the Helm Family Carte-de-visites
Photo Albums Photographic albums were created and kept for different reasons, depending on the individual. For some, it was a hobby to collect images of ‘important people, for others it was their own images that they kept. Family albums were common in that they were a connection to history and family members. Many of us can still remember photo albums kept by our parents or grandparents of ourselves and other family members from many years ago. Albums are now kept as digital archives and on social media. What do you think about this transition of photographic albums?
Working Class Families and the Portrait During the mid-nineteenth century in both Britain and the USA, the middle classes began moving out of the cities into newly built suburbs, while the working class remained confined to the untidy and dirty cities. As portrait photographs were mainly purchased and commissioned by middle-class people, the working-class identity was largely absent. Many personal photographs of the workingclass were valued by those that they represent, but not necessarily made for their sake. An example of this is following the Education Acts of 1870 and 1893 in England and Wales, many of the early photographs kept by working-class families were those that depicted their children behind wooden desks and schooling institutions.
Black Country chain-makers, postcard, 7 August 1911
Working Class Families and the Portrait The shortening of the working week which relieved working-class people from Saturday work allowed for many to organise sporting and leisure activities. This resulted in many photographs from the 1890s onwards to show sports activities and leisure trips to the seaside. Because of the accessibility to get out of the city on the weekends, opportunist photographers were ready for people to have their picture taken on their outing. The tintype could produce an instant metal positive that captured children playing in the parks or on the beach. While many families that could afford to have this service performed, many of the poorer families chose to have their portraits taken in studios with backdrops that removed them from their homes.
Pupils at St Mary’s School, Moss Lane, Manchester, c. 1910
Working Class Families and the Portrait The traveling photographer would often set up their equipment in neighbourhoods, which resulted in children running up asking for their photograph taken. An example of this is the portrait of Edward and May Bond, 1912, where their mother wrote when she sent the photograph to her eldest son: ‘Do not take too much notice of how they are taken, for they look a bit untidy but I did not know they were having their likenesses taken, but I thought I would buy one to let you have a look at their dear little faces’ This representation of the portrait is significant in presenting the children of the working-class families to people in their own economic class. It was not captured for the purpose of the photographer, it was for the family. Photography was fast becoming a medium in which working-class people could present themselves to each other and control their own identity. Edward and May Bond taken by a street photographer outside their home in Manchester, c. 1912
The Consideration of the Portrait Cynthia Freeland presents four categories for the consideration of the portrait in revealing the subject’s personality and essence: 1. Likenesses A portrait can be an accurate likeness if the subject is recognisable. The portrait likeness typically renders key aspects of the person’s physical appearance with enough detail that the subject could be picked from a crowd after viewing the portrait.
David Card, Catherine Freeman, 2000
The Consideration of the Portrait 2. Proofs of presence The second category is the representation of the subject being present. This can occur in two different ways; the representation that the person existed and that the existing person was actually there. In the first sense, the portrait functions as an icon to certify some sort of presence.
Sana and Maher, The Pyramids of Giza, n.d.
The Consideration of the Portrait 3. Psychological characterisations This categorisation offers information about the subject’s personality, emotions and/or attitudes. The artist has to delve deep to convey information about the subject’s interior life and psychological states. The psychological information presented into a portrait does not need to be easily decoded by viewers. An example of this is the smile of the Mona Lisa. A successful portrait might involve the expressive abilities of the subject, artist or both. 4. Evocations of essence A portrait can capture a person’s essence.
Eli Dreyfuss, 2018.
The ‘reading’ of a Portrait The issue of the album is that it is commonly a private album and that they are often not known to other people. The narrative is not known. We piece together a story and an idea based on how the album is presented. When we are reading personal photographs in isolation, they can become cryptic objects. Instead we refer to what we can factually discuss. For example the health of the koala in the image to the right could be a factual discussion. Identifying if the person in the image is someone’s friend, partner or family becomes much harder to read.
Above: The English Women’s Cricket team in Australia, 1934 Right: Marjorie Richards of the English women’s cricket team, holding two baby koalas at Melbourne Zoo, December 1934
Digital Technology and the Portrait The strict focus on the recognisable within portraiture has been somewhat resistant to change, despite the many movements and styles in the 20th Century and adoption of new digital technologies in the last decade. There are now many choices to how we as artists can make portraits, such as digital photography, digital video or installation. This is a result of our heavily media-connected society. The effect of the digital age has resulted in portraitures being created with less of a focus on form, but more on the social effect of the image. There is an increasing separation from traditional materials, such as paint, paper and pencils and more of a focus on the media. Technology is not just the means of distributing the final work, but it is the medium in which the artwork is created.
Chris Tsevis, Mark Zuckerberg, n.d.
As We Are “As We Are is a fourteen-foot, 3-D universal human head made from ribbons of ultra-bright, LED screens. In the back of the neck is a photo booth capable of taking 3D pictures. Once a visitor has their picture taken, they step out of the booth and their head is displayed on the giant head. The sculpture addresses the relationship between self and representation of self, asking the subject of the portrait to reconsider presence through magnification. It is intended to provide amusement and evoke larger discussions around the phenomena of social media, diversity, and the power dynamic of public art.” – Quoted from Matthew Mohr, 2017
As We Are There are twenty-nine cameras taking simultaneous pictures of the visitor’s face. A 3D model of the participant is also made and all twenty-nine images are stitched together on to the model. This allows the system to slightly modify the placement of the eyes and length of nose to better fit the form of the head. This speaks to the use of photographic manipulation software in the hands of the general public. Whether aspiring to an ideal or toying with identity, the democratic means to change appearance brings into play the fluid nature of identity. Images made on “As We Are” are called portraits.
As We Are “As We Are” makes portraits in the same way that a painting or a photo is an artist’s representation of their subjects. They are edited interpretations, removing some information and re-contextualizing identity. In this instance, technology is part of the form and an automated system to which there is a parallel with social media. ‘As We Are’ resides in a public place accessible by all and is designed to achieve an imposing stature similar to traditional public monuments. It utilizes a power dynamic usually reserved for notable, heroic, governing figures and instead allows every participant to experience a modern representation of acknowledgment. “As We Are” is intentionally self-reflexive but not in a didactic way. Social media and its affect on culture, on humanity is a complex issue worth consideration. That the sculpture magnifies one’s presence in a public space, simply amplify and call into question the relationships we have and with these digital intermediaries.
Social effect The strict focus on the recognisable within portraiture has been somewhat resistant to change, despite the many movements and styles in the 20th Century and adoption of new digital technologies in the last decade. There are now many choices to how we as artists can make portraits, such as digital photography, digital video or installation. This is a result of our heavily media-connected society. The effect of the digital age has resulted in portraits being created with less of a focus on form, but more on the social effect of the image. There is an increasing separation from traditional materials, such as paint, paper and pencils and more of a focus on the media. Technology is not just the means of distributing the final work, but it is the medium in which the artwork is created.
The most liked Instagram post with 53,716,322 likes
Are ‘selfies’ considered art? What people consider art is extremely subjective. There are numerous reasons to why something should be considered art, and why something should not. I have a mixed opinion about this, in relation to my own work. I believe something should be considered art if it’s desired purpose is to be an artwork. What I mean by this is that, if something is created to serve a purpose such as being an identity for a company, to me, it isn’t art. It is a branding identity. As a graphic designer and photographer, I don’t consider the work I produce as a designer as art, but my photography I do. Its purpose is to serve as an artwork that represents a scene in an artistic way.
Ellen Degeneres, Oscar Selfie, 2014
Are ‘selfies’ considered art? Does the quantity of selfies taken compared to the individual selfportrait painting render it less of an artwork? Based on your reading Here’s Looking at me, a discussion of vanity and the practice of painting self-portraits are presented. Vanity was something that was always aimed to be avoided, however in today’s society, it is something that is almost praised. The presence of people’s social media accounts demonstrates that nobody is a nobody anymore. The number of images of themselves won’t allow it. In the Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo painted St Bartholomew, a Christian Martyr, with his own face instead. This of course isn’t Michelangelo. It’s Michelangelo acting out a part, which is very similar to that of selfies. They are never about the real you; they’re a designed construct. Artists were the first selfie-takers because they were the only ones who could actually create them. Only those who could paint or draw could make them. Now, anyone with a smart phone can create a ‘selfie’.
Michelangelo, The Last Judgement, 1533-1541
Topic 2
Workshop
Study Guide (45 mins) You will be using the next 45 minutes to answer study guide questions. Note that assessment three requires that you answer four (4) study guide questions. Use this time to find questions that you may respond to and prepare for what you could write. This is a good opportunity to finish an assessment early...
Upside Down Drawing (1 hour) The purpose of this exercise is to force your left (thinking) side of the brain to give up identifying what you draw. It helps you develop your ability to see only lines and shapes. You are not meant to recognise anything and are supposed to draw what you see, not what you think you should see. You will each be given a picture to draw. Place it upside down in front of you and draw what you see. Focus on the lines and shapes; not what you think something should be. When you start drawing, it’s your choice where you start. The drawings you produce aren’t supposed to be polished drawings. The perspective and proportions may seem off, but the purpose is to push you to use the left side of your brain to remove identification of objects in a scene.