The Death of Photography?

Hacked to Death

Andres Serrano. Hacked to Death . 1992.
Riemschneider, Burkhard, and Uta Grosenick. Art at the Turn of the Millennium. Taschen, Koln. 1999.

Compendium Set 5, Event and Exhibition Reports Due
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spiritual America

Richard Prince. Spiritual America (after an original by Garry Gross). 1983.
http://www.rovetv.net/images/pr-spiritual-america.jpg

 

Tate Museum exhibition

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brooke Shields in Pretty Baby
Pretty Baby
Storeyville Portrait
Brooke Shields in Pretty Baby
E.J. Bellocq.  Storeyville Portrait.  c. 1900 - 1917.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Piss Christ

Andres Serrano. Piss Christ. 1987.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Madonna and Child

Andres Serrano.  Madonna and Child.  1989.
http://www.answers.com/topic/madonna-and-child-ii-cibachrome-print-by-andres-serrano-1989-corcoran-gallery-of-art-washington-d-c-jpg
Transcripts of Senate debate on Serrano's photo
Sister Wendy on Serrano's Piss Christ
 
Andres Serrano explains:
"As a former Catholic, and as someone who even today is not opposed to being called a Christian, I felt I had every right to use the symbols of the Church and resented being told not to."
 
"I have always felt that my work is religious, not sacrilegious."
 
"I think if the Vatican is smart, someday they'll collect my work."
 
Piss Christ sold for $162,000 in 1999

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cala Lily

Robert Mapplethorpe.  Calla Lily.  1984.
http://www.masters-of-photography.com/M/mapplethorpe/mapplethorpe_calla_full.html

Charles

Robert Mapplethorpe.  Charles. 1985.
http://www.masters-of-photography.com/M/mapplethorpe/mapplethorpe_charles_full.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Female Nude

Robert Mapplethorpe.  Untitled (female nude).  1981.
http://www.boerner.net/jboerner/?m=20091016

Male Nude

Robert Mapplethorpe.  Untitled (male nude).  1981.
http://www.boerner.net/jboerner/?m=20091016

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chains

Robert Mapplethorpe. Brian Ridley and Lyle Heeter.  1979.
http://www.masters-of-photography.com/images/full/mapplethorpe/mapplethorpe_chains.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Self-Portrait with Bullwhip

Robert Mapplethorpe. Self-Portrait with Bullwhip. 1978.
http://faculty.txwes.edu/csmeller/Human-Prospect/ProData09/03WW2CulMatrix/WW2PICs/Mapplethorpe1946/Map1978SelfWhip444.htm

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Joel-Peter Witkin
1939 -

 

Poet

Joel-Peter Witkin.  Poet:  From a collection of relics and ornaments.  1986.
Koetzle, Hans-Michael.  Photo Icons:  the Story Behind the Pictures. Volume 2.  Koln:  Taschen, 2002.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Le Baisier

Joel Peter Witkin. Le Baisier (New Mexico).  1982.
http://silencio.weblog.com.pt/images/eyes/Joel-PeterWitkin-LeBaisier.GIF

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Un Santo Oscuro

Joel-Peter Witkin.  Un Santo Oscuro.  1987.

 

More Witkin

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Flag

Robert Mapplethorpe. 
American Flag.  1987.
http://www.matthewlangley.com/blog/uploaded_images/artwork_images_
909_179946_robert-mapplethorpe-759862.jpg
NEA mission - "to enrich our Nation and its diverse cultural heritage by supporting works of artistic excellence, advancing learning in the arts, and strengthening the arts in communities throughout the country."
 
"Culture Wars" in the 1990s and their effects on the National Endowment for the Arts
1990
Four artists apply for grants and are denied because their works deemed "indescent" by Congress
 
NEA decides to cease funding for individual artists
1991
Perfect Moment at Cincinnati Contemporary Arts Center
 
Senator Helms rips copy of Piss Christ on Congressional floor
1996
Congress cuts NEA funding by 30% to $99.5 million
 
Congress votes to phase funding of NEA in two years
 
House announces plan to eliminate NEA
1998
Supreme Court determines that the statute mandating the NEA to consider “general standards of decency and respect for the diverse beliefs and values of the American public” in awarding grants is constitutional.
 
"NEA Four" compensated with money equal to grant money they would have received
2009
NEA has $155 million budget

 

 

 

 

Body Politics

261

Cindy Sherman. Untitled #261. 1992.
Fuku, Noriko. "A woman of Parts." Art in America. June 1997. 74 -81, 125.
 
Taking the lead of the feminists, artists continue to
recognize the body as a political site
Examines the diseased, flawed, victimized and ignored body
Counters the modernist focus on abstraction
and its objectification of the nude
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AIDS Related Death

Andres Serrano. The Morgue (AIDS related Death II). 1992.
Riemschneider, Burkhard, and Uta Grosenick. Art at the Turn of the Millennium. Taschen, Koln. 1999.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Identity Politics

Self-Portrait

Catherine Opie.  Self-Portrait.  1993.
http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/blogon/upload/2008/10/opieselfportrait_cutting.jpg
"the personal is political"
 
Identity politics formed as a strategy to counter social inequity
Considers the structures by which we define ourselves
Questions the idea of "normal"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Perverse Self-Portrait

Catherine Opie.  Self-Portrait/ Pervert.  1994.
http://www.regenprojects.com/files/db15e039.jpg

Assorted definitions of "pervert" =

to lead astray morally
to turn away from the right course
to turn to an improper use; misapply
to bring to a less excellent state; vitiate; debase
Pathology. to change to what is unnatural or abnormal

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Self-Portrait Nursing

Catherine Opie.  Self-Portrait Nursing. 2004.
http://www.regenprojects.com/files/bec09099.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jessie and the Deer

Sally Mann.  Jessie and the Deer.  1985.
Mann, Sally.  Immediate Family.  New York:  Aperture, 1992.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last Light

Sally Mann.  Last Light .  1989.
Mann, Sally.  Immediate Family.  New York:  Aperture, 1992.

 

The work is "about everybody's memories, as well as their fears." - Sally Mann

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Terrible Picture

Sally Mann.  The Terrible Picture.  1989.
Mann, Sally.  Immediate Family.  New York:  Aperture, 1992.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sally Mann. Emmett and the White Boy. 1990.
http://www.guggenheim.org/new-york/about/guggenheim-images/show-full/piece/?search=The%20Bohen%20Foundation%20Gift&page=2&f=Acquisition&cr=13

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Candy Cigarette

Sally Mann.  Candy Cigarette.  1989.
Mann, Sally.  Immediate Family.  New York:  Aperture, 1992.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Virginia

Len Prince.  Jessie Mann.  2004.
http://www.edelmangallery.com/prince11.htm

 

More Len Prince

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What is the difference between
film and digital modes?

Thomas Struth. Pantheon. 1989.
Riemschneider, Burkhard, and Uta Grosenick. Art at the Turn of the Millennium. Taschen. 1999.

In the analogue era, we could assume that the manipulated image was the exception to the rule
In the digital era, we must assume the opposite because the digital image is infinitely malliable
 
“People are much more willing to believe that pictures lie than that they can express any kind of truth.” – Laurie Simmons

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Time Magazine.  O.J. Simpson.  1994.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unknown.  John Kerry and Jane Fonda.  2004.
http://www.snopes.com/photos/politics/kerry2.asp

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As we move into the digital age we are confronted with a pressing question - Is photography dead?
 
Have we entered into a new phase of image history?
Is the meaning of the photographic image now being mediated by the invention of digital systems
in the way that painting was modified by the invention of photography?
Are the concerns of the digital age different from those of the analogue age?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After 9/11 and the global economic crisis, are photos like this still relevant?

 

Thomas Struth. Shibuya Crossing, Tokyo. 1991.
http://s3.amazonaws.com/data.tumblr.com/tumblr_l7x39gaJvM1qzfye6o1_1280.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAJ6IHWSU3BX3X7X3Q&
Expires=1301606478&Signature=goWFlTLq8zzLSsaoERb2UOpZ0hc%3D

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just as with WWII, photography has begun an important shift since 9/11

David Levi Strauss. Between the Eyes: Essays on Photography and Politics.
New York: aperture, 2003.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Joel Meyerowitz. World Trade Center, Archive Project. 2001.
Orvell, Miles. American Photography. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Joe Rosenthal. Raising Old Glory at Iwo Jima. February 23, 1945.
Marien, Mary Warner.  Photography: A Cultural History.  Second edition.  Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2006.
Flag Raising at Ground Zero.  2001.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Anonymous. Tourist Guy. 2001.
http://z.about.com/d/urbanlegends/1/0/m/2/missing.jpg

 

For one thing, we realize that digital imagery is infinitely malleable and can not be trusted.
Today we have a tendency to assume falsity in images rather than truth.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our image technologies have proven so successful in their strategies, that they lead us to question reality itself and make the possible look artificial. When viewing the images and footage of the attacks on the World Trade Centers, many responded by saying, "it looked like a movie." The image is more real than real, hyper real, and we often prefer it that way.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Symptomatically, the value we give to the photograph is changing...

 

Cowboy 2

Richard Prince. Untitled Cowboys #2.1989.
http://www.artcritical.com/appel/images/RPcow2.gif

 

On November 8th, 2005, Richard Prince's Cowboy sold at Christie's Art auction for $1,248,000
setting world auction record for photography

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This record was broken during a 2006
auction of two works from Georgia O'Keefe's collection

Alfred Stieglitz.  Georgia's Hands.  1918.

An image by Stieglitz of Georgia nude sold for $1,360,000
Another image by Stieglitz taken of Georgia's hands
sold for $1,472,000

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Andreas Gursky's 99 Cent II Diptychon
sold for $3,346,456 at auction in February, 2007
making it the most expensive photograph until....

Andreas Gursky.  99 Cent Diptychon. 2001.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Andreas Gursky.  99 Cent.  1999.
http://www.brusday.com/tag/99-cent-ii-diptychon/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Cindy Sherman. Untitled Film Still #13. 1978.
Cruz, Amanda and Elizabeth A. T. Smith.  Cindy Sherman: Retrospective.  Chicago:  Thames & Hudson, 1998.
Cindy Sherman. Untitled Film Still #96. 1981.
http://www.letitflow.com/worlds-most-expensive-photograph/
   
In 2008 a print of #13 sold at auction for $902,500
In 2011 a print of #96 sold at auction for $3,890,500
making it the most expensive photograph

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and then, Andreas Gursky's Rhein II sold at auction in November 2011 for $4,338,500,
making it the most expensive phototo date.

 

Andreas Gursky. Rhein II. 1999.
http://sfcitizen.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Rhein_II.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"It may be premature to say that we are living now in a 'post-photographic' age, despite the digitization of photography, for the illusions that the image can render have not yet been rendered irrelevant by the advancing picture-making technology of the computer. Nevertheless, it is a growing part of our contemporary consciousness that photography's function within our culture is at a crisis moment whose outcome is not yet certain." – Miles Orvell

 

Alfredo Jaar. The Silence of Nduwayezu. 1997.

 

Alfredo Jaar

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Alfredo Jaar. The Eyes of Gutete Emerita. 1996.
http://hoodmuseum.dartmouth.edu/collections/recent/200617.html
 
"'[Alfredo Jaar's Rwanda Project] address[es] a crisis of the image, and in our relation to images, that Paul Virilio has called "a sort of pathology of immediate perception that owes everything, or very nearly everything, to the recent proliferation of photo-cinematographic and video-infographic seeing machines; machines that by mediatizing ordinary everyday representations end up destroying their credibility.' As we become increasingly subject to images, the subject of any image becomes less and less available to us. Must we turn away from images entirely in order to begin again? ... We live in a time when information, in the form of words and images, is being transmitted in vast quantities and at increasingly high speeds, and this mass and velocity determine its effects. Human beings cannot act on information transmitted in this way, but only attmept to retrieve, sort, and process it." - David Levi Strauss

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Resisting the tyranny of visual public images can also be effected in some fairly simple ways. When you reduce the speed and frequency of images, you make it possible to see images differently. It is not necessary to embrace the visual rhetoric and speed of product advertising in order to counter it. The processing and storage of images (by human beings) is not instantaneous. It takes time. So if you can control the speed of transmission, you can begin to make images memorable." - David Levi Strauss

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Images that allow pause and consider what it means to see the world through the camera...

 

Ken Gonzales Day.  Erased Lynching. 2005.
http://kengonzalesday.com/projects/erasedlynching/01.htm

 

More Ken Gonzales Day

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Ken Gonzalez Day. About a hundred yards from the road (from the Hang Trees series). 2002.
http://www.kengonzalesday.com/projects/hangtrees/03.htm
Ken Gonzalez Day. Next morning when Jimmy woke, the cowboys were gone (from the Hang Trees series). 2002.
http://www.kengonzalesday.com/projects/hangtrees/04.htm

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nina Berman. Marine Wedding (from the Marine Wedding series). 2006.
http://www.mediasanctuary.org/node/723

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alfredo Jaar. Gold in the Morning. 1987. Lightbox with color transparency.
http://www.pbs.org/art21/slideshow/popup.php?slide=1514

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oliver in a Tutu
"Seeing is forgetting the name of the thing one sees."
line from a Zen text
Catherine Opie. Oliver in a Tutu. 2004.
http://mailer.e-flux.com/mail_images/1137801987aldrich.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Uta Barth. Ground #42. 1994.
http://thesilverlined.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/utabarth.jpg
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