19th century photography Essay

wrangle how nineteenth vitamin C picture taking was utilised to construct notions of social and ethnic identity operator. Examine at least one image from the nineteenth century as well as at least one modelling of a contemporary portrait that has a resonance with these earlier practices.photographys influence on modern day is so grand that it is practically im feasible to imagine a world without such(prenominal) technology. everywheredue to the great deal of photography surrounding us, we have gradually endure accustomed to the impact photography has on our social and pagan identity, that we no longer notice just how much it affects us and the world. If we take a look back to the creation of photography in the 19th century, we argon able to determine its deep effect upon the social zeitgeist and how it constructed notions of social and cultural identity. We can triumphfully examine take awayly how alliance reacted to the debut of photography, as each of its practical social functions that were inaccessible beforehand both scientifically and socially, were worldness uncovered.See more Is the Importance of world earnest a satirical play essayThe announcement of photography in 1839 evoked the rely to apply the new spiritualist to the portrait. Andre Disderi popularized and patented the process of The C tricke de Visite a type of photograph which unlike earlier photography, was small, cheap and easily distributed. The physical exertion of the carte spread across France, Europe and America. The idea of celebrity, beauty and fame blossomed and field of battle performers flocked to the studios to have their portraits taken as lasting mementos of imper troopsent performances. (Hamilton and Hargreaves 2001, p. 45-6) Eventually cartes became commercially available and the creation of family photographic albums began, later to be handed d possess through the generations. (Hamilton and Hargreaves 2001, p. 46) Sitters would order from a dozen up to a hundred copies of a print to trade them with friends and family. In the 1870s, cartes were replaced with the supremacy of cabinet cards, eventually leading to the immense popularity of the Kodak Box Brownie, sparking the mass phenomenon of topographic point snapshot photography that still exists today. (Tom and Marnie Hill 2011)For the first time, the philia split was stick outd with a means of remembering and cherishing dead love ones with a item photograph of them postdeath. Post mortem photography was most common with infants and fresh children due to the high childhood mortality rates. The post mortem photograph may be the solely image of the child the family eer had. (Hamilton and Hargreaves 2001) Postmortem photography increased the emotional investment people were making in their loved ones. Poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning wrote to a friend I would rather have such a memorial of one I dearly loved, than the noblest Artists tap ever produced. (Henisch and Henisch 19 94, p. 166)Unknown photographers (The Seventh Sense, 2004)In both images, the woman in the middle is dead, propped up by their loved ones.Prior to photography, diagrams could help to inform, maps to chart, drawings and paintings to recognize, (Hamilton and Hargreaves 2001, p. 57) but no(prenominal) of these could be expendd as legitimate prove. photographys energy to produce illustrative information and evidential knowledge far disclose than the best artist could deliver (Hamilton and Hargreaves 2001, p. 61) was quickly realized, creating a roaring up rise in the success of science. In 1839, William Henry Fox Talbot wrote that photography would be highly beneficial towards the inductive methods of modern science allowing the get down of chance natural events, which might then be followed up with experiments. (Hamilton and Hargreaves 2001)The 19th century was a period where methods of observing the social world were come forwarding, particularly in mathematics and statistics. tender normality and abnormality rates were a good deal recorded and presented as a chart or graph. It was believed that majority of society tended to behave in corresponding ways, so it was clearly evident when a significant minority exhibited signs of abnormality, as they would diverge considerably away from the mean, or the normal. (Hamilton and Hargreaves 2001) A link between the statistics and photography was soon discovered and photographs began being used to depict the uniformity of the normal and the diversity of the abnormal. The photography provided exact depictions, and was more specific and detailed than a graph could ever be, which eliminated possible mistakes from beingmade. This abolished whatever unnecessary, accidental scrutiny or control over people whose health or behavior were considered a threat to the phylogeny of society. From this, photography was proved to provide truth, which ultimately ended written records.Dr Hugh Welch baseball field, a leading fi gure in the new treatment centered psychiatry, began a project that used photography as part of the treatment process. baseball field wanted to discover the nature of his patients character so he bring outd portraits of them to fill their seventh cranial nerve features. Diamond then showed the portraits to his patients in attempts to help them at a take down placestand they argon ill. Although little evidence showed success in his therapeutic use of photography, Diamond is remembered for popularizing the medium of photography and lessening its mystique. He was one of the first to revalue the concept of photography as a means of communication, understanding that a picture speaks for itself if you listen to the telling language of nature. (Hamilton and Hargreaves 2001, p. 81)Duchenne de Boulogne was a physician, who began to experiment with electrical currents to force upon neural action in his patients, believing this would help him understand the wiring of forgiving bodies and consequently find a cure for his patients. (Darwin & Ekman 1998, p.404-5) Duchenne published a series of photographs exploring facial expressions in his account book The Mechanism of Human Facial expression. His images were groundbreaking for science because of the validity of the experiment by the use of photographs.Duchenne initiated himself into the art of photography (Duchenne de Boulogne 1990, p. 39) because it was only photography which could render the subjects expressions as unfeigned as a mirror, attaining such desirable perfection. (Duchenne de Boulogne 1990, p. 36) Although Duchenne wasnt the first to use photography in terms of medicine, he was the first modern recompense who worked conceptually. He thoroughly understood the principles of perspective and light, which lead to successful images similar to art photography. From Duchennes investigate he concluded that the language of facial expression was a Mechanism and that the reason behind the lines wrinkles a nd folds of the moving brass section (Duchenne de Boulogne 1990, pg. 1) was triggered by our inner emotions and our soul.M whatsoever of the plates published in Duchennes book were of one particular patient, an old toothless man, with a thin expression, whose features, without being absolutely ugly, approached medium triviality. (Darwin & Ekman 1998, p. 405) The man suffered from palsy, paralyzing his face making him resistant to any pain. Using electrical devices, Duchenne could spark fake emotions in his patient allowing him to create studies on human expression. Guillaume-Benjamin Duchenne de Boulogne, lowborn, 1862 (Hamilton and Hargreaves 2001, fig 49)Duchennes research had importance in not only medicine and photography, but withal in the depicted object of human evolution. Charles Darwin, a British naturalist owned copies of Duchennes work and was particularly interested in it because it musical accompanimented and provided suitable visual evidence to his universalist ic ideas and theories about human evolution. Darwin believed that some expressions, such as bristling of the blur under the influence of extreme terror, or the uncovering of the teeth under that of furious rage, can hardly be understood except on the belief that man once existed in a much lower animal-like condition (Darwin 1872, p19.) Duchennes work was published in Darwins book, The Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals, which played a major role in obstetrical delivery photographic evidence into the scientific world. (Prodger 1999, p. 401)Photographys ability to provide traces of real events secured its role within almost all areas of science. The medium became a very important tool in anthropological research where human builds, features, skin colours, skull sizes and faces were studied, grouping indisputable people together due to their similarities change classifications, comparisons and contrasts to be made.J. T Zealy took images of glum slaves to document the charac teristics of the African race. The photographs were taken to support the theory of Polygenisis, aiming to convince pureness viewing audience that the continuation of slavery should be supported because the African body was so different and alienated that they must be a separate species. (Barger M.S, White W.B,1991)J.T. Zealy. Renty, Congo, on Plantation of BF Taylor, Columbia, SC. 1850 (US Slaves, 2011)Darwins research showed in considerable details that all the chief expressions exhibited by man are the same throughout the world (Darwin 1872, p. 335) which exiled some of the racism emerge at the time, confirming that white races dont possess any superiority over the other races.In 1882, questions about social groups and classes began to arise. Photography was used to categorize the types of people within a single race, by canvassing their tendencies and proclivities. (Ryan 1997, p.168) These photographs of identification allowed the development of a much more charitable metho d of apprehending criminals, controlling prisoners, treating the insane, and limiting the spread of crime, poverty and disease. This linked to the development of criminology where photography was used as a means to recognize assume offenders and to catalogue police records.Alphonse Bertillon standardized the criminal mug shot by creating the first system of physical measurements, photography and record-keeping that police could use to determine reoffending criminals. The police adopted his anthropometric system and called it the bertillonage stystem. (Visible Proofs 2006, para. 2) Bertillon also took an interest in genes, and how physical and mental characteristics were passed on hereditarily. He created a series of his own family according to the accepted bertillonage system as part of his research. (Hamilton and Hargreaves 2001)Alphonse Bertillon, Francois Bertillon age 23 months, 1893 (left) Alphonse Bertillon, Alphonse Bertillon, 1891 (right)(Hamilton and Hargreaves 2001, fig 56 & 62.)Photography proved to be of huge success in the field of science, but other uses for the medium were also discovered. coeval Australian photographer Simon Obarzanek has a resonance with 19th century anthropologic and criminology practices in the way that his subjects are being treated as studied specimens. He has no interest in the character traits of the subjects he shoots he is only interested in their physical attributes. Obarzanek uses the same method of observing, exploring and recording the human being as anthropologists once did. Obarzaneks 80 faces is a series of black and white mug shot portraits of teenagers aged 14-17. He focuses on the face at its most basic shape, scale and proportion of features. The portraits are invariably presented in groups engaging spectators to compare and contrast the faces. Although the photos are quite ordinary and general on their own, once put all together as a group, each person becomes an individual. (Mutual Art 2012, article 1) Simon Obarzanek, Untitled (80 faces) (1-6), 2002 (Karen Woodburd Gallery, 2012)Simon Obarzanek, Untitled (80 faces) (19-24), 2002 (Karen Woodburd Gallery, 2012)Again, Obarzanek portrays this sense of categorization resonant to 19th century anthropology in his series 10pm-1am. He records anonymous females at the times of 10pm-1am and as spectators we are meshed to study the subjects, creating our own ideas of their personality and habits.Simon Obarzanek, 10pm 1am No.2,No.7, No.6, 2007 (Karen Woodburd Gallery, 2012)Similarly, contemporary German artists Bernd and Hilla Becher created black and white photographic typologies of industrial structures, fascinated by the similar shapes in which certain buildings were designed. The Bechers would travel to large mines and steels mills and photograph the major structures from the front, making them appear as simple diagrams. When displayed, images of structures with similar functions are displayed next to each other, inviting viewers to com pare their forms and designs. A supporting photograph of the overall landscape was also displayed to givethe structures context. (Moma 2012, article 1) Although the Bechers didnt create portraits of humans like 19th century anthropology, their work is very much the same thing. The photographs still study the features of the subject and put them in categories.Bernd and Hilla Becher, Winding Towers, Ger some 1971-1991 (Moma 2012)Prior to the introduction of photography in 1839, society had never encountered anything quite like it. Once the medium was introduced to the world, it appeared to be useful in countless aspects of life as a tool for evidence, identification and recording and is still used today for many of the same reasons. It was inevitable that the medium would create notions of social and cultural identity during the 19th century due to its groundbreaking effects in science, art and social living. Photography has come a long way since its device and has made significant i mprovement making the medium a widely distributed phenomena.BIBLIOGRAPHYBooksBarger M.S, & White W.B, The Daguerreotype Nineteenth-Century Technology and modern Science, Smithsonian Institution, 1991 Darwin, C, 1872, The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals, Fontana vex, capital of the United Kingdom Darwin, C, & Ekman, P 1998, The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals, With Introduction, Afterword and Commentarries by Ekman, P. 3rd edn. Oxford university Press, bare-ass York Duchenne, G-B, 1990, The Mechanism of Human Facial Expression, Cambridge University Press, USA Hamilton, P & Hargreaves, R, 2001, The Beautiful and the Damned, Lund Humphries in association with The National Portrait Gallery, capital of the United Kingdom. Henisch, Heinz K. & Henisch, Bridget A., 1994, The Photographic Experience 1839-1914, Pennsylvania Penn convey Press Hill, M & Hill, T, 2011 Wyandot County (Images of America), Arcadia Publishing Proger, P, Photography and the expressions of the emotions. Appendix III, p399-410, in Charles Darwin, The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals, 1872, with introduction, afterward and commentaries by Paul Ekman, London Fontana Press Ryan, JR, 1997l Picturing Empire Photography and the Visualisation of the British Empire, Reaktion Books, LondonWebsitesKaren Woodbury Gallery 2012, 80 faces, 10pm-1am, photographs, viewed 20 May 2012, http//www.kwgallery.com/artist/simon-obarzanek/10pm-.-1am-no.6/21/291 Moma 2012, Exhibitions, viewed on 12 May 2012,Mutual Art 2012, Obarzanek, Simon, 80 Faces, MutualArt Services Inc., viewed on 12 May 2012 Seventh Sense, The, 2004, Unknown photographers, Photograph, viewed 12 May 2012, http//ken_ashford.typepad.com/ web log/2009/08/more-post-mortem-photography.html. US Slaves 2011, Delia, American born, daughter of Renty, Congo & Renty, Congo, on Plantation of BF Taylor, Columbia, SC., photograph, viewed 11 May 2012, http//usslave.blogspot.com.au/2011/10/slave-daguerreotypes-for-loui s-aggassiz.html. Visible Proofs 2006, Forensic Views of the Body, Alphonse Bertillon, US National subroutine library of Medicine, viewed on 12 May 2012,