Humanist photography: Difference between revisions
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Developments in technology supported these characteristics. The [[35mm format|35mm]] [[Leica Camera|Leica]] camera, miniaturized and portable, had become available in 1925, followed by the [[Contax]] and [[Medium format (film)|medium-format]] [[Rolleiflex]] to revolutionize the practice of [[documentary photography]] and reportage by enabling the photographer to shoot quickly and unobtrusively in all conditions, to seize the “decisive moment” which [[Henri Cartier-Bresson|Cartier-Bresson]] defined as “the whole essence, in the confines of one single photograph, of some situation that was in the process of unrolling itself before my eyes” and thus support [[Cornell Capa]]’s notion of “concerned photography”, described as “work committed to contributing to or understanding humanity’s well-being.” Photographing on the street or in the bistro primarily in black‐and‐white in available light with the popular small cameras of the day, these image-makers discovered what the writer [[Pierre Mac Orlan]] (1882-1970) called the 'fantastique social de la rue' (social fantastic of the street) and their style of image making rendered romantic and poetic the way of life of ordinary European people, particularly in Paris. Iconic books appeared including [[Robert Doisneau|Doisneau]]'s ''Banlieue de Paris'' (1949), [[Izis Bidermanas|Izis]]'s ''Paris des rêves'' (1950), Ronis's ''Belleville‐Ménilmontant'' (1954), Cartier‐Bresson's ''Images à la sauvette'' (1952; better known by its English title, which defines the photographic orientation of all these photographers, ''The Decisive Moment''). The movement also includes less well-known photographers like Jean Dieuzaide, [[Janine Niépce]] and [[Jean-Philippe Charbonnier]]. |
Developments in technology supported these characteristics. The [[35mm format|35mm]] [[Leica Camera|Leica]] camera, miniaturized and portable, had become available in 1925, followed by the [[Contax]] and [[Medium format (film)|medium-format]] [[Rolleiflex]] to revolutionize the practice of [[documentary photography]] and reportage by enabling the photographer to shoot quickly and unobtrusively in all conditions, to seize the “decisive moment” which [[Henri Cartier-Bresson|Cartier-Bresson]] defined as “the whole essence, in the confines of one single photograph, of some situation that was in the process of unrolling itself before my eyes” and thus support [[Cornell Capa]]’s notion of “concerned photography”, described as “work committed to contributing to or understanding humanity’s well-being.” Photographing on the street or in the bistro primarily in black‐and‐white in available light with the popular small cameras of the day, these image-makers discovered what the writer [[Pierre Mac Orlan]] (1882-1970) called the 'fantastique social de la rue' (social fantastic of the street) and their style of image making rendered romantic and poetic the way of life of ordinary European people, particularly in Paris. Iconic books appeared including [[Robert Doisneau|Doisneau]]'s ''Banlieue de Paris'' (1949), [[Izis Bidermanas|Izis]]'s ''Paris des rêves'' (1950), Ronis's ''Belleville‐Ménilmontant'' (1954), Cartier‐Bresson's ''Images à la sauvette'' (1952; better known by its English title, which defines the photographic orientation of all these photographers, ''The Decisive Moment''). The movement also includes less well-known photographers like Jean Dieuzaide, [[Janine Niépce]] and [[Jean-Philippe Charbonnier]]. |
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This is in marked contrast to the contemporaneous ‘art’ photography of the USA, though there too ran a current of humanism in photography begun by [[Lewis Hine]], followed by the FSA photographers and apparent in work as late as the 1970s essays of [[Bruce Davidson (photographer)|Bruce Davidson]] and [[Mary Ellen Mark|Mary-Ellen Mark]]. |
This is in marked contrast to the contemporaneous ‘art’ photography of the USA, though there too ran a current of humanism in photography begun by [[Lewis Hine]], followed by the FSA photographers and apparent in work as late as the 1970s essays of [[Bruce Davidson (photographer)|Bruce Davidson]] and [[Mary Ellen Mark|Mary-Ellen Mark]].<ref>Erik Mortenson (2014) The Ghost of Humanism: Rethinking the Subjective Turn in Postwar American Photography, History of Photography, 38:4, 418-434, DOI: 10.1080/03087298.2014.899747</ref> |
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==Exhibitions== |
==Exhibitions== |
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Revision as of 02:14, 29 February 2016
Humanist Photography manifests the Enlightenment philosophical system in social documentary practice based on a perception of social change. It emerged in the mid-twentieth-century and is associated most strongly with Europe, particularly France, where the upheavals of the two world wars originated, though it was a worldwide movement. It can be distinguished from photojournalism, with which it forms a sub-class of reportage, as it is concerned more broadly with everyday human experience, to witness mannerisms and customs, than with newsworthy events, though practitioners are conscious of conveying particular conditions and social trends, often, though not exclusively, concentrating on the underclasses or those disadvantaged by conflict, economic hardship or prejudice. Humanist photography ‘affirms the idea of a universal underlying human nature’ [1]
Philosophical foundation
At the end of WW2, in 1946, French intellectuals Jean-Paul Sartre and André Malraux embraced humanism;[2] Sartre arguing that existentialism was a humanism entailing freedom of choice and a responsibility for defining oneself,[3] while at the Sorbonne in an address sponsored by UNESCO, Malraux depicted human culture as ‘humanisme tragique’, a battle against biological decay and historical disaster.[4] Emerging from brutal global conflict, survivors desired material and cultural reconstruction and the appeal of humanism was a return to the values of dignity, equality and tolerance symbolised in an international proclamation and adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the General Assembly of the United Nations in Paris on 10 December 1948[5] That the photographic image could become a universal language in accord with these principles was an notion circulated at a UNESCO conference in 1958 [6]
Emergence
As France in particular,[7] but also Belgium and the Netherlands, emerged from the dark period of the Occupation (1940–4), the liberation of Paris in August 1944 released photography to respond to reconstruction[8] and the Fourth Republic’s (1947–59) drive to redefine a French identity after war, defeat, occupation, and collaboration.[9] For photographers the experience had been one in which the Nazi authorities censored all visual expression and the Vichy carefully controlled those who remained and who eked out a living with portraiture, commercial and officially endorsed editorial photography, though some joined the Resistance from 1941, forging passes and documents.
This humanist artistic current continued into to the late 1960s and early 70s, after which attention turned to photography as a fine art. Humanist photography emerged and spread with the rise of the mass circulation picture magazines in the 1902s and as photographers formed or joined agencies which promoted their work and fed the demand of the newspaper and magazine audiences, publishers and editors before the advent of television broadcasting which rapidly displaced these audiences at the close of the 1960s. These publications include the Berliner Illustrirte Zeitung, Vu, Point de Vue, Regards, MATCH, Picture Post, LIFE, LOOK, and Réalités which competed to give ever larger space to photo-stories; extended articles and editorials that were profusely illustrated, or that consisted solely of photographs with captions, often by a single photographer, who would be credited alongside the journalist, or who provided written copy as well as images. National and international exposure of humanist photography was accelerated through exhibitions and of particular importance in this regard is The Family of Man which presented a unifying humanist manifesto in the form of images selected from amongst, literally, a million. In turn, this exposure inspired a new generation.
Characteristics
Typically humanist photographers harness the photograph’s combination of description and emotional affect to both inform and move the viewer, who may identify with the subject; their images are appreciated as continuing the pre-war tradition of photo reportage as social or documentary records of human experience; and praised for expressing of humanist values such as solidarity and mutual respect in recognition of the photographer, usually an editorial freelancer, as auteur on a par with other artists.[10]
Developments in technology supported these characteristics. The 35mm Leica camera, miniaturized and portable, had become available in 1925, followed by the Contax and medium-format Rolleiflex to revolutionize the practice of documentary photography and reportage by enabling the photographer to shoot quickly and unobtrusively in all conditions, to seize the “decisive moment” which Cartier-Bresson defined as “the whole essence, in the confines of one single photograph, of some situation that was in the process of unrolling itself before my eyes” and thus support Cornell Capa’s notion of “concerned photography”, described as “work committed to contributing to or understanding humanity’s well-being.” Photographing on the street or in the bistro primarily in black‐and‐white in available light with the popular small cameras of the day, these image-makers discovered what the writer Pierre Mac Orlan (1882-1970) called the 'fantastique social de la rue' (social fantastic of the street) and their style of image making rendered romantic and poetic the way of life of ordinary European people, particularly in Paris. Iconic books appeared including Doisneau's Banlieue de Paris (1949), Izis's Paris des rêves (1950), Ronis's Belleville‐Ménilmontant (1954), Cartier‐Bresson's Images à la sauvette (1952; better known by its English title, which defines the photographic orientation of all these photographers, The Decisive Moment). The movement also includes less well-known photographers like Jean Dieuzaide, Janine Niépce and Jean-Philippe Charbonnier.
This is in marked contrast to the contemporaneous ‘art’ photography of the USA, though there too ran a current of humanism in photography begun by Lewis Hine, followed by the FSA photographers and apparent in work as late as the 1970s essays of Bruce Davidson and Mary-Ellen Mark.[11]
Exhibitions
In April 1996, the inaugural exhibition of the Maison de la Photographie Robert Doisneau, entitled "This Is How Men Live: Humanism and Photography", presented 80 photographers from 17 different countries and covered a period from 1905 to today. The Maison de la Photographie Robert Doisneau has been dedicated to humanist photography inspired by revisiting the concept, including all countries and eras.
The exhibition "The humanistic picture (1945-1968) around Izis, Boubat, Brassaï, Doisneau, Ronis, et al. took place in the Mois de Photo festival from 31 October 2006 to 28 January 2007 at the BNF, Site Richelieu.
Humanist photographers
The list below is not exhaustive, but presents photographers that can be partially or totally attached to this movement:
References
- ^ Lutz, C.A. and Collins, J.L. (1993) Reading National Geographic. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p.277
- ^ Smith, D. Funny Face: Humanism in Post-War French Photography and Philosophy. French Cultural Studies February 2005 vol. 16 no. 1 41-53
- ^ Sartre, J.-P. (1996) L’Existentialisme est un humanisme. Paris: Gallimard.
- ^ Malraux, A. (1996) ‘L’Homme et la culture’, in J. Mossuz-Lavau (ed.), La Politique, la culture: discours, articles, entretiens (1925–1975), pp. 151–61. Paris: Gallimard.
- ^ Kelly, M. (1989) ‘Humanism and National Unity: The Ideological Reconstruction of France’, in N. Hewitt (ed.), The Culture of Reconstruction: European Literature, Thought and Film, 1945–50, pp. 103–19. London: Macmillan.
- ^ An international centre of photography and moving pictures was created, then, during the UNESCO General Conference in New Delhi, an international of film and television, non-profit organisation dedicated primarily to education, culture and development of the international associations concerned was proposed by the Italian delegation to UNESCO, with Professor Mario Verdone, and on 23 October 1958 the International Council for Cinema, Television and Audiovisual Communication charter was signed
- ^ Thézy (Marie de), La Photographie humaniste, 1930-1960. Histoire d’un mouvement en France, Paris, Contrejour, 1992.
- ^ Reconstructions et modernisation. La France après les ruines (1918-1945), [catalogue de l’exposition aux Archives nationales, Paris, hôtel de Rohan, janvier-mai 1991], Paris, Archives nationales, 1991
- ^ Hamilton, P. (2001). " A poetry of the streets?" Documenting Frenchness in an Era of Reconstruction: Humanist Photography 1935-1960. In The Documentary Impulse in French Literature, 177.
- ^ Chevrier, J.-F. (1987a) ‘Photographie 1947: le poids de la tradition’, in J.-L. Daval (ed.), L’Art en Europe: les années décisives 1945–1953, pp. 177–89. Geneva: Skira/Musée d’art moderne de Saint-Étienne
- ^ Erik Mortenson (2014) The Ghost of Humanism: Rethinking the Subjective Turn in Postwar American Photography, History of Photography, 38:4, 418-434, DOI: 10.1080/03087298.2014.899747