- A
- B
- C
Listen to a lecture in an art class, take detailed notes while listening.
chaos – disorder and confusion
elevate – to lift up
expressive – communicating ideas and emotions
imitate – to copy or reproduce
manipulate – to cause to change
Fill in the following diagram.
Early photography
Late photography
A 1.
A 3.
B 2.
B 4.
Both
5.
Now answer the questions using your notes.
Stieglitz's Photography: Early and Late
Summarize the text using your notes and diagram.
- 1: Imitated paintings.
- 2: Natural subjects.
- 3: No longer imitating painting.
- 4: Focused on representing everyday life.
- 5: Photography as fine art.
Listen again:
M: Let's now spend a little time talking about the great American photographer Alfred Stieglitz. I want to compare two stages in his long career. But before doing that, f want to point out that during his entire career he worked toward one main goal. What was it?
W: Well, if what I read in the book is accurate, his goal was to elevate the status of photography to the level of a fine art.
M: Right. Before Stieglitz, photography was seen as less expressive than visual arts such as painting, drawing, and sculpture. After Stieglitz, photography joined the ranks of these fine arts. Yet although Stieglitz's goal was the same throughout his career, the subject matter of his photography did not stay the same, For instance, in his early work, before 1917, he took a simple approach to photography. He aimed to imitate the style and composition of painting. He did this through his choice of subject matter and, through carefully manipulating his prints. Stieglitz chose subject-matter with natural elements like snow, steam, or water. These subjects allowed him to create compositions similar to those of a fine painting. He painstakingly made his prints as well. This was necessary to get the tones that he thought made them most appealing. He worked hard to make his prints resemble paintings or watercolors.
W: What changed after 1917?
M: Well the First World War. It profoundly changed the art world, Stieglitz included. After 1917, the focus of his photography shifted to the representation of everyday life. He became more concerned with the world and people around him. His compositions were now less formal. Instead, his later photography aimed to capture the chaos and motion of everyday life. During this latter part of his career, he was less concerned with his final prints resembling paintings or watercolors. This, he saw, was no longer necessary to make photography a fine art. Photography should document reality.
