Postmodernism

Postmodernism is a movement, or transformation from modernism. Modernism is thought to be the 'project of rejecting tradition in favour of going "where no man has gone before"'[Keep et al (2000)]. In terms of art, photography replaced painting as an art form and became the 'postmodern art form par excellence' [Willette, J, (2012)]. At the time, photography seemed like a great idea. It was something new, and exciting for all. However, when looking at postmodernism photography today, it seems as if almost everything has been done. The world overflows with images, making it almost impossible to ever be creating a new image. Images nowadays are often takes and remakes of past images, taken maybe in a different angle or setting; lacking originality.
Cindy Sherman created a lot of work through post modernism. Setting up her trademark shots, it would seem as if she were recreating previous stills from films. People would relate them to films they had seen and compare the two. However, Shermans work was completely original, showing the difficulty in originality within post modernism.
In the 1970s, a Rephotographic Survey was carried out, in order to test the rephotographing of photography. A Rephotographic Survey usually consists of photographers, revisiting places in which images have been taken before in order to compare the two images. Despite carrying this out however, this one failed as it was discovered that the original photographer had manipulated the image slightly through cropping his images and angling his camera slightly. Photography in terms of postmodernism shows just how hard it is to be original today. As humans, almost any image we see is automatically recognized in relation to another, previous image.

References Keep et al (2000), Defining Post Modernism. Available at: http://www2.iath.virginia.edu/elab/hfl0242.html [Accessed 13 May 2014]
Willette, J, (2012), Postmodernism in Photography. Available at: http://www.arthistoryunstuffed.com/postmodernism-in-photography/ [Accessed, 13 May 2014]
Davis, S, (2010), Rephotographic Survey Projects. Available at: http://www.onlinenevada.org/articles/rephotographic-survey-projects [Accessed, 13 May 2014]

Innovation

Before writing these blogs, I hadn't noticed a specific genre of photography I am particularly interested in, I have always been one to appreciate many. However, when looking back at my past blogs, I have noticed a reoccurring theme of detail. I am intrigued and amazed by almost all macro images and detailed subjects. To many, David Baileys portrait of Man Ray would defer them from staring...yet to me, it is captivating for such detail to be shown within a single image. It is this absorption which intrigued me to every image of Tim Flachs'...or could it be the story behind the image? Despite seeing images as they are with such high detail, I do become attached to an image with a meaning. Much like that of the child and the vulture... at first glance, it seems almost natural for a child to be in a third world country, and be surrounded by a type of bird we don't necessarily get in this country as a lot happens abroad which is not normally photographed. However, the story that this vulture was watching the young child for hours, depicting whether to eat her or not is the most alluring part and makes us appreciate the image even more. Yet again, recently, I have been researching a lot of macro photography work, such as that of Amalia Veralli's flowers and have not found one i do not admire. I am happy that writing these blogs has allowed me to recognise this innovation and I intend to experiment with Macro Photography a lot more. 

References

Veralli, A, (2014), Photo Galleries. Available at: http://www.amaliaphotography.com/-/amaliaphotography/galleryindex.asp [Accessed 12th May]

William Eggleston

William Eggleston, (2009), Untitled

William Eggleston, (2003) Untitled (St. Simons Island, Georgia) 1978

Being a fan of Alex Pragers work, it probably comes as no surprise that I also have a love for William Egglestons’ work. An idol in the colour film photography world, Eggleston has been a photographer since the 1960s. His work is easily recognizable as it is consistent. He photographs a lot deserted areas, old cars and petrol stations; yet, as dull as they sound, they always seem to end up sparking an interest through the use of colour. He seems to be a very laid back man, unsure of what exactly to shoot until it is in front of his very eyes, nothing is pre planned. I recently attended the Tate Modern to see his permanent exhibition of which featured some of his most iconic images. I compare his work a lot to that of Alex Pragers’ as both experiment a lot with colour. Pragers work is a much more thought about, planned version of Egglestons. Egglestons work is set within the 60s as they were at the time, whereas Pragers is a very believable, yet fictional set up of the 60s. However; it seems to me that Eggleston has been very fortunate in life. Opportunities have always arisen for him, he always seems to have been in the right place, at the right time. For many, this may then introduce the argument that he is not as talented a photographer as many others, that may be he has just been lucky in life. After all, it does seem rare that photographs of deserted petrol stations and everyday life can make somebody so famous. However, despite what could be said, William Eggleston is a photographer in his own right and remains a legacy in the world of photography.

References

William Eggleston, (2003) Untitled (St. Simons Island, Georgia) 1978, Available at: http://erickimphotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/william-eggleston-untitled-n-d-women-with-hair-660x449.jpg [Accessed 25 March 2014]

William Eggleston, (2009), Untitled, Available at: http://thessw.blogspot.co.uk/2009/11/william-eggleston.html [Accessed, 25 March 2014]

Baker and Mavlian, (2014), William  Eggleston, Available at: http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/display/william-eggleston [Accessed 25 March 2014]

Muriel, J, (2013), William Eggleston Photographer, Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4O2Oz6lQ7bs [Accessed, 29 March 2014]