Humanity On Film | The Rejection of Realism In Digital Photography
phaidon
“PHOTOGRAPHY IS A WAY OF FEELING, OF TOUCHING, OF LOVING. WHAT YOU HAVE CAUGHT ON FILM IS CAPTURED FOREVER… IT REMEMBERS LITTLE THINGS, LONG AFTER YOU HAVE FORGOTTEN EVERYTHING.”
AARON SISKIND
Anyone can pick up a camera and take photos of the world around them, yet only few can capture significance within their portrayal of reality.
It is this sense of realism that echoes through film photography.
Within the notion of film, there is a commitment demanding time, money, patience, and effort.
The modern world seems insufficient in this commitment.
It can force people to question the realistic qualities of photography, and how its dynamic efficiencies transform the art form into an illusion of reality.
What was once exposures, negatives and positives, are now codes and pixels.
A Matter of Memory : Photography as Object in the Digital Age
vivianmaier.com
Nan Goldin and Vivian Maier are two photographers driven by the same question:
Why are raw, candid and authentic concepts extremely rare in the photographed universe?
Both artists capture overwhelming, yet delicate emotions that are mundane and real.
dazeddigital
vivianmaier.com
This is an investigation that reflects on the rejection of realism in the digital age of photography.
The Digital Age Reshapes our Notion of Photography
VIVIAN MAIER
“I’M SORT OF A SPY”
VIVIAN MAIER,
A riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.
vivianmaier.com
Maier’s work is all perplexing, poignant, and provocative.
They employ great technique and even greater sensualism.
As an ‘outsider’, her perspective is one of a tedious spectator - a ‘Fly on the Wall’ that witnesses frozen moments of bare humanity.
vivianmaier.com
vivianmaier.com
vivianmaier.com
vivianmaier.com
Maier’s ability to transcend these moments and communicate them through her work is an ability that is much admired – yet leaves one questioning the incomparable formula behind her work.
Her use of composition and exposure.
Her experiments on shadows and reflections.
Her invasion of people’s personal space.
Her power over black and white photography.
And most significantly, her playfulness.
vivianmaier.com
Maier’s technique is acutely mesmerising, each image carries its own story.
Through all these photographs she communicates innocence and humanity - the simplicity and the profoundness of dull existence. Photographer Christopher Anderson refers to photography as an “emotional truth”.
vivianmaier.com
Maier kept her work in the boundaries of black and white.
Her images feel timeless, present, and human.
They lead us to contemplate the story behind each image, compelling us to look deeper and exploring its “layers”.
As Maier’s work was published after her death, the images remain untitled.
Pictures that need no captions.
vivianmaier.com
The unusual camera angles only hint at her genius eye for composition.
vivianmaier.com
vivianmaier.com
vivianmaier.com
vivianmaier.com
Here the focal point is beyond the intruding figure as Maier captures the expressions of a stranger, incorporating tones of an unguarded reaction.
This is illustrated through the myriad of portraits that were taken of strangers in the street. Their facial expressions highlight their impulse of being taken by surprise.
vivianmaier.com
vivianmaier.com
Understanding that the majority of Maier’s photographs were taken furtively, emphasises any observer’s admiration.
This audacious yet silent woman was a sublime observer and her camera enabled her to act accordingly.
vivianmaier.com
Video Below : Finding Vivian Maier, a photography documentary (trailer) on an artist’s biggest kept secret.
NAN GOLDIN
MY DESIRE IS TO PRESERVE THE SENSE OF PEOPLE’S LIVES, TO ENDOW THEM WITH THE STRENGTH AND BEAUTY I SEE IN THEM. I WANT THE PEOPLE IN MY PICTURES TO STARE BACK.
NAN GOLDIN
dazeddigital
Nan Goldin, an American photographer whose work typically focuses on societal controversies and subjects living within the fringes of society.
Goldin carries a similar essence of the mundane existence found in Maier’s work.
Why Nan Goldin’s Intimate Portraits of 1980s New York Are Still So Relevant
Each face carries emotions that are relatable and evocative, causing the viewer to feel a sense of recognition and possibly empathy.
dazeddigital
In the modern world, censorship prevails, and the free voice of artistic expression slowly declines.
Works such as those produced by Goldin become extremely unique, photographers are now afraid to produce work that will ignite controversy… the controversy that Goldin lived for.
I USED TO THINK THAT I COULD NEVER LOSE ANYONE IF I PHOTOGRAPHED THEM ENOUGH. IN FACT, MY PICTURES SHOWED ME HOW MUCH I’VE LOST.
NAN GOLDIN
guardian
Her photographs seem to be captured by human eyes.
They evoke ambiguity.
They make the viewer feel intimidated but also ignite a familiar, universal and raw sensation of desperation and relation.
andrewsosnowski
Goldin spent most of her photographic life “capturing the intensely intimate and profoundly personal moments of those closest to her.”
Not only is Goldin’s work raw, but its intensely authentic in shared emotional relationships.
nytimes
FINDING HUMANITY
“I DON’T THINK WE HOLD THE SAME ACCOUNTABILITY FOR THE IMAGES WE TAKE ANYMORE. IT HAS REALLY DILUTED THE CRAFT.”
YASMIN SUTEJA
vivianmaier.com
The advancement of the digital age has dramatically changed every notion of photography.
It is less the distinctive aspect of one particular stimulus, but rather the increasing innovation and changing dynamics of technology and modern-day society.
Through digital photography, the camera itself is able to “edit” or “refine” the beauty surrounding us.
The beauty of which we desire to encapsulate in an image mutates in our attempts at perfection.
The near infinite volume of pictures that can be taken in a single shoot leaves less to the artistic eye, and more to a favourable law of averages.
If a million monkeys took a million photos, one’s bound to recreate the works of Goldin.
Works like Maier’s and Goldin’s, are not welcomed by modern tastes. They are considered too ‘offensive’ or ‘derogatory’ to be encouraged.
It’s the new technologies and moralities of the modern age that have brought about this PG state of affairs.
Share-ability, inclusivity and positivity are the core inspirations for the vast majority of photos taken today.
Yet these virtues leave important truths hidden in the dark, exactly where the flash of the camera is needed most.
Until we can provide the platform and exposure that realism in photography deserves, photographic Fake News will prevail.