HAA 1470 Photographers and Photography Since World War II

(offered infrequently)

Invented in 1839, photography was a form of visual expression that immediately engaged a majority of people. Portraiture, for example, was now available for the masses and not just the aristocracy. Starting around 1900, photography was practiced with two dominant strands. One of these firmly believed in the power of photographs to provide a window on the world. The other strand adamantly affirmed that photographs were first and foremost reflections of the soul. As such, they were art objects, equal to painting, drawing and sculpture. These two schools of thought guided photographers throughout the entire twentieth century. Following World War II, a collision of sorts occurred when human-interest photographs were organized into a landmark exhibition, called The Family of Man, at the museum of Modern Art in New York. This display, which toured museums throughout the nation and provided a best-selling catalogue, angered many prominent photographers such as Ansel Adams, Edward Weston, Imogen Cunningham, and others, but gave rise to popularization of photography as fine art. This course explores in depth the tremendous range of photographic expression and examines in particular the contributions of significant post-war image-makers such as W. Eugene Smith, Helen Levitt, Diane Arbus, Robert Frank, Harry Callahan, Olivia Parker, William Wegman, Robert Mapplethorpe, Cindy Sherman, Vik Muniz and others. Along with active student discussion of the assigned reading materials, each class includes a slide lecture which introduces a focused selection of images by each photographer in an attempt to understand their influences, styles and intentions.