Chapter 2.9FilmVideo and Digital ArtPART 2MEDIA AND P

Chapter 2.9
Film/Video and Digital Art
PART 2
MEDIA AND PROCESSES
Copyright © 2015 Thames & Hudson
Introduction
Of all the media chosen by artists, the moving image is one of
the youngest and most widely used
Film
Video
Digital
PART 2
MEDIA AND PROCESSES
Chapter 2.9 Film/Video and Digital Art
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Third Edition,
Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, and M. Kathryn Shields
The dominant process for making movies until very recently
was film: flexible, celluloid, and light-sensitive
While films are made using a movie camera and viewed with a
projector, videos are generally made with small, hand-held
cameras
Video, in which images consist of pixels, was initially an
analog technology, like film
More common today, however, is the use of digital video
cameras
Often, moving images are recorded on film and transferred to a
digital format for the purposes of editing and presentation

Today, films can be viewed on a variety of devices and screen
sizes, and almost anywhere and at any time
2
Moving Images before Film
Zoetrope: antique toy that gives the illusion of movement
Theory of persistence of vision: separate images presented to
the human eye at regular intervals appear as a continuous
sequence
To make moving pictures, motion first had to be frozen in still
images
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MEDIA AND PROCESSES
A zoetrope contains a rotating cylinder with a sequence of
images on the inside
By looking through the outer ring of the cylinder, which has
slots cut into it, and spinning the zoetrope, the viewer gets the
impression of a single image in continuous motion
Basis of modern film and video technique
A modern movie will show images at twenty-four frames per
second; IMAX high-definition films can show forty-eight, to
provide a heightened sense of reality
3
Zoetrope
2.9.1 Diagram of a zoetrope
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MEDIA AND PROCESSES
Artwork: Laboratorio Paravicini, “Play Plates”
2.9.2 Costanza Paravicini/Laboratorio Paravicini,“Play Plates”,
2016. ceramic, diameter 9¾"
5
Laboratorio Paravicini, “Play Plates”
Illusion of movement created by stroboscopic motion
The designs on these plates use the concept of implied motion
with sequential still images
Subjects include animals, acrobats, children, dancers, hunters,
and demons in a vintage style
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MEDIA AND PROCESSES
Stroboscopic motion: effect created when we see two or more
repeated images in quick succession in a such a way that they
visually fuse together.
6
Portal Artwork: Phenakistoscope
1.5.5 Phenakistoscope, or “Magic Disk,” c. 1840. Wood and

glass with 8 paper disks. Made in France
The persistence of vision and stroboscopic motion also be seen
in the optical device called a phenakistoscope.
Artwork: Eadweard Muybridge, The Horse in Motion
2.9.3 Eadweard Muybridge, The Horse in Motion, June 18,
1878. Albumen print. Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Eadweard Muybridge, The Horse in Motion
To settle a wager, Muybridge photographed a horse running by
using a line of twelve cameras
Proved that the human eye is not able to see that a galloping
horse has all its legs off the ground at once (underneath its
body)
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MEDIA AND PROCESSES
English photographer Eadweard Muybridge (1830–1904) was
paid about $42,000 to resolve the wager
Before then, people thought the legs of the horse were extended,
like those of a rocking horse, when they were off the ground
9
Silent and

Black-and-White Film
Earliest films were short clips
Documenting daily life
Black/white, silent
Shown in nickelodeons: small storefront movie theaters
By 1896, movies were shown all over Europe and the US
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MEDIA AND PROCESSES
Nickelodeons provided musical accompaniments with live piano
and drums, and some provided lecturers to explain the action as
the moving pictures, or movies, played
As movies grew into a business, they were shown in huge,
ornate movie palaces that might also feature a pipe organ
10
Artwork: Georges Méliès, scene from A Trip to the Moon
2.9.4 Georges Méliès, scene from A Trip to the Moon (Le
Voyage dans la Lune), 1902, 14 minutes, Star Film
Georges Méliès, scene from A Trip to the Moon
Méliès was a magician and filmmaker
In his most famous film, astronomers launch themselves from a
cannon and crash into the moon’s right eye
Méliès was one of the first to use multiple settings, repeated
scenes, and cuts

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MEDIA AND PROCESSES
Georges Méliès (1861–1938) began showing films as part of his
theatrical magic show
His silent science-fiction and fantasy films were known for their
trick effects and humor
12
Artwork: D. W. Griffith,
Birth of a Nation
2.9.5 D. W. Griffith,
Birth of a Nation, 1915,
publicity poster
13
D. W. Griffith,
Birth of a Nation
Hollywood’s first blockbuster film
Innovative editing techniques
Silent; tells an epic story with symbolism, gesture, and onscreen
text
Now controversial; used by the Ku Klux Klan for recruitment
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MEDIA AND PROCESSES

American filmmaker D. W. Griffith’s (1875–1948) silent film
Birth of a Nation (1915) is important for the epic scale of its
production, its stylistic and technical innovations, and its use of
the film medium as a propaganda tool.
14
Artwork: Orson Welles,
scene from Citizen Kane
2.9.6 Orson Welles, scene from Citizen Kane, 1941, 112
minutes, RKO Pictures
Orson Welles, scene from Citizen Kane
Revolutionary film techniques:
Fabricated newspaper headlines and flashbacks (now
commonplace)
Dramatic lighting, innovative editing, natural sound, elaborate
sets, moving camera shots, deep focus, low angles
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MEDIA AND PROCESSES
American filmmaker, Orson Welles (1915–1985), wrote,
directed, and starred in Citizen Kane (1941)
Box-office failure but hailed by critics as brilliant

Welles’s film tells the story of Charles Foster Kane, a character
modeled on the real-life newspaper tycoon William Randolph
Hearst
The movie questions the values of the American Dream and was
controversial for its criticism of Hearst, a powerful public
figure
16
Sound and Color
From the late 1920s, color film was promoted as a novelty to
attract audiences
Before 1927, any sound was performed live in theaters
After that, dialog, background noise, and music were built into
the film itself
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MEDIA AND PROCESSES
Artwork: Victor Fleming, scene from The Wizard of Oz
2.9.7 Victor Fleming, scene from The Wizard of Oz, 1939, 101
minutes, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
18
Victor Fleming, scene from The Wizard of Oz
One of the first popular films to use color
Brilliant colors of the Land of Oz transport us into a fantasy
world far removed from Kansas

Color is prominent: ruby slippers, yellow-brick road to the
Emerald City
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MEDIA AND PROCESSES
19
Artwork: Donen and Kelly, still from Singin’ in the Rain
2.9.8 Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly, still from Singin’ in the
Rain, 1952, 103 minutes, produced by Loew’s Incorporated,
distributed by MGM
Donen and Kelly, still from Singin’ in the Rain
Donen and Kelly's movie tells the humorous story of a silent-
film company transitioning to sound
Synchronizing sound with the actors’ lip movements was a
challenge initially, as songs had to be recorded separately
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MEDIA AND PROCESSES
Musical: tells the story with dialog, song, and dance.

21
Artwork: Michel Hazanavicius, still from The Artist
2.9.9 Michel Hazanavicius, still from The Artist, 2011, 100
minutes, Studio 37
22
Michel Hazanavicius, still from The Artist
Hazanavicius's silent, black-and-white movie recalls the impact
of sound on the film industry
Won an Oscar for Best Picture in 2011
Shows how vividly actors can communicate through gesture and
expression
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MEDIA AND PROCESSES
All of the technical details, including lenses, lighting, and
camera moves, were calculated to match the look of original
silent films of the 1920s and 1930s as closely as possible.
23
Animation and Special Effects
Animation: creates the illusion of movement
Still images are projected in sequence
Special effects can be created by using models, props, or

makeup during filming, or with digital technology
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MEDIA AND PROCESSES
Animation
Video:
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MEDIA AND PROCESSES
Artwork: Burton and Selick, set of Nightmare Before Christmas
2.9.10 Tim Burton (left) and director Henry Selick, set of The
Nightmare Before Christmas, 1993
Burton and Selick,
set of Nightmare
Before Christmas
Stop-motion animation: figures are photographed in a pose,
moved very slightly, photographed again
Based on a poem Tim Burton wrote
Like many animated films, this movie is more for adults than
children

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MEDIA AND PROCESSES
Some of the earliest film animations were made using puppets
or dolls
Created by US animator Tim Burton (b. 1958)
Story about characters from Halloweentown who almost wreck
Christmas when Jack Skellington impersonates “Sandy Claws”
and takes over the preparations for bringing peace on earth and
goodwill to humanity
27
Artwork: Miyazaki with Wise,
still from Spirited Away
2.9.11 Hayao Miyazaki with Kirk Wise (English version), still
from Spirited Away, 2001, 125 minutes, Studio Ghibli
Miyazaki with Wise,
still from Spirited Away
Miyazaki's film uses cel animation: the most common technique
for animated films, which uses a sequence of drawings called
cels
This 125-minute film requiring between 90,000 and 200,000
drawings
(12–30 per second)
Influenced by Japanese mythology

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MEDIA AND PROCESSES
For much of the twentieth century, the most common technique
for making animated films was cel animation
An Oscar-winning film
Backgrounds and stationary sections were overlaid by the
moving parts on transparent sheets, greatly reducing the number
of images that had to be generated
For the most part it has been replaced by digital technology
Spirited Away tells the story of a ten-year-old girl named
Chihiro who is unhappy about moving to a new town with her
family
After she is introduced to a world filled with spirits from
Japan’s mythology, she discovers that her parents have been
transformed into pigs by a witch
She must go on a quest to conquer her fears in order to find the
strength to bring her family back together
Writer and director, Hayao Miyazaki (b. 1941), personally
created detailed storyboards, or series of drawings, to be used
as the basis for the animations
29
Artwork: Jean-Pierre Jeunet, still from Amélie
2.9.12 Jean-Pierre Jeunet, still from Amélie (The Fabulous
Destiny of Amélie Poulain), 2001,
122 minutes, Claudie Ossard Productions
Jean-Pierre Jeunet,
still from Amélie
Animation and special effects help tell the story

Amélie’s heart beats out of her
chest; in another scene, she
melts into a puddle
Mixes fantasy and reality to reveal the magical qualities of
ordinary life
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MEDIA AND PROCESSES
French director Jean-Pierre Jeunet (b. 1953) tells the story of
Amélie, a shy twenty-three-year-old waitress
Inanimate objects, such as Renoir’s Impressionist painting
Luncheon of the Boating Party, almost take on the significance
of characters
31
Artwork: The Lord of the Rings
2.9.13a Gollum from Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings:
The Return of the King, 2003. 201 minutes, New Line Cinema
2.9.13b Andy Serkis playing Gollum in The Lord of the Rings:
The Two Towers, 2002
32
The Lord of the Rings
Combines live-action and computer-generated imagery (CGI)

Andy Serkis acted out the facial expressions, bodily movements,
and voice of Gollum
Combined traditional acting, motion capture, and the skills of
animators
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MEDIA AND PROCESSES
Directed by Peter Jackson (b. 1961), this adventure/fantasy film
won 11 Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Visual Effects
Serkis acted out all of the scenes twice: once on set, which
allowed him to interact directly with the other actors and
greatly assisted the animators; and again on the performance-
capture stage
The motion-capture process involved putting dots on Serkis’s
face and body suit to track and record his movements with 25
cameras in order to register as much information as possible so
the software could replicate the movements digitally
Serkis based the voice on the sounds and motions his cat made
coughing up a furball
33
Film Genres
Genres are categories of artistic subject matter
Each has its own established conventions, plot lines, stock
characters
Examples include: action, animation, crime, fantasy, historical,
romance, horror, and science fiction

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MEDIA AND PROCESSES
Artwork: Julie Taymor,
still from Frida
2.9.14 Julie Taymor, still from Frida, 2002
Julie Taymor,
still from Frida
Based on a biography of the artist Frida Kahlo written by art
historian Hayden Herrera
A biopic: focuses on a person’s life, and adds elements to craft
an effective narrative
Visually references Kahlo’s art in addition to telling her life
story
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MEDIA AND PROCESSES
Directed by American Julie Taymor (b. 1952), the film tells the
story of a psychiatrist, Dr. Caligari, and his servant Cesare, who
can foretell the future
Hayden Herrera (b. 1940)
Biopic is part of the historical genre
Historical genre also includes historical dramas, which place
more emphasis on portraying real-life events in believable ways

Biopics are based on actual people who are or were alive;
historical dramas can be fictionalized or based on facts
36
Portal Artwork: Julie Taymor,
still from Frida
4.9.18a Frida Kahlo, The Two Fridas, 1939. Oil on canvas, 5'8"
x 5'8", Museo de Arte Moderna, Mexico City, Mexico
Frida Kahlo’s life influenced her art.
37
Artwork: Theodore Melfi,
still from Hidden Figures
2.9.15 Theodore Melfi, still from Hidden Figures, 2016, 127
minutes, Fox 2000 Pictures
38
Theodore Melfi, still from Hidden Figures
Historical drama: this genre portrays real-life events in
believable ways
Tells the true story of three
African American “computers”
at NASA, Langley in the 1960s
Based on the book of the same title by Margot Lee Shetterly
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MEDIA AND PROCESSES
Historical drama is part of the historical genre; historical
dramas can be fictionalized or based on facts
Historical genre also includes biopics, which are based on
actual people who are or were alive
“calculators” was the name given to mathematicians in the days
when complicated calculations were done by hand
The women’s names are Katherine Goble Johnson, Dorothy
Vaughan, and Mary Jackson
Their contributions to the US space program were overlooked in
historical accounts due to racism and segregation during the Jim
Crow era
Margot Lee Shetterly (b. 1969) grew up around black scientists
and engineers who worked with her father at NASA but she
never saw their stories being told.
During 2017 Oscars ceremony 98-year old Katherine Goble
Johnson was recognized for her long overlooked
accomplishments
39
Film as Art: Auteur Films
Auteur theory: films are works of art because they are the
realization of a director’s creative vision
Controversial because movies are collaborative
Proponents focus on the artistic vision of the director (e.g. Jean-
Luc Godard, Alfred Hitchcock, Woody Allen)
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MEDIA AND PROCESSES

“Auteur” is French for “author”
Auteur theory is controversial because it does not acknowledge
the creative contribution of actors, cinematographers, set and
costume designers, and the many other people who help to make
a film
40
Artwork: Wong Kar-wai, still from Chungking Express
2.9.16 Wong Kar-wai, Chungking Express, 1994. 102 minutes,
Jet Tone Production
41
Wong Kar-Wai, still from Chungking Express
Tales of two Hong Kong police officers overlap; both involve
transitioning romance
Wong’s work is characterized by complicated narratives
Highlights the fast pace and isolation of contemporary life
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MEDIA AND PROCESSES
The distinctive vision of Chinese director Wong Kar-Wai (b.
1958) permeates Chungking Express

The suspenseful story of drug dealing in the first tale in some
ways contrasts with the odd comedy of the second; in other
ways, however, the two stories resonate poetically, each
evoking the other in its depiction of lost love and longing
42
Film as Art:
Experimental Films
This type of film is notable for
their unusual content and idiosyncrasy, and are usually made
in a low-budget format
Use of new technology and innovative approaches (dream
sequences, fantastic imagery)
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MEDIA AND PROCESSES
They are often the production of a single person or small group
Such films frequently do not have integrated sound, or use it in
unnatural ways
Often autobiographical
43
Artwork: Maya Deren, still from Meshes of the Afternoon
2.9.17 Maya Deren, still from Meshes of the Afternoon, 1943,
14 minutes, 16mm black-and-white silent film
Maya Deren, still from Meshes of the Afternoon
Fourteen-minute film
Follows a woman’s experience of an afternoon
Time is circular; mimics a dream

Reflects a state of mind, like visual poetry
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MEDIA AND PROCESSES
American dancer, choreographer, and filmmaker Maya Deren
(1917–1961) wrote Meshes of the Afternoon (1943) and co-
directed it with her husband, cinematographer Alexander
Hammid
Each object in the film seems to have an unnamed symbolic
significance, and it is impossible to separate actual occurrences
from memories or fiction
45
Film as Art: Video
Often made for galleries or art events
Shown on television monitors or projected onto walls
May transform a space by creating an environment
Artistic experimentation
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MEDIA AND PROCESSES
Because high-quality video equipment is relatively inexpensive,
artistic experimentation with video is widespread.
46
Video

Video:
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MEDIA AND PROCESSES
Artwork: Paik and Godfrey,
still from Global Groove
2.9.18 Nam June Paik and John J. Godfrey, still from Global
Groove, 1973, single-channel videotape, color with sound.
Courtesy Electronic Arts Intermix (EAI), New York
48
Paik and Godfrey,
still from Global Groove
Korean-American artist Nam June Paik was a pioneer of video
art
Thirty-minute video recording (1973)
Combines clips from television (commercials, news footage)
and musical performance
Foreshadows music video
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MEDIA AND PROCESSES

Korean-American artist Nam June Paik’s (1932–2006) Global
Groove comments on the increasingl y important role of media
and technology in daily life.
49
Portal Artwork: Pipilotti Rist,
Ever Is Over All
3.10.15 Pipilotti Rist, Ever Is Over All, 1997. Video installation
with two monitors, dimensions variable. MoMA, New York
Some videos are projected to create visual connections as well
as sensory experiences
The elements of Ever Is Over All juxtapose still life and
narrative scenes with ambient music
50
Artwork: Bill Viola,
Going Forth by Day
2.9.19a Bill Viola, Going Forth by Day, 2002. Installation view,
video/sound installation, five-part projected image cycle
51
Artwork: Bill Viola, The Raft
2.9.19b Bill Viola, The Raft, May 2004. Video/sound
installation, color,
High-definition video projection on wall in darkened space,
screen size 13' × 7’3⅜"

Production for The Raft
2.9.20c Bill Viola (on the right) in production for The Raft,
Downey Studios, Downey, California, 2004
Bill Viola: How Did
Video Become Art?
“Video as art exists somewhere between the permanence of
painting and the temporary existence of music”
“The digital image has become the common language of our
time”
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MEDIA AND PROCESSES
Perspectives on Art:
One of the world’s leading video artists
Viola has worked in video since the 1970s
54
Portal Artwork: Charles Csuri,
Wondrous Spring
1.4.3 Charles Csuri,
Wondrous Spring,
1992. Computer
image, 4' × 5'5"

In addition to interactivity, the technology used in computer
images allows an unprecedented range of colors and visual
effects.
55
Interactive Technology
and Television
Digital technology allows artists to involve viewers as active
participants
Viewer determines the appearance
of the work or chooses different paths to follow
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MEDIA AND PROCESSES
GIFs, developed in 1987 by engineer Steve Wilhite: files of
both static and animated images compressed for quick transfer
GIFs are popular because they add a dynamic component to
visual communication
56
Artwork: Playdead,
still from Limbo
2.9.20 Playdead, still from Limbo, 2010
57

Playdead, still from Limbo
The video game industry rivals the film industry in revenue
Limbo: awards for innovative and striking artistic visuals
Features grayscale, silhouettes, and atmospheric perspecti ve
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MEDIA AND PROCESSES
2-D side scrolling game: gameplay is seen from a side-angle
view with onscreen characters generally moving left to right and
backgrounds made up of scrolling graphics
Silhouette: a portrait or figure represented in outline and filled
in with solid color, usually black
Atmospheric perspective: clarity to create the illusion of depth.
Closer objects have warmer tones and clear outlines, while
objects set further away are cooler and become hazy
58
Artwork: Benioff and Weiss,
still from Game of Thrones
2.9.21 David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, still from Game of
Thrones, 2011–present, HBO original television series
59
Benioff and Weiss, still from Game of Thrones
New genre of television series: broadcast on the Internet

HBO mini-series; episodes for an entire season released at once
Streaming format gives viewer control of the speed they want to
watch the show
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MEDIA AND PROCESSES
Based on series of novels called A Song of Ice and Fire by
George R.R. Martin (b. 1948)
The show, originally released in 2011 has been consistently
critically acclaimed and is HBO’s most-watched series ever
Seasons 7 and 8 are taken from material that is not in the novels
60
Chapter 2.9 Copyright Information
This concludes the PowerPoint slide set for Chapter 2.9
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts
Third Edition
By Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, and M. Kathryn
Shields
PowerPoints developed by CreativeMyndz Multimedia Studios
PART 2
MEDIA AND PROCESSES

Picture Credits for Chapter 2.9
2.9.1 Ralph Larmann
2.9.2 Courtesy Laboratorio Paravicini
2.9.3 Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., Prints &
Photographs Division, LC-USZ62-45683
2.9.4 Star Film Company
2.9.5 akg-images
2.9.6 RKO Radio Pictures/Ronald Grant Archive/Mary
Evans
2.9.7 British Film Institute (BFI)
2.9.8 M.G.M./Album/akg-images
2.9.9 La Classe Americane/uFilm/France 3/The Kobal
Collection
2.9.10 Album/akg-images
2.9.11 Disney Enterprises/Album/akg-images
2.9.13a New Line Cinema/The Kobal Collection
2.9.13b Album/akg-images
2.9.14 Handprint Entertainment/Lions Gate Film/Miramax
Films/Ronald Grant Archive/Mary Evans
2.9.15 Fox 200 Pictures/Levantine Fils/Album/akg-images
2.9.16 © AF Archive/Alamy
2.9.18 Courtesy Electronic Arts Intermix (EAI), New York
2.9.19a Photo Mathias Schormann © Bill Viola
2.9.19bPhoto Kira Perov © Bill Viola
2.9.19c Photo Kira Perov © Bill Viola
2.9.20 © 2018 Playdead
2.9.21 HBO/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock
PART 2
MEDIA AND PROCESSES

Chapter 2.10
Alternative Media
and Processes
PART 2
MEDIA AND PROCESSES
Introduction
Break down traditional boundaries between art and life
Actions and ideas rather than a physical product
Can be interactive
Often incorporates more than one type of medium;
categorization of artworks becomes complicated
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MEDIA AND PROCESSES
Chapter 2.10 Alternative Media and Processes
The creative process produces events, ideas, and experiences
that are artworks in themselves.
In conceptual art, the idea behind an artwork is more important
than any visual subject or material product.
For example, if an artist printed a set of instructions for the
viewer, the actual, tangible result of the piece would be the
actions that person performed.
2
Context of Alternative Media
20th century: Artists explore new ideas about art (actions, texts,
environments)
Influence of Jackson Pollock and his action paintings of the

1950s
Works themselves tend to last for a short period of time
Documentation becomes important
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MEDIA AND PROCESSES
Alternative media approaches diverge from the traditional
Western practices known as “fine art,” narrowly defined as
paintings on canvas and sculptures on pedestals.
3
Portal Artwork:
Jackson Pollock, Number 1A
3.9.26 Jackson Pollock, Number 1A, 1948. Oil and enamel paint
on canvas, 5’8 × 8'8". MoMA, New York
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MEDIA AND PROCESSES
The painting method used by Jackson Pollock brought attention
to the physical movement of the artist in the creation of art, in
addition to the artwork itself.
4
Conceptual Art
The idea is more important than any material product

Influenced by the Dada movement and Marcel Duchamp’s
readymades
Opened up possibilities of making art from everyday things,
imagery from popular culture, or simply ideas
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MEDIA AND PROCESSES
Conceptual art has flourished from the 1960s onward
In some ways it is similar to Dada absurdist events in Zürich in
1916, where artists performed nonsense poetry as a release from
and savage commentary on the events of World War I
One of Duchamp’s (1887–1968) artworks, Fountain, was
rejected for an art exhibition in New York in 1917 because it
was simply a factory-made white porcelain urinal, signed “R.
Mutt”
While the group hosting the exhibition was outraged, it missed
Duchamp’s entire point: the meaning of the artwork transcends
its medium
Duchamp was also one of the first artists to experiment with
kinetic art, or art with moving pieces
5
Portal Artwork:
Marcel Duchamp, Fountain
3.10.1 Marcel Duchamp, Fountain, 1917. Replica (original lost).
Porcelain urinal, 12 × 15 × 18”,
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Louise and Walter Arensberg
Collection
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MEDIA AND PROCESSES

Marcel Duchamp pioneered the readymade: a regular object
(e.g. a urinal) that becomes an artwork (here, Fountain) by the
decision of the artist.
6
Artwork: Jean Tinguely, Homage to New York
2.10.1 Jean Tinguely, Homage to New York, MoMA, New York,
March 17th 1960. Photo David Gahr
7
Jean Tinguely,
Homage to New York
A mechanized assemblage of discarded junk, set in motion at
MoMA, NYC
Self-destructed unpredictably
In addition to crashing, whirring, and smoking, flames shot out
and a carriage hurtled towards the audience
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MEDIA AND PROCESSES
Swiss artist Jean Tinguely (1925–1991) was interested in

exploring impermanence, accident, and uncertainty as legitimate
forces within the creation and experience a work of art
Rebellious and humorous artist
Its one-off “performance” happened in the sculpture garden of
the Museum of Modern Art in New York City
Eventually a fire fighter, afraid that the piece would endanger
the museum, put out the flames
8
Artwork: Kruger,
Belief + Doubt (=Sanity)
2.10.2 Barbara Kruger, Belief + Doubt (=Sanity), 2012–present,
installation view, Hirshhorn Museum
9
Barbara Kruger,
Belief + Doubt (=Sanity)
Combines found images and words to give them new meanings
Work has a feminist and socially conscious overtone
The text addresses the viewer directly
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MEDIA AND PROCESSES
American artist Barbara Kruger (b. 1945) uses her training and
experience as a graphic designer
Magnifies the text panels (up to 12’)

10
Barbara Kruger, Untitled (You Invest in the Divinity of the
Masterpiece)
To learn about another artwork by Barbara Kruger, watch this
video of a MoMA lecturer talking about Untitled (You Invest in
the Divinity of the Masterpiece):
MoMA Video:
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MEDIA AND PROCESSES
Artwork: Yoko Ono,
Wish Tree for Liverpool
2.10.3 Yoko Ono, Wish Tree for Liverpool, 2008. Bluecoat Arts
Centre, Liverpool, England
12
Yoko Ono,
Wish Tree for Liverpool
Ono has been making conceptual works since the 1960s
The piece relies on the interaction and participation of the
viewer
Instructs the viewer to make a wish and tie it to the tree
Installed Wish Trees all over the world

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MEDIA AND PROCESSES
Yoko Ono (b. 1933) is a Japanese-born American artist and
musician
Her first pieces were poetic instructions to be performed or just
imagined
Eventually she made “Instruction Paintings,” consisting of
typed instructions, rather than finished works of art
The Wish Trees were inspired by the Japanese practice of tying
prayers to a tree
13
Performance Art
In the 1960s and 1970s, artists explored theatrical actions or
performances
Unlike traditional theater, there is rarely an identifiable story
Actions of the artist become the focus
Occurs in a gallery, on a stage, or in public and is rarely
repeated
PART 2
MEDIA AND PROCESSES
Performance art has some similarities to theater because it is
performed in front of a live audience; it includes varying
amounts of music, dance, poetry, video, and multimedia
technology

The performance usually takes place in consciously artistic
venues
14
Photograph of
John Cage in concert
2.10.4 John Cage, during his concert held at the opening of the
National Arts Foundation, Washington D.C., 1966
15
Photograph of
John Cage in concert
Relied on chance and improvisation
Influenced by Zen Buddhism
Emphasis on unrecorded performance
Expanded the scope of art to include the lived moment
PART 2
MEDIA AND PROCESSES
American composer John Cage (1912–1992) incorporated
chance operations and experimental techniques
Theater Piece No. 1 (1952) was an unrecorded collaboration in
poetry, music, dance, and paintings by the faculty and students
at Black Mountain College in North Carolina
The performers mingled with the members of the audience, and

the piece relied for its outcome on improvisation and chance
rather than a script or musical score
Cage wanted to jolt his audiences into paying attention to life
all around them
16
Artwork: Beuys, Coyote, I Like America and America Likes Me
2.10.5 Joseph Beuys, Coyote, I Like America and America
Likes Me, May 1974. Living sculpture at the René Block
Gallery,
New York
Joseph Beuys,
Coyote, I Like America and America Likes Me
German artist; incorporated his life experiences through
symbolic elements
Was confined in an American gallery with a coyote for five
days
Intended to activate a process of spiritual healing and
reconciliation
PART 2
MEDIA AND PROCESSES
German artist Joseph Beuys’ (1921–1986) early life under the
Nazis and volunteer service as a fighter pilot in the German Air
Force strongly influenced his artwork

He claimed that nomads rescued him in North Africa after a
plane crash in World War II, and prevented him from freezing
to death by wrapping him in fat and felt. Hence those materials
become symbolic elements in many of his sculptures and
performances
Felt was a major prop in his piece Coyote, I Like America and
America Likes Me
When he arrived in America (and when he left), he was wrapped
in felt in an ambulance and transported to the gallery so that he
never saw his surroundings or touched American soil
The coyote is symbolic of the spirit world in native American
mythology
Sought to make amends for the desecrations caused by the
coming of Europeans to the New World
Myth surrounds the performance
18
Joseph Beuys, Eurasia Siberian Symphony
To learn about another artwork by Joseph Beuys, watch this
video of a MoMA lecturer talking about Eurasia Siberian
Symphony:
MoMA Video:
PART 2
MEDIA AND PROCESSES
Artwork: Vito Acconci, Following Piece
2.10.6 Vito Acconci, Following Piece, 1969, “Street Works
IV,”, 23-day activity

Vito Acconci,
Following Piece
Followed a person at random each day until they entered a
private place
Conceptual performance lasted 23 days
Exhibition included documents of the events (notes and
photographs)
PART 2
MEDIA AND PROCESSES
American artist Vito Acconci (b. 1940) is known for art actions
and performances
The longest “following” lasted nine hours
It is about ideas and a set of actions as much as about the
production of a work of art
In 1969, when the piece was first developed, it was regarded as
a new idea
Examines the way an artist’s actions create interactions with
another person
21
Artwork: Marina Abramović, The Artist Is Present
2.10.7 Marina Abramović, The Artist Is Present, Performance, 3

months. MoMA, New York, 2010
22
Marina Abramović,
The Artist is Present
Known for performances of extreme bodily endurance
Every day for three months she sat quietly at a table in the
MoMA, NYC
Visitors sat—one at a time, for as long as they wished —in the
opposite chair
Created a silent “energy dialogue”
PART 2
MEDIA AND PROCESSES
Serbian artist Marina Abramović (b. 1946) has done a number
of performance works dating back to the 1970s
The title of the piece poignantly calls attention to its purpose:
for the artist to be personally in the space and engage with
people, creating what she has called an “energy dialogue,”
without talking, touching, or otherwise overtly communicating
The audience experienced the intensity of this seemingly simple
interaction
This piece was a part of a retrospective exhibition of
Abramović’s work, which was the first major performance
exhibition at MoMA
23

Installation and Environments
An artist designs or re-creates an entire exhibition space as an
artwork
Often “site-specific”: designed to fit the dimensions or
environment of a particular location
Immerses viewers in the artwork
PART 2
MEDIA AND PROCESSES
Installation Art
(Media/Processes)
Video:
PART 2
MEDIA AND PROCESSES
Artwork: Detail of Edward Kienholz, The Beanery
2.10.8a Edward Kienholz, detail of The Beanery
26

Artwork: Edward Kienholz, The Beanery
2.10.8b Edward Kienholz, The Beanery, 1965 (restored 2012).
Installation, 8’3½” × 21’11¾” × 6’2¾”. Stedelijk Museum,
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Ed Kienholz,
The Beanery
Sought to break down barriers between art and life
Replicated the interior of his local bar
Transformed the space into an assemblage through the items and
even odors it contains
PART 2
MEDIA AND PROCESSES
American Ed Kienholz (1927–1994) replicates Barney’s
Beanery, complete with life-size figures inspired by people he
knew
By placing clocks in place of the faces, Kienholz emphasized
the fact that time now stands still in this sculptural tableau
The original soundtrack on tape has recently been converted to
CD, and “odor paste” that smells like a bar is replenished by the
museum
28
Artwork: Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn and Colored Vases
2.10.9 Installation view showing Ai Weiwei’s Colored Vases in
front of his Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn, displayed at the

“According to What?” exhibition, held at the Hirshhorn
Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C.
Ai Weiwei, Dropping a Han
Dynasty Urn and Colored Vases:
Art that Resists Categories:
Interactions with the Individual
Ai Weiwei uses materials in unexpected ways
Activist art with political commentary
Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn: willfully destroying a valuable
artifact
Colored Vases: covering ancient vessels with modern industrial
paint
Gateway to Art:
PART 2
MEDIA AND PROCESSES
Chinese artist Ai Weiwei (b. 1957)
This installation was shown at the Hirshhorn Museum and
Sculpture Garden in 2012 in an exhibition called “According to
What?”
Calls attention to called attention to issues of consumerism and
commodification, appreciation and value, preservation and
destruction, political commentary and personal responsibility
Mass production relates to the vases’ original context: hand
made in large numbers. Now they are rare and highly valuable.
More recently mass-production has been accomplished

(especially in Europe and the U.S). with industrialization, made
my machines.
Mass production is also a focus of Pop artist Andy Warhol’s
work, which influenced Ai’s approach to making art.
Comments on the way value is culturally determined
30
Artwork: Shonibare, Mobility
2.10.10 Yinka Shonibare,
installation view of Mobility,
James Cohan, New York,
2005. From left to right:
Man On Unicycle, 2005.
Metal, fabric, resin, and
leather, 86 ×53 × 47½";
Lady On Unicycle, 2005.
leather, 86 × 53 × 47½";
Child On Unicycle, 2005.
leather, 79 × 46 × 38½"
Yinka Shonibare, Mobility
Activates the gallery space with disembodied figures
Products of colonial exploitation (social/race and
economic/cloth)
“Mobility” has layered meanings
Wealth, travel, bodily movement
Complexity in life and art
PART 2

MEDIA AND PROCESSES
London-born Nigerian artist Yinka Shonibare (b. 1962) explores
issues of race and colonialism
Shonibare inverts colonialist expectations by using cloth
associated with poverty-stricken West Africans to outfit
faceless and raceless aristocrats
Shonibare experienced paralysis after contracting a virus at age
19 and his bodily movement continues to be impacted
“Shonibare’s work parallels his life and world views: just as he
cannot be easily labeled as Nigerian or British, his figures and
the textiles they wear cannot be easily categorized according to
class, culture, or physical ability.” (p. 358)
32
Out of the Shadows and into the Light: Enlivened Spaces
Using light to call attention to historical events
Bringing them into the present through commentary
Call attention to the way things have (or should have) changed
PART 2
MEDIA AND PROCESSES
Artwork: Kara Walker, Insurrection! […]
2.10.11 Kara Walker, Insurrection! (Our Tools Were
Rudimentary, Yet We Pressed On), 2000. Cut paper and
projection on wall, dimensions variable. Installation view: Why
I Like White Boys, an Illustrated Novel by Kara E. Walker
Negress, Centre d’Art Contemporain, Geneva, Switzerland

34
Kara Walker, Insurrection! […]
Walker’s installations combine silhouettes, light projections,
and shadows
The viewers’ shadows appear on the wall, implicating them in
the events
Scene depicts a slave revolt in the antebellum South
PART 2
MEDIA AND PROCESSES
The installations of American artist Kara Walker (b. 1969) also
address overlooked history: the pre-Civil War South.
35
Artwork: Yuki Kihara, Taualuga: The Last Dance
2.10.12 Yuki Kihara, Taualuga: The Last Dance, 2006.
Performance/digital video. Still courtesy of Milford Galleries,
Dunedin and Yuki Kihara. © Yuki Kihara
36

Yuki Kihara,
Taualuga: The Last Dance
The artist performs as “Salomé”
Based on a 19th-century Samoan woman in an ethnographic
photo
The dance is called taulauga
Embracing and dismantling stereotypes
PART 2
MEDIA AND PROCESSES
Samoan/Japanese artist Yuki Kihara (b. 1975) addresses issues
of colonialism, (mis)representation, and consumerism
Her work calls attention to the romanticizing of Samoan island
culture and oversimplification of ideas related to identity
Salomé wears a Victorian mourning dress (like the woman in
Thomas Andrew’s 1886 photograph called Samoan Half-Caste)
Taulauga: carefully choreographed dance that is used for both
celebration and narrative storytelling
Kihara is a fa’afafine, Samoan third gender
37
Artwork: Molly Gochman,
Red Sand Project
2.10.13 A Red Sand Project participant spreads sand in sidewalk
cracks in their neighborhood, New York City, October, 2015

38
Molly Gochman:
Bringing Light to the Scars
A collective, participatory artwork
raise awareness about modern-day slavery and human
trafficking
sidewalk interventions, earthwork installations, and discussions
“small actions build ... to make transformational change”
PART 2
MEDIA AND PROCESSES
Molly Gochman (b. 1978) is an American interdisciplinary and
activist artist
The Red Sand Project is a collective artwork made by people in
all 50 states and in more than 70 countries around the world
Calling attention to people who might be considered to have
“fallen through the cracks”
Gochman describes how the artwork is being used to raise
awareness and support for vulnerable populations “to question,
to connect, and to take action against vulnerabilities that can
lead to human trafficking and exploitation…. This project has
shown me that while this is an incredibly sensitive issue, art
gives space to share images and stories in a way that doesn’t
exploit the people being affected.”
Using art to start conversations about a difficult topic that
people might otherwise avoid and hopefully call people to

action.
39
MoMA Videos
To learn more about alternative media and processes, watch
these videos of MoMA lecturers talking about artworks from the
MoMA’s collection:
Donald Judd,
Untitled (Stack)
Marcel Duchamp,
Bicycle Wheel
MoMA Video:
MoMA Video
PART 2
MEDIA AND PROCESSES
Third Edition
Shields

PART 2
MEDIA AND PROCESSES
2.10.1 Photo © Estate of David Gahr. © ADAGP, Paris and
DACS, London 2015
2.10.2 Photo Cathy Carver. © Barbara Kruger, courtesy
Mary Boone Gallery, New York
2.10.3 Photo Karla Merrifield © Yoko Ono
2.10.4 Rowland Scherman/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
2.10.5 © DACS 2018
2.10.6 Photo Betsy Jackson. Courtesy the artist
2.10.7 Photography by Marco Anelli. Courtesy the Marina
Abramović Archives
2.10.8a Photo © Ed Jansen. Copyright Kienholz, courtesy
L.A. Louver
2.10.8b Photo SuperStock. Copyright Kienholz, courtesy L.
A. Louver
2.10.9 Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden,
Smithsonian Institution. Photo Cathy Carver. Courtesy Ai
Weiwei Studio
2.10.10 Photo courtesy James Cohan, New York. © Yinka
Shonibare MBE. All Rights Reserved, DACS 2018
2.10.11 Photo Sarina Basta. Artwork © Kara Walker, courtesy
of Sikkema Jenkins & Co., New York
2.10.12 Still courtesy of Milford Galleries, Dunedin and Yuki
Kihara. © Yuki Kihara
2.10.13 Photo Red Sand Project
PART 2
MEDIA AND PROCESSES

Chapter 2.8
Photography
PART 2
MEDIA AND PROCESSES
1
Recording the Image:
Film to Digital
The word photography derives from Greek, “writing with light”
Collecting the image
Film: negative and positive
Digital: pixels, computer
Camera mechanics are similar to those of the human eye
PART 2
MEDIA AND PROCESSES
Chapter 2.8 Photography
Traditional photographic processes recorded an image onto a
light-sensitive material, usually film, which darkened when it
was exposed to light
Produces a negative (a piece of film in which the lights and
darks are the opposite of what we see in life, with the tones
reversed)
This negative can be reversed again to make an infinite number
of positive prints, called photographs

Today, digital photography is the most common way of creating
photographic images
Light enters the eye through the pupil; similarly, light enters the
camera through a small opening, the aperture
In both eye and camera the lens adjusts, or is adjusted, to bring
things into focus and give a clear vision of what is being viewed
2
The Dawn of Photography
Camera obscura (Latin for dark room) used for centuries as an
aid to drawing
In the 1800s, inventors found ways to make images permanent
(fixed)
Daguerreotype, Calotype, Cyanotype
Invention of digital cameras c. 1980s
PART 2
MEDIA AND PROCESSES
Daguerreotypes were invented during the 1820s and 1830s by
two Frenchmen—a painter and stage designer, Louis-Jacques-
Mandé Daguerre (1787–1851) and a chemist, Joseph Nicéphore
Niépce (1765–1833)
Created very detailed images
Only one single, positive image on a metal plate
In 1839, English scientist John Herschel (1792–1871)
discovered a chemical compound that could fix camera obscura
images; also invented cyanotypes
Englishman William Henry Fox Talbot (1800–1877) developed
the calotype process; discovered how to reverse the negative to
make numerous positive prints (basis of film photography)

3
Artwork: Optics: the principle of the camera obscura
2.8.1 Optics: the principle of the camera obscura, 1752.
Engraving, 3¾ × 6½"
4
Optics: the principle
of the camera obscura
A camera obscura is created by placing a small hole (aperture)
in an exterior wall of darkened room
Outside scene is flipped upside down and backward on opposite
wall
A person could trace over the image projected on the wall to
capture it
PART 2
MEDIA AND PROCESSES
Smaller, portable models that often reversed the image (to the
right way up) using mirrors became widely available in Europe
in the eighteenth century.
5
Artwork: Abelardo Morell, Camera Obscura Image […]
2.8.2 Abelardo Morell, Camera Obscura Image of the Panthéon
in the Hotel des Grands Hommes, 1999. Gelatin silver print, 20

× 24"
Abelardo Morell,
Camera Obscura Image
Morell turned an entire hotel room into a camera obscura
Projects an upside-down image
of the Panthéon in Paris
Temporary projected image until he took a picture of it
PART 2
MEDIA AND PROCESSES
Cuban-American photographer Abelardo Morell (b. 1948)
records camera obscura images in his photographs.
7
Artwork: Joseph Nicéphore Niépce, View from the Window at
Le Gras
2.8.3 Joseph Nicéphore Niépce, View from the Window at Le
Gras, c. 1826.
Gernsheim Collection, Harry Ransom Humanities Research
Center, University of Texas at Austin
Joseph Nicéphore Niépce, View from the Window at Le Gras
To create this work, Niépce used
a method that he kept secret
He worked with Daguerre to develop a process known as

daguerreotypes
A technique for fixing a camera image on a metal plate
PART 2
MEDIA AND PROCESSES
French Chemist Joseph Nicéphore Niépce (1763-1833)
accidentally captured a camera obscura image on a metal plate
The exposure time was about 8 hours
9
Artwork: Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre, Boulevard du Temple
2.8.4 Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre, Boulevard du Temple, c.
1838
10
Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre, Boulevard
du Temple
This work is one of the earliest photographs created
This daguerreotype captured only one person on this busy street
(the man getting his shoes shined stayed still during the 8-10
minute exposure)

PART 2
MEDIA AND PROCESSES
Some of the first commercially viable photographic images
made using a camera obscura came to be known as
daguerreotypes
This process was developed and invented during the 1820s and
1830s by two Frenchmen—a painter and stage designer, Louis-
Jacques-Mandé Daguerre (1787–1851) and a chemist, Joseph
Nicéphore Niépce (1765–1833)
Daguerreotypes produced very clear images, but they were
single, direct positive prints and could not be used to make
multiple prints
11
Negative/Positive Process
in Black and White
Cyanotypes
Calotypes
Collodion or Wet-plate process
Albumen prints
Gelatin silver prints
PART 2
MEDIA AND PROCESSES
In 1819, the English scientist John Herschel (1792–1871)
discovered a chemical compound that could fix, or make

permanent, camera obscura images
Using another of Herschel’s processes, the English botanist and
photographer Anna Atkins (1799–1871) made cyanotype images
in 1843
Calotypes: invented by English scientist and photographer
William Henry Fox Talbot (1800-1877) in c.1841
Collodion or Wet-plate process: invented by English inventor
Frederick Scott Archer (1813-1857) in 1850-51
Albumen prints: paper prints made from collodion/wet-plate
glass negatives
Gelatin silver prints: introduced to the public in 1871
Also known for her portraits of celebrities, the British
photographer Julia Margaret Cameron (1815–1879)
intentionally avoided the sharp focus that many photographers
sought from the collodion process
The French photographer Nadar (1820–1910) made collodion
negative/albumen print portraits of many well-known artists,
writers, and politicians
12
Artwork: Anna Atkins, Halydrys siliquosa ß minor
2.8.5 Anna Atkins, Halydrys siliquosa ß minor, 1843. Folio 19
from Volume 1 of Photographs of British Algae. Cyanotype, 5 ×
4". British Library, London, England
Anna Atkins, Halydrys siliquosa ß minor
This work is a cyanotype image
Algae placed on light-sensitive paper
Areas exposed to light turned
the paper dark; shaded places stayed white
Looks like a film negative

PART 2
MEDIA AND PROCESSES
Anna Atkins (1799–1871) made cyanotype images in 1843–44.
14
Artwork: William Henry Fox Talbot, Oak Tree in Winter
2.8.6 William Henry Fox Talbot, Oak Tree in Winter. Left:
Calotype, c. 1842–43; and Right: salted paper print, c. 1892–93
William Henry Fox Talbot, Oak Tree in Winter
Talbot's image is an example of
a calotype image
Talbot invented calotypes
Discovered how to reverse a negative to make numerous
positive prints
Basis of modern black-and-white film processes
PART 2
MEDIA AND PROCESSES
Englishman William Henry Fox Talbot (1800–1877) captured on
light-sensitive paper a negative image of a tree

The shades of gray in the negative calotype are reversed to
make a positive print that matches the lights and darks of the
original scene
16
Diagram of Film
Photography Darkroom
2.8.7 Diagram of film photography darkroom
A camera is loaded with film; film is loaded into a canister; the
unrolled film contains several images; an enlarger with light
bulb projects an image; the photograph is placed in a developer
bath, a stop bath, and a fix bath.
17
Artwork: Maia Dery, Storm Drain–Cape Fear River Basin
2.8.8 Maia Dery, Storm Drain–Cape Fear River Basin, 2013.
Caffenol negative/Caffenol silver gelatin print, 9¾ × 7½”
Traditional and Alternative Darkroom Methods
An enlarger reverses the tones of a negative, projecting a
positive image onto light-sensitive paper
A series of chemical solutions reveal and fix the image
Caffenol (a coffee-based developer)
is an alternative to toxic chemicals
PART 2

MEDIA AND PROCESSES
In 1995 Scott A. Williams, PhD, and his Technical Photography
class at Rochester Institute of Technology, New York,
discovered that prints could be made using a coffee-based
developer
The ingredients are simple: caffeinated instant coffee, washing
soda to adjust the pH, and vitamin C
19
Artwork: Nadar, Sarah Bernhardt
2.8.9 Nadar, Sarah Bernhardt, 1865. Albumen print,
Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, France
20
Nadar, Sarah Bernhardt
Sarah Bernhardt was a famous actress and Nadar's photographic
portrait helped to increase her celebrity
Nadar’s style is straightforward; simple props (fabric, column),
and focuses attention on the sitter
PART 2
MEDIA AND PROCESSES

French photographer Nadar (1820–1910) made portraits of many
well-known artists, writers, and politicians.
21
Artwork: Julia Margaret Cameron, Angel of the Nativity
2.8.10 Julia Margaret Cameron, Angel of the Nativity, 1872.
Albumen print, 12⅞ × 9½".
The J. Paul Getty Museum,
Los Angeles, California
22
Julia Margaret Cameron,
Angel of the Nativity
Cameron believed photography could show allegorical, poetic,
and intuitive aspects of life
Known for her portraits of celebrities
She used special lenses and long exposure times to create a soft-
focus look
PART 2
MEDIA AND PROCESSES
British photographer Julia Margaret Cameron (1815–1879)
transforms her niece into a cherub, similar to those commonly
featured in Renaissance and Baroque paintings.
23

Artwork: Ansel Adams,
Sand Dunes, Sunrise […]
2.8.11 Ansel Adams, Sand Dunes, Sunrise—Death Valley
National Monument, California, c. 1948. Gelatin silver print,
19½ × 14¾"
Ansel Adams,
Sand Dunes, Sunrise […]
Adams preferred gelatin silver as it allowed him to capture his
subject with everything clearly in focus
Arranges black, white, and gray tones to achieve a balanced
effect
He was deeply involved with the Sierra Club, dedicated to
preserving America’s wilderness
PART 2
MEDIA AND PROCESSES
For Ansel Adams (1902–1984), a balanced photograph contains
a range of tones that help us see the subject the way the artist
wants us to, with everything in the picture clearly in focus.
25
Artwork: Edward Weston, Pepper No. 30
2.8.12 Edward Weston, Pepper No. 30, 1930. Gelatin silver
print, 9⅜ – 7½".
Collection Center for Creative Photography, University of
Arizona

Digital rights not available for this image. See p. 321 of the
textbook.
Edward Weston,
Pepper No. 30
Weston concentrates the viewer’s attention on the form and
texture of the vegetable
Enhancing visual experience through the camera lens
So focused on the object it starts to look abstract
PART 2
MEDIA AND PROCESSES
American Edward Weston (1886-1958), like Adams, wanted to
photograph the subject as he found it and made sharply focused
gelative silver prints on glossy papers
He framed them simply with white mats and simple frames
27
In Living Color
First color photographs were made by hand tinting black and
white images
Autochromes
Chromogenic or C-prints
Cibachrome (or Ilfochrome)
PART 2
MEDIA AND PROCESSES

By the early 1900s motion could be stopped on film
Photographers sought an even greater degree of reality by
recreating color in their photographs
Early color processes were very unstable and faded quickly
Hand tinting: applied like painting; made black and white
photographs more lifelike
Later processes used various systems to achieve color images
Autochromes: the first commercially viable color photographic
process
An additive color process made using potato starch grains, RGB
dyes, and glass plates used as a transparent screen
Chromogenic or C-prints
Subtractive color process: create light-sensitive material by
replacing silver with a color emulsion
The emulsion reacts chemically to form dyes that absorb the
opposite colors in a negative (they are reversed to make the
image positive)
Cibachrome
Additive color process
Uses layers of CMY dyes that are bleached away based on the
exposure
Forms a transparent, direct positive image
28
Artwork: Alfonse van Besten, Fragility
2.8.13 Alfonse van Besten, Fragility, c. 1912, autochrome
Belgian painter and photographer, Alfonse van Besten (1865-
1926).
29
Alfonse van Besten,

Fragility
This work was made using the autochrome process
Autochrome characteristics: sharp contrast, areas of
atmospheric blur, and areas where colors pop
Why might the title be Fragility?
PART 2
MEDIA AND PROCESSES
The title may be a general reference to the fragility of all living
things, like a still life as memento mori. It could also be
specific reference to the symbolism associated with flowers.
30
Artwork: Sandy Skoglund, Radioactive Cats
2.8.14 Sandy Skoglund, Radioactive Cats © 1980. Cibachrome
or pigmented inkjet color photograph, 25⅝ × 35"
Sandy Skoglund,
Radioactive Cats
This work was made using the Cibachrome process
The print is a direct positive image
Cibachrome characteristics: bright, crisp colors and high-gloss
base
PART 2

MEDIA AND PROCESSES
American Sandy Skoglund (b. 1946) creates a surreal
combination of factual and fictional elements that make us
question whether seeing should really be believing
Surreal effect of the image is enhanced by the way the artist
uses outlandish color
32
Photojournalism
The use of photography to tell a news story
Some of earliest examples date back to the American Civil War
This medium was once thought to be inherently truthful, and
even today credibility is crucial to news reportage
PART 2
MEDIA AND PROCESSES
Nowadays we accept that photographs can distort, exaggerate,
and even lie about the truth, but originally photojournalism was
thought to be inherently truthful and this reputation lives on
today.
33
Portal Artwork: Dorothea Lange,
Migrant Mother
4.8.9 Dorothea Lange, Migrant Mother, 1936. Library of
Congress, Washington, D.C.

The impact of this famous photograph on its subject, Florence
Owens Thompson, has raised issues about ethics in documentary
photojournalism.
34
Artwork: Steve McCurry, Rabari Tribal Elder
2.8.15 Steve McCurry, Rabari Tribal Elder, India, 2010
35
Steve McCurry
For 75 years, Kodachrome film was known for its rich, vibrant
colors
To mark the demise of the film, McCurry launched a project to
use the final roll (2009)
Made a series of portraits in various locations (New York,
India, Kansas)
PART 2
MEDIA AND PROCESSES
McCurry decided to make a series of portraits because it was
the final roll of film and he could not take as many risks as
outdoor settings and street scenes would require
Along the way, McCurry worried about technical mishaps

common with film as opposed to digital cameras – light damage
can ruin the photographs
McCurry used his digital camera to set up the lighting,
determine the composition and design, and make test photos
before shooting a frame of the film with his analog (traditional)
camera
36
Artwork: Lewis Wickes Hine, Ten Year Old Spinner […]
2.8.16 Lewis Wickes Hine, Ten Year Old Spinner, Whitnel
Cotton Mill, 1908.
Photographic print. Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Lewis Wickes Hine,
Ten Year Old Spinner […]
Hines used photography to expose the injustice of child labor
Impersonated a salesman, inspector, etc., to get access and
record the dangerous working conditions and ages of children
Led to the establishment of new laws
PART 2
MEDIA AND PROCESSES
American Lewis Wickes Hine (1874–1940) used photography to
expose the injustice of child labor in the early 1900s.
38
Artwork: Hiroko Masuike,
Here Is New York […]

2.8.17 Hiroko Masuike, Here Is New York: A Democracy of
Photographs,
exhibition at the New York Historical Society, September 2007
Hiroko Masiuke,
Here Is New York […]
This exhibition was organized just a few days after the attacks
of September 11, 2001
Gave voice to almost 800 people who experienced the attacks
The exhibition traveled all over the world
PART 2
MEDIA AND PROCESSES
Professional and amateur photographers were exhibited.
40
Photocollage and Photomontage
Fragments of separate materials (photo-based and pre-printed)
are glued together to form an image
Photocollages are unique artworks that are not generally
reproduced
Photomontages are made to be reproduced (re-photographed or
scanned)
PART 2

MEDIA AND PROCESSES
41
Artwork: Oscar Gustav Rejlander, The Two Ways of Life
2.8.18 Oscar Gustav Rejlander, The Two Ways of Life, 1857.
Albumen silver print, 16 × 31". Royal Photographic Society,
Bath, England
42
Oscar Gustav Rejlander,
The Two Ways of Life
Emulated the appearance and process of painting, hoping his
photographs would earn the same respect
Made thirty separate negatives, cut out like puzzle pieces, and
exposed them one at a time
PART 2
MEDIA AND PROCESSES
Swedish photographer Oscar Gustav Rejlander (1813–1875)
worked in a time-consuming way, just like a traditional artist
Took six weeks to make finished image
43

Artwork: Loretta Lux,
The Waiting Girl
2.8.19 Loretta Lux, The Waiting Girl, 2006. Ilfochrome print,
11⅞ × 15⅞"
Loretta Lux,
The Waiting Girl
Lux photographs her friends’ children and subtly manipulates
the colors and proportions to give an otherworldly effect
Sometimes paints the backgrounds and uses digital retouching
PART 2
MEDIA AND PROCESSES
German photographer Loretta Lux’s (b. 1969) subtle use of
digital technology allows her to alter certain attributes, such as
scale and proportion, to create the effect she wants
Takes up to a year to complete each work
45
Artwork: Höch, Cut with the Kitchen Knife […]
2.8.20 Hannah Höch, Cut with the Kitchen Knife through the
Last Weimar Beer-Belly Cultural Epoch of Germany, 1919–20.
Photomontage and collage with watercolor, 44⅞ × 35½".
Nationalgalerie, Staatliche Museen, Berlin, Germany

Hannah Höch, Cut with the Kitchen Knife […]
Höch was one of the first artists to make photomontages
Protests social conditions during
and after World War I
Dada: nonsensical combination of text (including the work’s
title) and images reflects the chaos of life at that time
PART 2
MEDIA AND PROCESSES
Comprises pictures of political figures and modern technology
from mass-media publications
German artist Hannah Höch (1889–1978) also expresses her
concern about women’s issues in post-war Germany,
highlighting their traditional tool of the kitchen knife and also
including, in the lower right corner, a map showing where
women had obtained the right to vote
47
Postmodern Return
to Historic Processes
Postmodernism playfully adopts features of earlier styles and
critically focuses on content
In photography there was a revival of and interest in vintage
processes
PART 2

MEDIA AND PROCESSES
The immediacy of the medium still causes some people to have
trouble considering photography as “art”.
48
Artwork: Roger Fenton, Valley of the Shadow of Death
2.8.21 Roger Fenton, Valley of the Shadow of Death, 1855.
Salted paper print from a paper negative.
Gernsheim Collection, Harry Ransom Humanities Research
Center, University of Texas at Austin
Roger Fenton, Valley of the Shadow of Death
Fenton was hired to photograph the Crimean War (1853–56)
Example of the effect created by 19th-century photographs
Made salted paper prints from paper negative
Empty, desolate, poetic landscape
PART 2
MEDIA AND PROCESSES
We can see in the work of British artist Roger Fenton (1819–
1869) some of the haunting effects achieved by early
practitioners of photography
The title seems to derive from a passage from Psalm 23 in the
Bible, referring to the comfort God offers for life’s suffering,
but in fact Fenton chose it some time after he had taken the
photograph, as a result of the popularity of a now-famous poem

by Alfred Lord Tennyson which refers to “the Valley of Death”
50
Artwork: Sally Mann,
Untitled #7
2.8.22 Sally Mann, Untitled #7, Fredericksburg, 2000. Silver
gelatin print, 38 × 48"
Sally Mann, Untitled #7
Series Battlefield captures present day views of Civil War
battlefields
Used vintage process: glass plate negative with gelatin silver
print
Transforms ordinary moments into nostalgic and provocative
statements
PART 2
MEDIA AND PROCESSES
American photographer Sally Mann (b. 1951).
52
Comparison: Weems, From the series: Kitchen Table and Here I
Saw What Happened and I Cried
2.8.23 Carrie Mae Weems, “Untitled (Woman and Daughter
with Makeup),” 1990, from Kitchen Table series, 1989–90.

Inkjet print,
41¼ × 41¼ × 2¼"(framed)
2.8.24 Carrie Mae Weems, “You Became a Scientific Profile,”
from the series From Here I Saw What Happened and I Cried,
1995. Chromogenic color prints with sand-blasted text on glass,
25⅝ × 22¾". MoMA, New York
Story Telling and
Sto-re-telling
Kitchen Table series:
Glossy gelatin silver print
Black and white
Clear focus
Calls attention to the subject rather than the technique or
appearance of photograph itself
Gateway to Art:
PART 2
MEDIA AND PROCESSES
54
Story Telling and
Sto-re-telling (contd.)
You Became a Scientific Profile series:

Also black and white and clear focus
Re-photographed a 19th-century daguerreotype
Restores dignity and promotes respect
Gateway to Art:
PART 2
MEDIA AND PROCESSES
55
The Art of Photography
Labor-intensive methods, similar to those used by traditional
artists
Manual and digital technology to assemble elements in the
composition
Scenes are created that did not exist before the artist made them
PART 2
MEDIA AND PROCESSES
Recording Detail and
Stopping Time
Strengths of photography (according to Alfred Stieglitz) are its
clarity and realism
Photography also has the ability to capture a fleeting moment in
time honestly

PART 2
MEDIA AND PROCESSES
Artwork: Alfred Stieglitz, The Steerage
2.8.25 Alfred Stieglitz,
The Steerage, 1907. Photogravure, 13¼ × 10⅜".
J. Paul Getty Museum,
Los Angeles, California
Alfred Stieglitz,
The Steerage
Stieglitz actively promoted photography as a fine art medium
Shows the decks of a passenger ship; a composition of shapes
and rhythms
Reminiscent of abstract paintings of that era
PART 2
MEDIA AND PROCESSES
At a time when other photographers were trying to imitate
traditional painting, the American Alfred Stieglitz (1864–1946)
was among the first to emphasize what he considered to be the
particular strengths of the photographic medium: its clarity and
realism.
59

Artwork: Garry Winogrand, Central Park Zoo […]
2.8.26 Garry Winogrand, Central Park Zoo, New York City,
1967. Gelatin silver print, 11 × 14"
Garry Winogrand,
Central Park Zoo
Winograd used a small hand-held camera
Snapshot aesthetic
Spontaneous
Looks casual, but intended his photographs to be serious and
artistic
PART 2
MEDIA AND PROCESSES
American Garry Winogrand (1928–1984) walked the city’s
streets and captured what he found there.
61
Portal Artwork: Nikki S. Lee,
Hip Hop Project (25)
4.10.16 Nikki S. Lee, Hip Hop Project (25), 2001. Fujiflex print
Nikki S. Lee’s photographs confront ideas of fact and fiction as
the artist takes on different identities.
62

Reality and Artifice
in the Anthropocene
The era we live in is called the Anthropocene
Human impact on natural conditions, systems, and processes has
become so far-reaching that many scientists consider it
geologically significant.
PART 2
MEDIA AND PROCESSES
Today, so many of the images we see are in color that black-
and-white photographs sometimes give the impression of being
old-fashioned.
63
Artwork: Edward Burtynsky, Manufacturing, #17 […]
2.8.27 Edward Burtynsky, Manufacturing, #17: Deda Chicken
Processing Plant, Dehui City, Jilin Province, China, 2005
Edward Burtynsky, Manufacturing #17 […]
Large photographs (3 × 4 ft.) create an impression of the vast
scale of urban landscapes
Shows a vista of workers in a chicken-processing plant
Encourages viewers to contemplate civilization’s impact on the
planet
PART 2
MEDIA AND PROCESSES

Without passing judgment, Canadian Edward Burtynsky’s (b.
1955) arresting images call attention to things not usually in our
consciousness
The vivid pinks of the uniforms, the white pants and boots, and
the bright-blue aprons punctuate the industrial grimness of the
warehouse
65
Artwork: Daniela Edberg, “Death By Cotton Candy”
2.8.28 Daniela Edburg, “Death by Cotton Candy” from the
series Drop Dead Gorgeous, 2006. Archival Ink Print
Daniela Edburg,
“Death by Cotton Candy”
Exaggerated fictional scenes with dark, humorous quality
At the same time it s a commentary on past-war photography
PART 2
MEDIA AND PROCESSES
67

Comparison: “Death by Cotton Candy” and Vietnamese Girl [...]
2.8.28 Daniela Edburg, “Death by Cotton Candy” from the
series Drop Dead Gorgeous, 2006. Archival Ink Print
4.7.2 Nick Ut, Vietnamese Girl Kim Phuc Running after Napalm
Attack, 1972, p. 639
“Death by Cotton Candy,” and Vietnamese Girl [...]
Reference to Nick Ut’s famous photograph from the Vietnam
war
The look of a documentary photograph with addition of
exaggerated color
Calls attention to the fabricated nature of the photograph
PART 2
MEDIA AND PROCESSES
Without passing judgment, Canadian Edward Burtynsky’s (b.
1955) arresting images call attention to things not usually in our
consciousness
The vivid pinks of the uniforms, the white pants and boots, and
the bright-blue aprons punctuate the industrial grimness of the
warehouse
69
Photography

Video:
PART 2
MEDIA AND PROCESSES
Third Edition
Shields
PART 2
MEDIA AND PROCESSES
2.8.1 Wellcome Library, London
2.8.2 Image appears courtesy Abelardo Morell
2.8.3 Gernsheim Collection, Harry Ransom Humanities
Research Centre, University of Texas at Austin
2.8.5 British Library, London

2.8.6 British Library, London/British Library Board. All
Rights Reserved/Bridgeman Images
2.8.7 Ralph Larmann
2.8.8 © Maia Dery
2.8.9 Bibliothèque nationale, Paris
2.8.10 J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles (84.XM.443.3).
Digital image courtesy the Getty’s Open Content Program
2.8.11 © Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust/Corbis
2.8.12 Collection Center for Creative Photography © 1981
Arizona Board of Regents
2.8.13 Photo Collection F. Van Hoof-Williame
2.8.14 Sandy Skoglund, Radioactive Cats © 1980
2.8.15 Copyright Steve McCurry/Magnum Photos
2.8.16 Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., Prints &
Photographs Division, LC-DIG-nclc-01555
2.8.17 © Hiroko Masuike/New York Times/Eyevine
2.8.18 Royal Photographic Society, Bath
2.8.19 Courtesy Yossi Milo Gallery, New York. © DACS
2018
2.8.20 Nationalgalerie, Staatliche Museen, Berlin. © DACS
2018
2.8.21 Gernsheim Collection, Harry Ransom Humanities
Research Centre, University of Texas at Austin
2.8.22 © Sally Mann. Courtesy Gagosian
2.8.23 © Carrie Mae Weems. Courtesy the artist and Jack
Shainman Gallery, New York
2.8.24 Museum of Modern Art, New York, Gift on behalf of
The Friends of Education of The Museum of Modern Art,
70.1997.2. Photo 2012, Museum of Modern Art, New
York/Scala, Florence. Courtesy the artist and Jack Shainman
Gallery, New York
PART 2
MEDIA AND PROCESSES

Picture Credits for
Chapter 2.8 (contd.)
2.8.25 J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles (84.XM.695.19).
Digital image courtesy of the Getty’s Open Content Program
2.8.26 © Estate of Garry Winogrand, courtesy Fraenkel
Gallery, San Francisco
2.8.27 Photo © Edward Burtynsky, courtesy Flowers,
London & Nicholas Metivier, Toronto
2.8.28 © Daniela Edburg
PART 2
MEDIA AND PROCESSES
4 Steps to Critiquing Art Work
Developed by Edmund Feldman
 
Description      -        Analysis        -      Interpretation 
    -        Evaluation 
 
Describe 
This  stage  is  like  taking  inventory.  You  want  to  come
  up  with  a  list  of  everything  you  see  in  the 
work.  Stick  to  the  facts.  Imagine  that  you  are  describi
ng  the  artwork  to  someone  over  the 
telephone.    Express  what  you  see  in  detail.

Analyze 
Try  to  figure  out  what  the  artist  has  done  to  achieve
  certain  effects.  Consider  different  elements 
and  principles  used  by  the  artist  and  why  the  artist  m
ight  have  chosen  to  incorporate  these 
essentials. 
• Questions  to  consider: 
o
Use  the  vocabulary  you  learned  in  class.  For  example,
  if  you’re  looking  at  mostly 
red,  yellow  and  blue  refer  to  the  colors  as  primary  co
lors. 
o
How  are  the  elements  of  art  (color,  shape,  line,  textur
e,  space,  form,  value)  and 
the  principles  of  design  (balance,  harmony,  emphasis,  m
ovement/rhythm,  unity, 
variety)  used  in  this  artwork? 
o
What  do  you  notice  about  the  artist's  choice  of  materi
als? 
o What  grabs  your  attention  in  the  work,  why?   
o
Do  you  see  any  relationship  to  the  things  you  listed 
during  the  description  stage? 
 
Interpret 
Try  to  figure  out  what  the  artwork  is  about.  Your  ow
n  perspectives,  associations  and  experiences 
meet  with  "the  evidence"  found  in  the  work  of  art.  A
ll  art  works  are  about  something.  Some  art

works  are  about  color,  their  subject  matter,  and  social
  or  cultural  issues.  Some  art  works  are  very 
accessible  —
  that  is,  relatively  easy  for  the  viewer  to  understand 
what  the  artist  was  doing. 
Other  works  are  highly  intellectual,  and  might  not  be 
as  easy  for  us  to  readily  know  what  the 
artist  was  thinking  about. 
o
What  is  the  theme  or  subject  of  the  work?    (What  fr
om  the  artwork  gives  you 
that  impression?) 
o
What  mood  or  emotions  does  the  artwork  communicate?
 
o
What  is  the  work  about;  what  do  you  think  it  means
  or  what  does  it  mean  to 
you?  (What  from  the  artwork  gives  you  that  impression
?) 
o Why  do  you  think  that  artist  created  this  work? 
 
Evaluate 
This  is  a  culminating  and  reflecting  activity.  You  need
  to  come  to  some  conclusions  about  the 
artwork  based  on  all  the  information  you  have  gathered
  from  your  description,  analysis,  and 
interpretation. 
o

What  are  your  thoughts  on  the  artwork  based  on  the  t
hree  steps  above  and  why? 
o Why  do  you  like  or  dislike  the  artwork  (explain). 
o
  What  have  you  seen  or  learned  from  this  work  that 
you  might  apply  to  your  own 
artwork  or  your  own  thinking? 
Art Criticism Worksheet
 
Artist: 
 
Title: 
 
Date: 
 
Medium: 
 
 
1. Describe  (What can be seen in the artwork? Facts only)
2. Analyze  (What elements/principles are incorporated in the
artwork, why?)

3. Interpret  (What is the meaning of the artwork, based on
steps 1 and 2?)
4. Evaluate  (What is your evaluation of the work, based on
steps1, 2, 3?)

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