Pictorialism to Modernism

Pictorialism to Modernism:

“The shift from Pictorialism to Modernism was a significant aesthetic change to occur in International and Australian photography. Affectionately called at the time the ‘fuzzy wuzzy’ style, Pictorialism was characterised by painterly attributes, soft hues and a pervasive sense of romanticism..........In Europe in the 1920s a fresh style of photography developed, referred to as ‘New Photography’, which focused on unusual angles, perspectives and sharp contrasting tones. The influence of this movement slowly filtered into Australia through magazines and exhibitions"

Pictorialism:

Pictorialism dominated the late 19th Century and 20th century. Photographers shared very similar concerns with the painters of the time and often tried to capture the essences of this style. It initially spread amongst a small group of Sydney Photographers but then dominated throughout Australia. Pictorialisim had distinct characteristics of style. This includes: a soft focus in which a soft focus lens was commonly used, manipulation of light- soft, natural, romantic, filtered (fog, rain, mist), compositional elements- coinciding with paintings and printing processes- physically altered prints, accenting highlights and blurring shadows. Pictorialist themes are distinct as well, the main ones including landscape-dramatic, romantic, sentimental, soft light, atmosphere, allegorical. Cities- chose older aspects, dramatic light effects. Portraits- dramatic, romantic, sentimental, mythical figures or religious subjects. Pictorialists argued that every photograph is art and that the camera is more of an aesthetic tool rather than purely functional. The 20th century was dominated by WW1 and the aftermaths, including the rise of Hitler’s Germany. It was also very artistically orientated with the Bauhaus Movement. Which incorporated all art subjects into one. It started in 1919 and its aim was to incorporate and intertwine creativity and manufacturing. Harold Cazneaux was one of the leading artists for pictorialism. He used a diverse range of subject matter from landscaped to portraits. Cazneaux conveys a strong sense of place and time. He uses the outdoors to his advantage by using the effects of light to create a mood and atmosphere.

Modernism:

In the late 1920’s, after Pictorialsim had reached its peak, modernistic ideas and information had reached Australia from Europe and the USA. Modernism characterised close-ups, bird’s eye, asymmetrical and unnatural perspectives of the camera. With modernism, came the development of smaller, more flexible cameras. From this new response of photography, Pictorialists began to incorporate modern elements- like contemporary subjects and an increased interest in abstract qualities of a building or landscape. Modernsim incorporates a strong sense of design but also a concern with a record of an intense moment. Modernism has a distinct style, it embodies sharp focus, high tonal contrast, unusual camera angles/perspectives, harsh lighting- which results in an interest of shadows, design- representing matter in terms of pure geometric form, flat shapes, angels and line. Graphic abstraction- influence from Bauhaus, the close up- removing objects from their everyday context making their scale ambiguous. It also has the influence from art deco, which also intertwines clearer outlines, geometric forms and patterns, dramatic angles and contrasts in lighting. Modernism was also a bold new aesthetic, which sought to confront, integrate and express express the industrialised societies. Modernism was most prominent in the late 1920’s, in which the world was also dealing with the Rise of Hitler and the Rise of The Nazi Party, there was also a shift in Europe where the prominent Bauhaus Art Institute rose and became influential to Australian artists.  Before Max Dupain was a renowned Modernism Photographer, he worked with Cecil Bostock who was a prominent Pictorialist. He quickly ended that and started developing his ideas into a more modernistic point of view. The forms were reduced to the essentials, were located in tightly defined spaces, were high contrast images with high contrast images with harsh lighting and used sharp focus. Dupain experimented with ‘new’ techniques such as photograms, solarisation, negative prints, double exposure and photomontage. Dupain was diverse in his subject matter but his images were united as they related to each other in some way.