Module 7: Photography and Society

Comparison between the work of Alexander Rodchenko, Peter Kennard and John Heartfield

"Photography have had huge impact on society by creating public perception about various historical events, people, places, etc. Governments have been using photography as a tool to promote their activities". (Gordana, course content, module 7, page 6)

Alexander Rodchenko (1891–1956)

Already known as a painter, sculptor, and designer, conquered traditional photography with the slogan “Our duty is to experiment!” This resulted in a reconsideration of the concept and role of photography. Conceptual work entered the stage. Instead of being an illustration of reality, photography became a means to visually represent intellectual constructs, and the artist became an “artist-engineer”.

Yet Rodchenko was much more than a dynamic image maker. He wrote manifestos to accompany almost every one of his picture series, tirelessly promoting his concept of Russian Constructivism to the world. Destabilizing diagonals, harsh contrasts, tilted views, and picture and text collages are design elements found in his photographs. To this day they form, together with his texts, a unique document of the indefatigable artistic energy that is also manifest in Alexander Rodchenko’s posters, invitation cards, and publications.

Young Gliders 1933

CARICATURE SHOWING OSIP BRIK, 1924

STEPS, 1930

Peter Kennard

John Heartfield

Similarities between Alexander Rodchenko, Peter Kennard and John Heartfield  

Works Cited 

Books and arts: Pictures and pain; alexander rodchenko. (2008, Feb 09). The Economist, 386, 99. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/223989917?accountid=27351

Assignment 1: Photo Manipulation

Hi everybody!

As I said on my previous post in my introduction, travelling is one of the things that fascinate me, but sometimes you don't need to get out of town to go far. It really depends on your state of mind and on the people around you. That's why I chose to talk about these pictures that I will show you now.

PICTURE #1: A NICE PORTUGUESE DINER IN TORONTO

Original 

Manipulated 

As a good Brazilian, I usually try to keep as close as possible to the things that make me remember my beloved country. I took this picture in one of the most famous Portuguese restaurant located in the lovely city of Toronto. This picture was taken on Sunday October 6, 2015 during a nice diner with my best friends. After being delighted with a famous dish called bitoque, we decided to taste  a traditional Portuguese wine, called port wine.

In order to manipulate this photo, I decided to use an app called Photo Editor. The main reason for this change was the fact that I wanted to give more focus on the glasses instead of the whole photo. I used the avenue effect, studio frame, reduced lightness in 26% and increased shadows in 56%. As the edited picture didn't suffer any modifications that would compromise the places original characteristics, I believe that it wouldn't cause any misleading in terms of its authenticity.

The reason why I chose the modifications I used in the picture is that I wanted it to reflect the feeling of the night in a way the original photo was unable to express. The colours were warmed in order to reproduce the warmth of the environment my friends and I shared. Also I opted to make this second picture in shades of red as a way to introduce the feeling we had as we drank the delicious port wine that night in a synesthetic attempt to have the photo express the taste.

PICTURE #2: EXPLORING AMSTERDAM - BRAZILIAN STYLE

Original 

Manipulated

I took this picture on my last trip to the incredible Amsterdam, on July 17. This was my first time in Europe and I had the opportunity to visit this memorable city. This photo was taken in one of the most famous tourist spot in the place, called Museumplein.

In order to manipulate this photo, I used the Photo Editor app again. I didn't want to make that much modifications as it would reflect on its authenticity.  I used the cycle effect, negative frame, and some stickers with a tie and an open box to give my hello to this magic city. As you can notice, people were having a good time and I wanted to keep the same feeling in the modified picture. As the edited picture didn't go through any modifications that would compromise the places original characteristics, I believe that it wouldn't cause any misleading in terms of its credibility.

I hope that you have enjoyed the original and modified pictures that I shared with you.