[OT] photog and ethics: winning answer on yahoo answers

[john_van_v]

Hello, I just wanted to share this writing with you that I posted on the answers.yahoo.com Q&A site. Yahoo answers is cheesy, to the max, but I like sharing with the younger crowd -- and perhaps improve the grammer a little. I hope you like this writing; I evoked Don McCullin.

Photography has brought a lot of truth to the people. Before photography, war was presented to the public as being romantic; you can see this in old paintings of war heroes in museums. Photography made an early great impression during the Civil War, as an early example, as it brought home to many people the gruesome realities of war.

Photography "set painting free." Prior to photography, paintings usually attempted to show reality as well as the could. When photography took over that job during the late 1800s, painters started to express their inner feelings rather than show scenes realistically. The first painters to successfully express themselves in this way were the "Expressionists."

I believe that even today there as been a similar artistic change in photography; it was predicted that the digital camera would eliminate the film camera, but I have been learning that many people prefer the effects of film images over digital images because they can be made to be more expressive.

I personally support openness in information and expression, so I don't feel that there are too many ethical issues surrounding photography. If a person is in a public place where he can be seen by many, I feel that he should not be upset if he gets photographed. In today's world with its many dangers there are many security cameras pointing at us in public places so the ethical issue has become moot in a sense.

Photojournalists bring us many images of suffering, and many people feel that these images are an intrusions. In fact the great war photographer Don McCullin felt great guilt for taking pictures of people who were dying or about to be killed.

He wrote: 'And I am tired of guilt, tired of saying to myself: "I didn't kill that man on that photograph, I didn't starve that child."'



From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_McCulli...

 

[Spider67]

"The first painters to successfully express themselves in this way were the "Expressionists."

i would leave that out because it could sidetrack the reactions to your article from it's basic idea to discussing "who really were the first painters to express themselves freely"
just my 2 Cents

 

[john_van_v]

I just wanted bragging rights for being so successful at yahoo answers.

If the expressionists were not the first, then I would like to know who was.

 

[hoteesgnal]

What was the question?

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

and perhaps improve the grammer a little.

And then will you improve the speling a little?

 

[Spider67]

"who really were the first painters to express themselves freely"

reader A: "The impressionists were clearly the first ones to take impression before realism"
reader B: "Delacroix who used Photographs took great liberties when doing the actual painting...."
etc. That's what I meant.

 

[john_van_v]

the Q was: "How has photography effected the world? What is it's ethical issues?"

So I guess I attacked ethics, "ethics" as I prefer, more than "affect the world." Does art have an "affect" on the world? I don't know. Reporting should, but in the end I do not believe that it does, especially now that I know that even the most prestigious reporting is simply high-level propaganda for the benefit of the global banking. Here I am specifically referring to the New York Times, which joins social liberals and corporate liberalists to make them one and the same despite their different outward appearances.

About speeling, mine is pretty bad and I am grateful for the Mozilla speel-checker. On yahoo answers, I think the problem is popularity of "texting," the ultimate new speak. Personally I hate texting, and never do it.

 

[john_van_v]

"who really were the first painters to express themselves freely"

reader A: "The impressionists were clearly the first ones to take impression before realism"
reader B: "Delacroix who used Photographs took great liberties when doing the actual painting...."
etc. That's what I meant.

Maybe this would be good place to compare the painting/photography crossovers like Ben Shawn. I believe that HCB had classical painting in his education, but that Robert Capa did not. I did in high school, but I am colorblind -- that was a hoot.

 

[lZr]

Good text, John. I like it. Please, open the site for your second link for review and reduce the image sizes for the images in the first link, so they load faster.
Thanks

 

[john_van_v]

Ben Shahn comes to mind first in the photo / painting crossover:

http://www.njn.net/artsculture/shahn/photography.html

Strikers in "Scotts Run, West Virginia"

 

[hoteesgnal]

Vermeer's painting shows hints of expressionism. I agree with you that photography played a major part in bringing about expressionism (which was a catalyst for modern art in general), but it's not like there weren't other factors either.

Artists' frustration with the salon and institution, a change in paint equipment (especially acrylics) and painting mentality (en plain air), and a response to the cultural/economical/technological change of the world in general.

You honestly cannot say that this is 'boring' realist technique. Please.

But we shouldn't argue art history anymore, and this topic has been argued to death. It is deviating from the reason this thread was created (a patting john van v's back session).

PS: Capa was a friend of everyone famous, and everyone famous was a friend (or enemy) of Capa's. He was a full time gambler and a part time photographer. I have my doubts that they discussed art philosophy when they were together.

 

[williams473]

Also, let's not confuse the Impressionists with the Expressionists - two different periods of Art.

 

[Spider67]

....Oh yes Vermeer was also a camera user....There's a nice self portrait that shows typical wide angle characteristics.
The person who blew up the blackpowder storage tower of Delft seems to have thought that Delft itself was boring....

 

[john_van_v]

....Oh yes Vermeer was also a camera user....There's a nice self portrait taht shows typical wide angle characteristics.

Exactly my thought !!

The perosn who blow up the blackpowder storage tower of Delft seems to have thought that Delft itself was boring....

Even more OT, but got my attention!! Delft blue and white tiles, yeah? KLM give-aways in thrift shops.