Since its invention in 1839, photography has made radical contributions to the evolution of visual representation. The medium brought with it the ability to capture motion, document a split-second of time, and, thanks to its inherent reproducibility, allowed for the wide circulation of images.
From the beginning, there has been no single method for taking photographs. “Photography appears to be an easy activity,” photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson observed. “In fact it is a varied and ambiguous process in which the only common denominator among its practitioners is their instrument.”1 Photographs are made for a variety of purposes and disciplines, including portraiture, science, travel, journalism, propaganda, and art. The medium continues to be reinvented and rethought, shaped by technological advances in equipment and processing and the ever-changing cultural and social dialogues surrounding its use.
The visual portrayal of someone or something.
A representation of a particular individual.
The materials used to create a work of art, and the categorization of art based on the materials used (for example, painting [or more specifically, watercolor], drawing, sculpture).
Related Artists: Eugène Atget, The Atlas Group/Walid Raad, Richard Avedon, Mathew B. Brady (studio of), Julia Margaret Cameron, Thomas Demand, Philip-Lorca diCorcia, Walker Evans, Alexander Gardner, Philippe Halsman, Frances Benjamin Johnston, Dorothea Lange, Nadar (Gaspard-Félix Tournachon), Gilles Peress, Walid Raad, Jacob August Riis, August Sander, Cindy Sherman, William J. Shew, Jeff Wall, Carrie Mae Weems
