Pictorialism and Sentimentality: Assessment - Assignment Example

Name of the Student Name of the Instructor Subject 2nd June, 2009 Pictorialism and Sentimentality – Assessment Pictorialism originally came about in the second half of the nineteenth century. It was viewed as the first attempt to amalgamate photography and art by bringing photography into the realm of fine art. Pictorialists often used a painterly approach to manipulate their images by hand. They wanted to created painting like photographs to convey what they felt, as painting had already been established as a foremost kind of fine art. The term Pictorialism was used to describe the type of photography, where the actual scene photographed is given much less importance and the artistic quality of the image is considered much more important. Pictorialists basically sought to distinguish their artistic photographs from amateur snapshots, by hand scratching their negatives and using brush strokes to soften and sharpen certain parts of the photograph while printing them. They also used several other techniques such as combination printing, soft focus cameras, manipulation of negatives and the use of gum bichromate (California Museum of Photography, Online). This paper will aim to answer five questions which will analyze Pictorialism and sentimentality in two important pictures, namely, Alfred Stieglitz’s Paula (1889) and Edward Steichen’s The Pond-Moonlight (1904). 1. Pictorialists are often condemned for their sentimentality. Write down your definition of sentimentality. Pictorialists were often accused of being sentimental. I think that the primary reason for this is because Sentimentality is a device often used to induce a certain compassionate emotional response highly disproportionate to the given situation. Sentimentalism tends to replace sharp and gullible feelings for normal situations which require ethical, intellectual and analytical judgments. According to Oscar Wilde, “A sentimentalist is simple one who desires to have the luxury of an emotion without paying for it.” I think that very often sentimentality has been criticized because of its ability to give us a false view of the world, deform our thinking and replace them with a perfect view of the world, which we all know are filled with horrible realities. 2. Are Paula and The Pond-Moonlight sentimental? Is their subject matter sentimental, or does their formal treatment make a neutral subject matter sentimental? Alfred Stieglitz was one of the forerunners of fine art photography, in other words Pictorialism. He was the founder of a group called Photo Secession, the main purpose of which was to amalgamate and elevate photography into fine art. One of his very prominent works is that of Paula (1889). This picture captured the image of a woman, unawares, as she sits on a table, writing a letter, with light streaming in from a nearby window through the Venetian blinds. While other pictorialists and other supports of the Pictorialist movement claim that Paula has certain personal symbols that can be understood by Stieglitz’s immediate circle, I think that Paula does have a significant amount of sentimentality in it. For instance, according to Marien, M W (2006), on the wall behind the letter writer in the picture, are photographs of the girl in bed and of Stieglitz himself. This is seen to convey their level of intimacy and relationship. The heart shaped cards and the bird cage in the picture are also said to speak to the private subject within a subject which is known to be a favourite visual strategy of Stieglitz. However, Hulick in Hannavy (2008), says that despite the naturalism in the picture, it is has been believed to correspond to similar themes in Dutch painting. And the painting is seen to show to show other signs of plans and plots from the part of the artist. Emotions, affiliations and a different mood created weighs against objectivity, thus replacing a straight scientific photograph into an expressionistic picture (Marion, S L, 2006). Since this is the basis of sentimentality, I feel that it is valid in concluding that Paula is sentimental. Edward Steichen was another popular Pictorialist in the wake of the twentieth century. Apart from being a photographer, he was also a painter and an art gallery and museum curator. With the advent of Pictorialism he adopted the approach and went on to become one of the masters of Pictorialism. His most famous work was The Pond-Moonlight (1904). Steichen took the photograph New York near the home of his friend and art critic Charles Caffin. The photo is that of a heavily wooded area and a pond with moonlight appearing at the horizon, seen between the trees and the entire spectacle reflecting in the pond below. Like Paula, I think that The Pond-Moonlight also has some sentimentality in it, although not as much. The picture is said to convey and induce romantic feelings or darkness or desolation etc. These moods and emotions again convert a good scientific, photograph with perfect lighting, to an expressionist picture conveying various emotions and inducing different feelings. Hence it is my opinion that the subject matter in both pictures is not by itself sentimental. It is their treatment that makes it sentimental. 3. Does Steichen’s use of color and his soft focus imply sentimentality in The Pond-Moonlight? Is a pond in moonlight sentimental all by itself, or would one need an artist to introduce sentimentality? Steichen’s The Pond-Moonlight, was considered to be one of the earliest examples of colour photography. While it looked like a colour photograph the colour photographic process known as the autochrome process was not available until later in the century. Steichen achieved the colours in the picture by manually applying many layers of light sensitive gums to the paper. This was one of the most popular techniques of the Pictorialist era. I feel that, Steichen’s use of colours in the photograph and the soft focus technique are definite symbols indicating and implying sentimentally. The use of these techniques, that is the addition of colors and soft focus to the picture contribute to romanticism and sentimentality. The use of these colours and the soft focus lens, I deduce has turned what would have other wise been a normal, technically brilliant photograph into a picture that was highly sentimental by conveying emotions and inducing certain feelings. The Pond-Moonlight is by itself, however not an excessively sentimental scene or situation. But I feel that it certainly has a slightly higher level of sentiment when compared to Paula, which is nothing but a woman writing a letter by a window. It would not need the work of an artist to convey sentiment. However, with the introduction of colours and the use of the soft focus technique in the picture, the picture seems to have been over-sentimentalized. It now seems to have more sentiment than necessary. 4. Is sentimentality desirable in paintings, photographs, or any art form? Sentimentality is the device used to induce feelings or emotions at disproportionate levels with reference to the situation, such that an emotional, uncritical judgment is passed of the situation. In other words it is merely an exaggeration of the situation captured through the lens or through a painting. Pictorialists have often been accused of being sentimental because they often glorify and exaggerate even the most simplest of situations or images. This is because they aim to obtain attention or appreciation through the exaggeration of simple things. I am of the opinion that Sentimentality is desirable in paintings, photographs and art forms, but in limited doses, according to the situation and where it is absolutely necessary. Critical evaluation of an art form is of vital importance. If the overuse of Sentimentality is going to hinder judgment, with the use of emotions and uncritical opinions, then I feel that it will not be a desirable tool to be used in any art of any kind. Michael Tanner in Solomon (2004), says that, sentimental people often indulge themselves in their feelings instead of doing what they are supposed to do in a given situation. At the same time I think that Sentimentality is not always unwarranted and inappropriate. It does not always hinder one’s judgment and render them irrational. It also does not always induce in them an unwillingness to act. Solomon (2004), in his defense of sentimentalism says that he views sentimentalism as a mere appeal to the tender feelings in human beings and says that it is not possible to manipulate or abuse such feelings. While he agrees that many art forms have a misguided sense or excessive dose of sentimentality, he feels that there is nothing wrong in art forms which provoke or induce feelings of sentimentality in us. Hence I think it will be quite appropriate to say, that Sentimentality in art forms is desirable, but in small, manageable doses such that it doesn’t affect judgment or induce biased opinions. 5. How does the Sale price of The Pond-Moonlight affect your view of it as a work of art? As a work of art, I strongly feel that The Pond-Moonlight is impeccable. The efforts that have gone into making it cannot be argued against. But the price of it does not alter my view of it as an art form. While the sentimentality in the picture can be reduced, I do not think that there is any valid reason not to respect it as a work of art, simply because it was one of the earliest examples of colour photography, even before the advent of the autochrome process. The fact that the colour was manually applied by the great artist himself is what makes it so valuable and irreplaceable. Additionally, there are only three known versions of the photograph available today. This is also one of the primary reasons for its high value. While it will always have the issue of sentimentality going against it, I think that there can be no argument regarding the level of skill it has taken to create it, the amount of effort involved. Finally I have a high opinion of the work, because it is an exquisitely beautiful handmade work of art in its own right. References California Museum of Photography. Women Photographers. Retrieved June 2, 2009. http://www.cmp.ucr.edu/collections/permanent/object_genres/photographers/women/pictorialism.html Hulick in Hannavy, J (2008). Encyclopedia of Nineteenth-century Photography. CRC Press, 2008 p 576 Marien, M W (2006). Photography: A Cultural History. Laurence King Publishing, 2006. p 182 Marion, S L (2006). Getting Beyond: Is Photography a Lost Tradition? Bnet Arts Publications. Retrieved June 2, 2009. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2479/is_6_33/ai_n16610099/?tag=content;col1 Solomon, R C (2004). In Defense of Sentimentality. Oxford University Press US, 2004. p 3,4 Tanner in Solomon, R C (2004). In Defense of Sentimentality. Oxford University Press US, 2004. p 3,4 Read More