Our
reading this week introduced several significant ideas in the history of
Graphic Design – the influence that the Industrial Revolution had on the
technology and demand for printed materials, the development of lithography and
chromolithography, and the influences and of the Victorian Era and Arts and
Crafts movement.
One significant piece of technology that emerged during this time was the development of
photography. In our contemporary
society, we are bombarded on a daily basis with images. In any given week we
are exposed to hundreds, if not thousands of images, and often don’t think of
the impact that they have on our daily lives. It’s hard to imagine an
advertisement, whether printed (like a magazine) or digital, that doesn’t use
photography. Can you imagine thumbing through a Better Homes & Gardens without any photographs inside?
Photography
started with humble beginnings – the camera obscura, the daguerreotype and the
collodion process. Early photographers such as Louis Jacques Daguerre and Henry
Fox Talbot were as much inventors as they were artists – the development of
capturing and printing images on paper was entirely new. While artistic
influences would take hold of photography in time, the initial goal of
photography as a new technology was to accurately capture the world as it was,
and then print the images on a medium that allowed the images to be reproduced.
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| Edgar Allen Poe, W.S. Hartshorn, 1848 |
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| “Early Operation Using Ether for Anesthesia,” Josiah Johnson Hawes, 1847 |
Although
not heavily emphasized in our reading, photography was a democratizing art
during the Industrial Revolution – and beyond. Similar to the development of
printed books and text, photography gave the public an ability to capture and
see exactly what was around them for the first time. They were no longer
dependent on an artists interpretation of their world through drawings and
paintings, but could actually have images of their families, their homes, their
travel and major world events (like the Civil War). Photographs, like books,
became prized possessions. Also like books, their initial cost was high, but
through the advancement of printing processes, they became quite affordable for
many – they were a far less expensive proposition than commissioning an artist
to paint a portrait for example.
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| Photographers Studios, William Pryor Floyd, C. 1860-1870, Hong Kong |
Before
the turn of the century, photography found its way into homes both as printed
images and later, as cameras for individuals to use personally. Photography
studios became a booming business, and photographers like Matthew Brady were
able to take portraits of important and influential people. Abraham Lincoln
attributed his success in his bid for President in part to the portraits that
Brady took of him while he was running for office. This website has some great information about Brady, Lincoln and the influence photography had on his Presidency. Photography was having a profound impact on the lives of people, and was affording them the opportunity to see and capture the world in an entirely new way. It's influence on modern graphic design and art is undeniable and I find it hard to imagine daily life without photographs.
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| Photographs of Abraham Lincoln, c. 1860 by an unknown camera operator, for Mathew Brady |
Images sourced from Google search and found here:
http://howto.wired.com/wiki/Make_a_Daguerreotype
http://scientificbodyphotography.wordpress.com/conservation/history/
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/15/lincoln-captured/?_r=0
Scsnned Image - Photographers Studios, William Pryor Floyd, C. 1860-1870, Hong Kong, sourced from page 78, Photography: A Cultural History, 3rd edition, Mary Warner Marien
http://www.amazon.com/Photography-Cultural-History-3rd-Edition/dp/0205708005
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