Pictorialist Assignment

Images from the University of Glasgow

Plastic Over Gate in Glasgow

Purple Film and Fabric

Purple Film and Fabric with Contrast

Hand Sanitizer and Sunglasses

Purple Film Unicorn

Purple Film and Focused Fabric

Yellow Filter in the Sun

Purple Film in the Light

Yellow Film with the Sun

My Pictorialist filters were made up from different materials including CD slip covers, a fabric softener sheet, tape, an envelope screen, a plastic cup, yellow lens, bubble wrap, hand sanitizer, and sunglasses.

Reflection:

            My pictorialist images for this assignment are all comprised of locations at the University of Glasgow. They are images of various buildings and statues throughout the campus that show a contrast and different view in the light. To capture such images, I held different filters up to the lens of the camera to see how the light would react in the environment. It was difficult to get pictures with certain filters because of the low lighting that day. It was very cloudy, which resulted in little use of the sun as strong lighting. When the sun was visible, it added much contrast and highlighting to the images. 

Figure 1

This image was taken with the sun visible. Using this light, the yellow color of the filter brightened the effect of the sun to darken the building.  Other images, such as this one, made use of the opportune lighting. The colored film filter that I used would reflect different colors depending on where the light was. Brighter light would become orange, whereas less light would make it appear more blue.

Figure 2

This image taken looking out into the courtyard shows where the light has entered and is most reflective from the orange pieces.

            I was unable to use some of the filters due to the lighting that day. I had experimented with a reflective aluminum soda can that would reflect images when the sun was shining bright. I was unable to get the reflective images because of the clouds that day. Some filters worked better in brighter lighting as well. The plastic cup would pull the light in different directions in direct light. Also, a stronger light source would have allowed me to layer more filters or use different combinations. Lighting is key to pictorialism, and somewhat hindered my photographs that day.

            I was very interested in experimenting with the different filters to get diferent effects. Some filters, such as the yellow filter, worked great and created the desired effect on its own without the use of other filters. Other filters, such as green, looked better when combined with a filter such as the fabric softener sheet or the hand sanitizer packet. These effects also highly depended on the amount of sun available. Most of my images comprised of the yellow filter or the colored film with the fabric softener sheet. The latter especially helped with organizing the main focus of the image.

            Pictorialism is not a new concept and has been around for many years. In the 19^th century, painters were transforming their art to capture what the camera could not, which became known as Impressionism. In response, photography also changed in order to become a better art form. This movement was known as pictorialism. In its essence, pictorialism was the manipulation of images, which made them more than a simple snapshot (Leighten 1977).  This manipulation is what made these photographs timeless and relevant years later. It was not just the fact that the image was manipulated that made it more artistic, but how it was manipulated. “Pictorialist works were as beautifully rendered as any painter's canvas and as skillfully constructed as any graphic artist's composition” (Pictorialism in America).

            I drew much inspiration for my photographs from Adolf Fassbender. After researching his work, I realized some common themes. He enjoyed photographing scenes with clouds and the sky as a major backdrop. 

Figure 3

This is an image of his that shows this concept (Figure Eight ArtNet). There is typically a building, or multiple buildings, in the background and sometimes the ground is shown. Most of his images include some part of the sky, and it’s relation to trees. Many of my images were taken with a focus on the sky, and the relationship between it and the architecture. I also tried to have the different levels of depth present as Adolf Fassbender did. His images had different levels of depth, contrast, and focus so that there were many different focus points.  

Figure 4

This image, “Rounding the Corner,” is another example of how he used light to reflect depth (Rounding the Corner Brooklyn Museum). The sun is behind the clouds and makes them brighter, whilst leaving the trees closer to the photographer in a darker contrast. I tried to carry some of this lighting and depth into my photography by including the sun in many images.

            This assignment truly challenged the artist in each of us. It is one thing to take a picture of a building, then move on to the next building. This project challenged me to experiment, critically think, and problem solve in regards to each image taken. Many different aspects such as light, multiple filters, angle, focus, zoom, contrast, and many more all had to be blended together to create the perfect balance and become pictorialist. It was helpful to draw inspiration from such a regarded pictorialist as Adolf Fassbender, as well as many impressionist painters. What began as a movement in the early twentieth century has helped developed modern photography into what it is today.

Works Cited

Figure Eight. N.d. ArtNet. Web. 27 June 2014.

"Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History." Pictorialism in America. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 June 2014.

Leighten, Patricia D. "Critical Attitudes toward Overtly Manipulated Photography in the 20th Century." Art Journal 37 (1977): 133-38. Web.

Rounding the Corner. Digital image. Brooklyn Museum. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 June 2014.