Abstract This paper studies Richard Avedon and his ability to create a series of images of women as well as men that seemed to catch something of their inner lives, making each of his subjects unique in looks and personality. It includes several of his pictures and details the expression and meaning of each of them. Also, it gives an historical overview of his life and how he exemplified the 1950's era. It compares his work to the work of several photographers such as Weston and Steichen.
From the Paper "The work of photographer Richard Avedon during this Ozzie-and-Harriet decade thus stands out for his ability to capture a sense of unique personality in each of his subjects. Despite the fact that during the 1950s he was working as a photographer for fashion magazines like "Harper's Bazaar" ? hardly an avant-garde publication or one dedicated to stripping society of its sexist images of women ? he managed to create all throughout this decade a series of images of women as well as men that seemed at least to catch something of their inner lives, a good deal of what made each one of these subjects unique. The fact that he was able to wrap these substantive images in a style that was coolly and elegantly minimalist ensured his success not only in this decade but in the years since."
Abstract This paper discusses a series of photographs called "Reenactors,". This refers to historical military reenactors, depicted in a series of photographs using some of the techniques of Richard Avedon for both his fashion photography and his portraits. This paper also indicates to some of the reasons Avedon used the technique and reasons why the current photographer also does so.
From the Paper "My project is entitled "Reenactor," and it consists of a series of simple black-and-white photographs of historical military reenactors. These photographs were taken with a 4x5 camera, though it was difficult to use on location. I also used two profoto flash heads with a portable battery pack, a major aid because lighting conditions were often poor. To take these photographs, I traveled around the United Kingdom to Bristol, Portsmouth, Southampton, Coventry, and Redditch, among other sites, where I would meet contacts I had made via e-mail and an advertisement placed in Skirmish magazine, targeted at reenactors. I carried with me a 9-foot seamless backdrop to be placed behind each subject to make the setting timeless. Because we often shot in people's homes, on the street, in a backyard, or at a festival, I wanted nothing modern in the scene."
Abstract This paper explores the changes in American culture and reading habits that led to the demise of "Life" magazine. The author explores how the culture outgrew the medium of weekly publications and demonstrates Life Magazine's place in today's mass media society.
From the Paper "Life magazine changed the way that the world looked at itself.
And then, the world having been changed, it looked elsewhere and the magazine, that served as a weekly pictorial glossy from 1936?72, ended its reign as one of the most important and influential periodicals of the 20th century. Founded by Time publisher Henry Luce, the magazine helped to introduce to the world the importance of photography to the telling of news stories. Life employed some of the greatest photojournalists of the 1930s through 1960s, and their superb renditions of the life of the world during those decades ensured the magazine's prestige and dominance."
Abstract This paper examines portraiture and self-portraiture in the Western tradition. It describes historical and cultural aesthetics and the rhetorical content of portraiture. The author describes how a portrait captures a life. It mentions some noted portraiture artists including Jan van Eyck, Rembrandt, Frida Kahlo.
