Pictorialism

By Panayioti Diacopoulos

Outside the Glasgow University

Stair railing of Glasgow University

Top Tower, University of Glasgow

Phone Booths, Glasgow

Signs, Glasgow University

Exterior, Glasgow University

Exterior, Glasgow University

Tower, Glasgow University

Gate, Glasgow University

Glasgow University

Pictorialism Report

As part of our class module, last week we went on a trip to Glasgow to look at the architecture of the city and take our own photographs in a way that emulates Pictorialist ideas. We went to the University of Glasgow to look at some examples of pictorialist art in one of their galleries; then we went to take pictures of the architecture and the design of the buildings. Here I will be providing some background to what Pictorialism is, and I will be talking about the images that I took and how I took them, and discuss how they emulate Pictorialism. I will also show an example of a Pictorialist photograph that was influential for taking my own pictures.

Pictorialism was a form of expressive photography that was developed at the end of the19th century, utilizing techniques, effects, and ideas from the graphic arts. The images resulted from sharply defined negatives, which were extensively manipulated in the darkroom to produce soft, vibrant, often dreamlike and hazy hues. (1) The images and compositions focused on their aesthetic appeal and were influenced by Symbolism, which was a dominant contemporary art movement, reacting against naturalism and realism. In its early form, Pictorialism focused on the interweaving of art, nature truth and beauty, in order to create beautiful pictures blending the real and the artificial. Major contributors to pictorialsm during this time were European photographers such as Heinrich Kühn (1866-1944), Hugo Henneberg (1863-1918), Hans Watzek (1848-1903), as well as the influential Henry Peach Robinson (1830-1901), James Craig Annan (1864-1946), the documentary Pictorialist Meadow Sutcliffe (1853-1941), and the American photographer Alfred Stieglitz (1864-1946). (2)

As time moved on, Pictorialism in the 20^th century became darker, more symbolic and personal, influenced now by modernist art, using mostly gelatin silver prints and photogravure, which allowed for multiple runs. This new Pictorialism trend focused on urban themes, and the role of the artist within the city. Important photographers of this movement include: Alfred Stieglitz (1864-1946) who explored new York, Pierre Dubreuil (1872-1944) who photographed Parisian scenes, and Alvin Langdon Coburn (1882-1966) who was influenced by Japanese aesthetics and photographed London and the Thames. (3)

During our fieldtrip, we first went to visit a gallery at the University of Glasgow where there were examples of Pictorialist photographs. Then we went to a room where there were books and original prints of the photographs taken with the cameras during that period. After the visit to the gallery we went to explore and take pictures of the architecture and the details of the buildings on campus. When we took our own images, we used filters to add effects so we could emulate Pictorialism. I have a favourite filter that I used in most of my images, which is the multi-coloured filter. With this filter I can bend it to give some line effects with various thickness and shape on the images. Using this filter I made lines that relate to what is in the image and to direct the attention to the subject of what I am taking a picture of. I also liked using this filter for the colours it gave my image, which was a gradient from blue to purple to pink. I experimented with other filters and combined them, but a lot of the time they didn’t work or catch my interest. Some filters would add a blur to my whole image, the yellow filter and the cup; some were not even compatible with my camera and just wouldn’t focus, like the bubble wrap. The other two I liked were the red filter and the purple filter.

When it comes to composition, I have a couple that may be considered asymmetrical, Phone Booths and Signs, but the majority fills the frame. A lot of my images have a perspective of looking up at what I am focusing on, like the exterior of the University of Glasgow and parts of it, a couple are straight at the subject and one looking down slightly, like The Gate. It was cloudy that day, so the natural lighting we were getting was soft, though the shadows were good enough to recognise the designs on the buildings. This gave the building a more welcoming look, where as if there was hard light it would have appeared more intimidating, like having hard light on someone’s face. The focal point of my images is to show what the architecture looks like and the designs of the University of Glasgow, and little things that relate to every day life in the urban environment, like the photo booths and the signs.

My photographs are similar to Pictorialist photographs in terms of subjects and lighting, consisting mostly of shadows and highlights. It’s the way the shadows and highlights work together to show the detail designs on the building. This approach closely relates to the art of Frederick Evans. His work consists of architecture themes similar to my own. The difference is that he didn't use filters to alter the lighting that ends up on the pictures. Below is an example of one of his photos.

(Figure 1)

As you can see, his way of composing the images are different to mine. In this image, the tower is taken from further away, whereas my images are taken closer with a wide-angle looking up at the building.

             To sum this up, I had fun experimenting with the different filters, even though some didn't fit my interest or worked with my camera all together. But I did use the ones that really appealed to me, mostly the multi-coloured filter. On the field trip, I really liked seeing the books and the original prints of Pictorialist artists. It's interesting how Pictorialist images can be similar to the  images I took that day of the architecture.

Bibliography

(1)  Hacking, Juliet, 2012. Photography-The Whole Story, Thames & Hudson, London, pp. 12-13

(2)  Hacking, Juliet, 2012. Photography-The Whole Story, Thames & Hudson, London, pp. 160-163.

(3)  Hacking, Juliet, 2012. Photography-The Whole Story, Thames & Hudson, London, pp. 12-13

(4)  Hacking, Juliet, 2012. Photography-The Whole Story, Thames & Hudson, London, pp. 170-173

(5)  (Figure 1) - Frederic Evans, Gloucester Cathedral, from Closters Garth, 1890, https://www.flickr.com/photos/photohistorytimeline/5084428446/