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Compare-and-contrasttherelationshipbetweenpaintingandphotography.What

commonalitiesoflanguagedothetwoformsemploy?Howdotheydiffer?

Sincethefirstdevelopmentsinphotography,therehasbeenanunsteadyrelationship

betweenphotographyandpaintedart.

Whilethehistoryofpaintingreachesbackintimetopre-historichumans,andspansall

culturesacrosstheglobe,photographyisasomewhatyoungart,withthefirstcommercial

photographicprocess‘daguerreotype’introducedbyLouis-Jacques-MandeDaguerre(1787-

1851)in1839.1

Itisnowbeingquestionsthough,bysomearthistoriansincludingDavidHockney,inhis

bookSecretKnowledge:RediscoveringtheLostTechniquesoftheOldMaster,iffamous

artistssuchasCaravaggio,VelázquezanddaVinci,mayhaveusedcameratechnologycalled

cameraobscura,amethodofusingacameralikelensestoreflectanimageontoacanvas,

toaidthemincreatingtheirrealisticmasterpieces.Hockneyspeculatedthatacamera

obscuracouldhavehelpedtheDutchpainterVermeerachievehisphoto-realisticeffectsin

the1600s,thisspeculationalthough,isnotwithoutcontroversy.2

JohnBerger(b.1926-2017,UnitedKingdom)statedinhisbookWaysofSeeingthatthe

adventofcameraschangedthewayartistspainted,butalsochangedthewaythatpeople

sawallimages,evenpaintingsthatweredonelongbeforecameraswereinvented.Berger

saidthatthecamerahastakenawaysomeimagination,aphotoisthatplace,atthattime,

whereasapaintingcanbeanyplaceinanytime.3Paintingsthatmayhaveoncebeenhung

inachurchorachapeladdedtothebuildingshistory,thepaintingsuniquenessaddedto

thebuildingsuniquenessandtoldastoryofthebuildingshistory,thisgavethepaintings

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semioticmeaningthatrelateddirectlytothebuilding.Theabilitytoreproducephoto

imagesandoriginalartshasdestroyedtheuniquenessoftheimage,Bergerstated:

Whenthecamerareproducesapainting,itdestroystheuniquenessofitsimage.As

aresult,itsmeaningchanges.Or,moreexactly,itsmeaningmultipliesandfragments

intomanymeanings.4

Photoscanprojectanepistemologicalrealism,aphotoisanimageofsomething,anobject,

aperson,aplaceintime.Paintingscannotcapturethisrealismbecauseapaintingisnot

instant,itisnotexact,itreliesontheartistinterpretationandabilitytoputthisontocanvas,

butthisdoesnotmeanthatitssemioticmeaningisnotapparentandthatitlackstheability

tobringonasurgeofhumanemotion.Bothphotographsandpaintingscanhavesemiotic

meaningsbutthesemeaningsmaybedifferentforeachofus,thesemioticsofaphotocan

beoftenmorebelievablethanthatofapainting.Bergersays,

Thephotographer’swayofseeingisreflectedinhischoiceofsubject.Thepainter’s

wayofseeingisreconstitutedbythemarkshemakesonthecanvas.Yet,although

everyimageembodiesawayofseeing,ourperceptionorappreciationofanimage

dependsalsouponourownwayofseeing.5

TurnerPrize-nomineeGeorgeShaw(b.1966,Coventry),inhislatestcollectioncalled‘My

BacktoNature’whichincludestheartworks:TheLivingDead(2015-2016)(figure1),The

Undercover(2015-2016)(figure2)andMöcht’ichzurückewiederwanken(2015-2016)

(figure3),takesyouonajourneyofhisearlyyearsgrowingupinCoventryasateenager.

ThiscollectionofpaintingsissetinasmallpatchofforestinaCoventrycouncilestate,a

placewhereteenagerswouldgetawayfromadultsupervision,smokecigarettes,andgetup

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tomischief,aplacewhereanythingwaspossible.Thiscollectionhasreceivedmuchacclaim,

butlookingattheseimages,itisdifficulttointerpretthesymbolicmeaningofthecollection,

nomeaningisimmediatelyapparent,orthemeaningisalmostsurelydifferentforeach

viewer,itistheaccompanyingtextthatspellsoutthestoryandputsitintoperspective

givingyouthatrecognition,maybefamiliarity.

Ifyouweretotakephotosinasimilarsetting,theymayhavebeenimmediatelymistaken

forenvironmental,antilitteringpropaganda,itisthetextureofthepaintoncanvas,the

effortoftheartist,thatleadstoayearningforadeepermeaning.

SallyMann(b.1951UnitedStates)isoneofAmerica’smostrenownedphotographers,her

collectioncalled‘ImmediateFamily’,whichwaspublishedinabookin1992,cameunder

immediatescrutiny.Herphotosofherthreechildrenweregritty,downtoearthand

showedtherealitiesofchildrengrowingintoteenagers,butnudityandimagesthatshowed

nosebleedsandswolleneyes,allnormalchildhoodevents,foundMannundertheradarof

producingchildpornography.TheemotionsgeneratedfromviewingMann’sphotosranged

fromadorationtodisgust,butfewcouldturnaway,manypeoplefounditdifficultto

recognizethat thephotoswereonlydepictingnormalchildhood.Regardlessofthisscrutiny

‘ImmediateFamily’sold10,000copiesinthefirstthreemonths,asalespatternthat

continued.6

ItwasnotjustthesubjectmatterinMann’sphotosthatmakethemsocaptivating,itisthe

cumbersomeprocessthatMannusestotakeherphotositgoesbacktothe1850sandis

calledcollodionwetplate,creatingalarge-formatnegativeimageonglass,notfilm.Itgives

Mann’sphotosthatuniquedeep,darkenedgrittytexturedfeeling.


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Mann’sphotoCandyCigarette(1989)(figure4),thefeaturedpieceinher‘Immediate

Family’collection,isonethemosticonicimagesof20thcenturyphotography.

Mannwentontoproduceacollectingofphotosofrottingcorpsesforhercollectioncalled

‘TheNakedandtheDead’,whichonceagaindrewscrutiny.Mann’sresponsetothiswas:

Deathmakesussad,butitcanalsomakeusfeelmorealive,Icouldn'twaittoget

there.Thesmelldidn'tbotherme.Andyoushouldseethecolours–they're

beautiful.AsWallaceStevenssays,deathisthemotherofbeauty.7

Artisthavebeenpaintingnudes,bothadultsandchildren,anddepictionsofmurderand

deathforcenturies,itwastherealityofMann’sphotosthatinvitesomuchscrutiny,

paintingscanbeproductsofone’simagination,aphotoisthoughtofasreality.

Technologycanchangethewaythatimages,bothphotographsandpaintings,arecreated.

The21stcenturyitisnowblurringthelinesofseparationandcontrastbetweenphotoand

images.Photosdon’talwaystellthetruth,photodoctoringandhoaxesdatebackasearly

asthe1860s,theiconicphotoofU.S.PresidentAbrahamLincoln(circa1860)(figure5)isa

compositeofLincoln’sheadandtheSouthernpoliticianJohnCalhoun’sbody.8

Digitaltechnologyisnowallowingustomanipulate,distort,andalterrealityinwaysthat

wereonce,simplyimpossible.

FamouscompositorphotographerAdrianSommeling(Netherlands)referstohimselfasa

conceptualphotographeranddigitalartist.Sommelingasachildwassurroundedbyartand

beganpaintingoncanvasattheageoffour,laterSommelingmovedtoothermediasuchas

airbrushing,butsincetheadventofcomputersasaphotographytool,Sommelinghas


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chosentopaintdigitallywiththephotosthathehastaken.Hisimagesareneverasingle

photo,butascenethatisstagedandcreatedusinganumberphotosthatarelaterbrought

togetherandmanipulatedinPhotoshop.PhotoslikeSommelingsParisMetro(Figure6)

changethewayphotosareperceived,weknowthecontentisrealperhapsevenlargerthan

life,butobviouslynotreality.Butnotallphotomanipulationorforgeriesisasinnocentas

Sommelingsconceptualartwork,photomanipulationintabloidmagazinesandphoto

forgeriesgivenasevidenceincriminalcasesarenowcommonplace.Withthecontinued

sophisticationofcomputermanipulatedimages,someUnitedStatesfederalcourtjudges

havequestionedtheabilityofevenexpertwitnessestodeterminebetweenrealand

manipulatedimages.

Paintingsalsoarechangingwiththeuseoftechnology,YigalOzeri(b.1958,Israel)hasspent

thelast30yearscreatingauniquestyleofPhotorealistfigurativepainting,Ozeriexhibits

internationallyandhaspaintingsheldinmanyprestigiouscollectionsworldwideincluding

MuseumofModernArt,Israel,MuseumofContemporaryArtandtheWhitneyMuseumof

AmericanArt.

Ozeriinsiststhathispaintingsoffemaleswithdreamy,pensiveexpressionsarereality

becausetheyarebasedon photographshetakesofhissubjectsandsuccinctlysummarizes

hiscurrentpracticeas;

Ipaintwomeninnature.9

Ozeri’spaintingsaresoultra-realisticthatyouwouldnotbealonemistakinghisphotossuch

asLizzieintheSnow(2010)(Figure7)andPriscillalyinginthewoods(2010)(Figure7)for

photographs.Ozeriusesatechniquewherefirstheshootsphotographsandvideosofhis

modelsanddigitallymanipulatesthemusingPhotoshop,hethenprintsthephotosanduses


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themasaguidetopaintwithoilonlargecanvas.Somemaycallthispaintingbynumbers

butitisaverysimilartechniquetocameraobscura,justmoreadvance.

Whereoncephotoswereappreciatedasrealityandpaintingsasimaginativeanduniquewe

arenowfeelingtheimpactoftechnologyinnearlyeverycornerofourlives,thecontrast

betweenthephotographyandpaintingisbecomingincreasinglymurkyandblurred.

Technologywillalmostcertainlycontinuetoevolveinwaysthatwecannotevenimagine

todayandwiththisweastheviewerwillneedtodevelopdifferentrelationshipswithboth

photographyandpaintings.

1Dinius,MarcyJ.TheCameraandThePress.(1sted.Philadelphia,Pa.:UniversityofPennsylvaniaPress,2012)12.

2Hockney, David. 2006. Secret Knowledge: Rediscovering the Lost Techniques of The Old Masters. (1st ed. London: Thames & Hudson, 2006).

3Berger,John.WaysofSeeing.(1sted.London:Penguin,2008)11.

4Berger,John.WaysofSeeing.(1sted.London:Penguin,2008)19.

5Berger,John.WaysofSeeing.(1sted.London:Penguin,2008)

6Woodward,Richard."TheDisturbingPhotographyofSallyMann".Nytimes.Com,(2015).https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/19/magazine/the-disturbing-photography-of-sally-mann.html

7Morrison,Blake."SallyMann:TheNakedAndTheDead".TheGuardian,(2010).https://

www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2010/may/29/sally-mann-naked-dead.

8Farid,Hany.“DigitalDoctoring:canwetrustphotographs?”DartmouthCollege(2009)http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/farid/downloads/publications/deception09.pdf

9YigalOzeri.http://www.yigalozeriartist.com.

ÓJoanneDavis–MyVirtualAssistant6


Figure1

GeorgeShaw,TheLivingandTheDead,2015-2016Enameloncanvas178.5x198cm

TheNationalGallery,TrafalgarSquare,LondonUnitedKingdom.

Figure2

GeorgeShaw,TheUndercover,2015-2016Enameloncanvas178.5x198cm


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GeorgeShaw,Möcht’ichzurückewiederwanken,2015-2016Enameloncanvas178.5x198cm


Figure4

Figure 3

SallyMann,CandyCigarette,1989Gelatinsilverprint.

183/8x223/4in.(46.7x57.8cm)

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PresidentAbrahamLincoln(circa1860)acompositeofPresidentAbrahamLincoln’sheadandtheSouthernpoliticianJohnCalhoun’sbody

composedintoonephoto.

Figure6

Figure 5

Adrian Sommeling Perth Metro (circa 2012)

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YigalOzeri,LizzieintheSnow,2010,Oilonpaper,42x60

MikeWeissGallery,NewYork.

Figure8

Figure 7

YigalOzeri,Priscillalyinginthewoods,2010oiloncanvas,54x36in,2010

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