Snapshot aesthetic
Encyclopedia
The term snapshot aesthetic refers to a trend within fine art photography
in the USA from around 1963 . The style typically features apparently banal everyday subject matter and off-centered framing. Subject matter is often presented without apparent link from image-to-image and relying instead on juxtaposition and disjunction between individual photographs. This tendency was promoted by John Szarkowski
, who was head of the photography department at the Museum of Modern Art
from 1962 to 1991, and it became especially fashionable from the late 1970s until the mid 1980s . Notable practitioners include Garry Winogrand
, Nan Goldin
, Wolfgang Tillmans
, Martin Parr
, William Eggleston
, and Terry Richardson
. In contrast with photographers like W. Eugene Smith and Gordon Parks, these photographers aimed not "to reform life but to know it." (John Szarkowski, Diane Arbus) Szarkowski brought to prominence the work of Diane Arbus
, Lee Friedlander
and Garry Winogrand in his influential exhibition “New Documents” at the Museum of Modern Art in 1967, in which he identified a new trend in photography: pictures that seemed to have a casual, snapshot
-like look and had subject matter that seemed strikingly ordinary.
In recent years young contemporary photographers, such as Hiromix
, Ryan McGinley
, Miko Lim
, and Arnis Balcus
have gained international recognition thanks to the snapshot aesthetic. From the early nineties the style became the predominant mode in fashion photography, especially within youth fashion magazines such as The Face
- photography from this era is often associated with the so-called 'heroin chic
' look (a look often seen as having been influenced particularly by Nan Goldin)
The term arose from the fascination of artists with the 'classic' black & white vernacular
snapshot, the characteristics of which were: 1) they were made with a hand held camera on which the viewfinder could not easily 'see' the edges of the frame, unlike modern cheap digital camera
s with electronic viewfinder
, and so the subject had to be centred; and 2) they were made by ordinary people recording the ceremonies of their lives and the places that they lived and visited.
An early theorist of snapshot aesthetic was the Austrian architectural critic, Joseph August Lux, who in 1908 wrote a book called Künsterlische Kodakgeheimnisse (Artistic Secrets of the Kodak) in which he championed the use of Kodak cameras like the Brownie
. Guided by a position that was influenced by the Catholic critique of modernity, he argued that the ease of use of the camera meant that people could photograph and document their surroundings and thus produce, what he hoped, was a type of stability in the ebb and flow of the modern world.
Fine art photography
Fine art photography refers to photographs that are created in accordance with the creative vision of the photographer as artist. Fine art photography stands in contrast to photojournalism, which provides a visual account for news events, and commercial photography, the primary focus of which is to...
in the USA from around 1963 . The style typically features apparently banal everyday subject matter and off-centered framing. Subject matter is often presented without apparent link from image-to-image and relying instead on juxtaposition and disjunction between individual photographs. This tendency was promoted by John Szarkowski
John Szarkowski
John Szarkowski was a photographer, curator, historian, and critic. From 1962 to 1991 Szarkowski was the Director of Photography at New York's Museum of Modern Art.-Early life and career:...
, who was head of the photography department at the Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
from 1962 to 1991, and it became especially fashionable from the late 1970s until the mid 1980s . Notable practitioners include Garry Winogrand
Garry Winogrand
Garry Winogrand was a street photographer known for his portrayal of America in the mid-20th century. John Szarkowski called him the central photographer of his generation....
, Nan Goldin
Nan Goldin
Nancy "Nan" Goldin is an American photographer.-Life and work:Goldin was born in Washington, D.C., and grew up in the Boston, Massachusetts suburb of Lexington, to middle class Jewish parents whose ideas, moderately liberal and progressive, were put to the test when on April 12, 1965 their eldest...
, Wolfgang Tillmans
Wolfgang Tillmans
Wolfgang Tillmans is a German Fine-art photographer and artist. His comprehensive and diverse body of work is distinguished by observation of his surroundings and an ongoing investigation of the photographic medium’s foundations. In 2000, Tillmans was the first photographer and also the first...
, Martin Parr
Martin Parr
Martin Parr is a British documentary photographer, photojournalist and photobook collector. He is known for his photographic projects that take a critical look at aspects of modern life, in particular provincial and suburban life in England...
, William Eggleston
William Eggleston
William Eggleston , is an American photographer. He is widely credited with increasing recognition for color photography as a legitimate artistic medium to display in art galleries—which, until the 1970s, often tended to privilege work by photographers making black-and-white prints.- Early years...
, and Terry Richardson
Terry Richardson
Terrence "Terry" Richardson is an American fashion photographer.-Early life:Richardson was born in New York City, the son of Bob Richardson, a fashion photographer who struggled with schizophrenia and drug abuse...
. In contrast with photographers like W. Eugene Smith and Gordon Parks, these photographers aimed not "to reform life but to know it." (John Szarkowski, Diane Arbus) Szarkowski brought to prominence the work of Diane Arbus
Diane Arbus
Diane Arbus March 14, 1923 – July 26, 1971) was an American photographer and writer noted for black-and-white square photographs of "deviant and marginal people or of people whose normality seems ugly or surreal." A friend said that Arbus said that she was "afraid.....
, Lee Friedlander
Lee Friedlander
Lee Friedlander is an American photographer and artist. In the 1960s and 70s, working primarily with 35mm cameras and black and white film, Friedlander evolved an influential and often imitated visual language of urban "social landscape," with many of the photographs including fragments of...
and Garry Winogrand in his influential exhibition “New Documents” at the Museum of Modern Art in 1967, in which he identified a new trend in photography: pictures that seemed to have a casual, snapshot
Snapshot
Snapshot may refer to:* Snapshot , an amateur photograph* Snapshot, a 1979 Australian film directed by Simon Wincer* Snapshot, a novel by Garry Disher...
-like look and had subject matter that seemed strikingly ordinary.
In recent years young contemporary photographers, such as Hiromix
Hiromix
, better known as Hiromix , is a Japanese photographer and artist.-Biography:Born in 1976, Hiromix rose to fame in Japan after winning the 11th New Cosmos of Photography award, hosted by the photographic manufacturer Canon, in March 1995. Hiromix was nominated by Nobuyoshi Araki, one of Japan's...
, Ryan McGinley
Ryan McGinley
Ryan McGinley is an American photographer living in New York City who began making photographs in 1998. In 2003, at the age of 25, McGinley was one of the youngest artist to have a solo show at the Whitney Museum of American Art. He was also named Photographer of the Year in 2003 by American Photo...
, Miko Lim
Miko Lim
-Biography:Lim was born in 1980 in Tawau, Malaysia, and was raised in Seattle, Washington. After completing his education at Pomona College in Claremont, California, he developed his photographic style immersed in the fashion scenes of San Francisco, New York, Paris, and Tokyo.-Career :Lim is a...
, and Arnis Balcus
Arnis Balcus
Arnis Balcus is a Latvian photography and video artist. Born in Riga, Latvia, Balcus lived and worked in his home town before moving to London, United Kingdom in 2004. He took an MA course on photography at University of Westminster from 2004 to 2005...
have gained international recognition thanks to the snapshot aesthetic. From the early nineties the style became the predominant mode in fashion photography, especially within youth fashion magazines such as The Face
The Face (magazine)
The Face was a British music, fashion and culture monthly magazine started in May 1980 by Nick Logan.-1980s:Logan had previously created the teen pop magazine Smash Hits, and had been an editor at the New Musical Express in the 1970s before launching The Face in 1980.The magazine was influential in...
- photography from this era is often associated with the so-called 'heroin chic
Heroin chic
Heroin chic was a look popularized in mid-1990s fashion and characterized by pale skin, dark circles underneath the eyes, and jutting bones.The look, which promoted emaciated features and androgyny, was an alternative that stood in direct contradiction to the "healthy" and vibrant look of models...
' look (a look often seen as having been influenced particularly by Nan Goldin)
The term arose from the fascination of artists with the 'classic' black & white vernacular
Vernacular photography
Vernacular photography or amateur photography refers to the creation of photographs by amateur or unknown photographers who take everyday life and common things as subjects...
snapshot, the characteristics of which were: 1) they were made with a hand held camera on which the viewfinder could not easily 'see' the edges of the frame, unlike modern cheap digital camera
Digital camera
A digital camera is a camera that takes video or still photographs, or both, digitally by recording images via an electronic image sensor. It is the main device used in the field of digital photography...
s with electronic viewfinder
Electronic viewfinder
An electronic viewfinder or EVF is a viewfinder where the image captured by the lens is projected electronically onto a miniature display. The image on this display is used to assist in aiming the camera at the scene to be photographed.-Operation:...
, and so the subject had to be centred; and 2) they were made by ordinary people recording the ceremonies of their lives and the places that they lived and visited.
An early theorist of snapshot aesthetic was the Austrian architectural critic, Joseph August Lux, who in 1908 wrote a book called Künsterlische Kodakgeheimnisse (Artistic Secrets of the Kodak) in which he championed the use of Kodak cameras like the Brownie
Brownie (camera)
Brownie is the name of a long-running and extremely popular series of simple and inexpensive cameras made by Eastman Kodak. The Brownie popularized low-cost photography and introduced the concept of the snapshot. The first Brownie, introduced in February, 1900, was a very basic cardboard box camera...
. Guided by a position that was influenced by the Catholic critique of modernity, he argued that the ease of use of the camera meant that people could photograph and document their surroundings and thus produce, what he hoped, was a type of stability in the ebb and flow of the modern world.