Lecture 8: Photograph as a Document

A while back we had a lecture on Photography which I found to be quite interesting. We were talking about the importance of Photography and the many uses it has. I've always thought photography to be significant and powerful as there is so much you can do with it. Photographs don't always have to be creative pieces of work, but instead can be used to inform and educate people, advertise, persuade and most commonly document. When Photography first came about this is what it was predominately used for as it was much quicker than painting, and much more accurate. 

Or was it? When photographers started becoming more creative with the camera and thinking more about the powerful messages behind their photographs, scenes were often staged and in some case the photographer would wait for the most opportune moment to take the picture rather than capture the action as it happened. This made it hard to determine what was real and what was fake. Either way, this didn't detract from the powerful messages that were put across. A good example of this is Don McCullin's "Shell Shocked Soldier". You can't see the events of the war, but the horror and terror from it is still documented on this man's face. The title of a photograph can usually give you insight on the event or what the photograph captures, but here you don't really need it as the shock captured speaks for itself.

Shell Shocked Soldier - Don McCullin

Another point that was raised that I found particularly interesting was the photographer's position having a huge impact on how the photographed is perceived. If the photographer is acknowledged when the photograph is being taken this can change the entire atmosphere of the image. If they go unnoticed this would usually suggest that the photograph is more accurate account of what happened at the event, especially in large crowds. I also like that regardless of whether the people captured in the photo see the photographer or not, this will never give us insight to photographer his/herself as they never get seen stood behind the camera. A similar thing goes for animation. When you look at a piece of work you usually take in the characters and events that are being brought to life, and never really think that they have been created by someone. It's almost as if the subjects are completely oblivious to the artist just like when the photographer goes unnoticed. 

Duck Amuck

Chuck Jones of Warner Bros. broke this "4th wall" in his animation Duck Amuck. The short was released in 1953 and features Daffy Duck talking to and being tormented by the animator, who was constantly making changes to the background and Daffy himself. The short was groundbreaking at the time as it was something that hadn't been experimented with before, and was a playful way of involving the animator, who normally is unseen. 

Seminar 4: Politics and Propaganda

Before this seminar on Politics and Propaganda I had next to no knowledge on either of these topics. I knew that they existed and that's about the extent of it. My understanding of the two is still pretty cloudy so bare with me, but I think I have managed to grasp the general idea.

My understanding of Propaganda is that it is the deliberate attempt to get another person or group of people by appeals to reason to freely accept beliefs, attitudes, intentions or actions. During the war propaganda was used widely to recruit troops to fight for their countries, and is still widely used today. What I didn't know - well, was unaware of - is that propaganda has also been used in animation. In the seminar we were shown a number of examples of this, but the one that stood out to be the most was Disney's "Der Fuehrer's Face".

Der Fuehrer's Face

The animation was released in 1943, and it was produced in an effort to try and sell war bonds during the Second World War, and I think the reason the film was so successful was for a number of reasons. The first being that it features one of Disney's most loved characters, Donald Duck. Many may have initially watched it not realising it was going to be a war propaganda film because Disney's animations are usually aimed at children, especially the ones with Donald in them. This would expose children and adults to the themes it portrays, and ultimately get them hooked on the catchy song and the extreme values that were put across; another reason why I think the animation was so successful. I know I found the song incredibly catchy when I heard it as a child, and I still do. This was obviously done deliberately to try and make the animation memorable to try and force their points. 

Lecture 10: Modernity and Modernism

I'm not quite sure what to think about today's lecture. It was all about Modernism and Modernity, how it came about and what it is, and I'm not sure I fully understand it. I have managed to grasp the main concept of what Modernism is, but I have come to realise that it is so much more complex than what I originally thought it was.

John Ruskin was the first to use "modern" to describe visual communication, and it generally meant to be modern you were more sophisticated and/or stylish. More edgy. This meant that Art and paintings could be classed as "modern", but this didn't always mean that they were modernist. For example, Ruskin described Holman Hunt's "Hireling Shepard" (1851) as modern, as it didn't follow the norm of classical paints. The colours Hunt used were much brighter and contrasted with one another, something that classical paintings didn't typically do.

Hireling Shepard (1851) - William Holman Hunt

Moderism didn't only occur in paintings however, cities were often effected by modern change too, and it is said that modernism is inseparable from the city as this is where modernism happens. Paris is a great example of this as it was considered to be the most modern city of the 19th century. Take the Eiffel Tower for example. When it was first built in 1887-1889 it wasn't very popular, as it wasn't very visually pleasing and it dominated the city and it's old buildings. But modernist artists didn't focus on the style, but more of the philosophy behind the piece, and wanting to emerge from the subjective responses of artists and designers.
George-Eugene Haussmann was instructed by Napoleon III to redesign Paris, and bring more air and light to the center of the city. This meant that a lot of the narrow streets were demolished throughout the years of 1853 to 1870, to make way for new buildings that Napoleon commissioned. Again, not many approved of this at the time, because many were in favour of the narrow spaces as this made it easier to police.

Modernism in Animation
Gerald McBoing-Boing is a brilliant example of a modern animation. United Productions of America (UPA) adapted Dr. Seuss' story that had originally appeared on a children's record, about a boy who could only speak using sound effects. UPA wanted to break away from the strict animation methods that Disney were setting/producing, and step away from making animations that were high in realism. They felt this was very limiting, and thought that animations didn't have to "obey the rules of the real world" and proceeded to experiment with different styles.

Gerald McBoing-Boing (1951)