Comparisons and Differences between Modern and Post Modern Photography - Coursework Example

Insert name Instructors’ name Course Date Comparisons and Differences between Modern and Post Modern Photography The idea of post modernism is based on the presumption that modernism is obsolete in all fields of socio-economic life. Photography is no exemption to this fact. The evolutionary field of photography has undergone radical changes over the years. Arguably, photography has to change with time, given the fact that the photographic images developed by the artists are a reflection of daily life. Therefore an individual critically analyzing art can tell the difference between the life of the people that lived during the sixties and the people of today (Bertens 25). In simple worlds, just like media and technology, photography is an extremely dynamic field of the socio-economic life. The major difference between modernity and post-modern idealism is the fact that post modern idealism has been modified by technology and social dynamics a great deal. This paper seeks to explain the difference between the postmodern photography and modern photography in light of the works of legendry photographers from the two periods – Edward Steichen and Cindy Sherman. Edward Steichen is an American born photographer who worked in the US military for over a decade. While in the military, Edward Steichen commanded units dealing with art and photography. The renowned artists worked on history’s most treasured arts. The fact that the man lived for 93 years explains why he worked on a very big number of works. Today, the works of Edward Steichen are found in museums and national archives. History has it that the most expensive picture, sold for well over 3.7 million US dollars, was done by Edward Steichen (Downing and Susan 86). This picture, which is common on many sites dealing with online art, is a picture that has come to be commonly referred to as the moonlight-pond picture. This picture which looks like an imaginative drawing was taken by Edward Steichen in the wee hours of the morning near a friend residence. Most of the works done by Edward Steichen are those of prominent people, ranging from political figures to military personnel. Cindy Sherman is as well an American born photographer, whose works have come to be referred to as the perfect definition of art. When the woman was named the number one female artist in the United States, the New York magazine did a comprehensive article on her life and works. It is apparent that form the explanation on his works and life, the efforts of Cindy Sherman at art are out of passion and talent. The works of Cindy Sherman entail the use of collage and other innovative tools such as culture and sensitive slides (Marien 63). Arguably, there is so much difference between the works of Cindy Sherman who is a post modernist artist and other modernist photographers such as Edward Steichen. The major differences are discussed reflect the major differences between modernism and post modernism. One of the major apparent differences between the modern and post modern art is the fact that the post modern art makes heavy use of technology. While Edward Steichen’s works relied on the use on hand work, the works of Cindy Sherman use advanced technology. Debatably, the high definition camera’s that came into being in the mid 1990’s cannot be compared to the low definition cameras that were used by the modernist photographers (Bertens 25). Essentially, the technology of the mid 1950’s, a period that marked the climax of Edward Steichen’s career in art, was elementary compared to the advanced technology used today. It is imperative to note that the quality of work done by Cindy Sherman is higher than the quality of work done by all modernist photographers, including Edward Steichen. Such properties as color and clarity distinguish a photograph taken today from a piece of photograph taken three decades ago. Notably, the works of Edward Steichen focused on people and the environment. The physical environment, such as the rivers and ponds as well as trees, is characteristic of the works of Edward Steichen. On the contrary, the works done by Cindy Sherman are those that reflect the life in society. For instance, Cindy Sherman did works such as horror pictures, sex images, and images reflecting various disasters such as fire as well as fairy tale pictures. This reflects the society of today. The works of Edward Steichen are different from these, in the sense that they reflect a different time period, and do not convey comprehensive meanings (Downing and Susan 86). The works of Cindy Sherman are rather comprehensive in the sense that they contain some coded meanings. Notably, the drawings of Cindy Sherman may contain meanings that a layman cannot interpret without much effort. The simplicity in the works of Edward Steichen is different from the complexity of the works of Cindy Sherman. To some extent however, the works of the post modernist photographers vary from the arts of the modern age photographers in the sense that they are simpler versions of the same. The simplicity can be explained by the fact that the images, for instance, developed by the post modern artists are simple to interpret. The predominant use of collage in the modern photography makes a picture simpler than the compound multi-feature pictures of the modern era. The modernists used low art forms that are not in use under the contemporary circumstances (Marien 63). The comprehensive forms in use today can produce a wide array of arts. The use of such synchronized technologies as PowerPoint in the display of art makes the post modern art a bit more flexible. Such flexibility can be associated to the fact that the art works can be stored without having to lose color and quality. A good example is the fact that the famous moonlight-pond picture has discolored and appears to be different from the original piece. This is essentially because the storage in different conditions affects quality. The use of drawings and sculpture was a bit more predominant in the modern era than it is today. Sculptures are not in use currently due to unavailability of material and changes in skill. The use of technology to define art has replaced such things as painting and drawing with high and low culture. Arguably, unlike the modern age photography, post modern photography uses a combination of various forms of media (Bertens 25). This multimedia approach is a good way to attract a variety of clients into the world of art. The use of such things as videos and audio visual media is predominantly used in the world today. Worth noting is the fact that the predominant use of words as the central idea in post modern art fills the works of Cindy Sherman with much warmth and passion. The predominant use of words as a central artistic idea is referred to as bricolage. Bricolage was not in use during the days of Edward Steichen. Ironically, the works of Edward Steichen had a more international outlook than the works of post modernist Cindy Sherman. The post modernist photographer Cindy Sherman concentrates on American literature and socio-cultural aspects. The fact that most of the works done by the artist revolve around Hollywood entertainment narrows down her scope to the American context. On the contrary, Edward Steichen did many works reflecting the life and culture of ancient Greek (Downing and Susan 86). For instance, the famous drawing of the daughter of Horus is a clear indication that the artist had a global outlook and sent global messages through his works. According to many experts in the field of art, the two artists are highly comparable in the sense that they were leading legends during their times. Additionally, the major similarity between the two artists is the fact that they employed the use of more than one technique in developing their works. For instance, the post modern artist Cindy Sherman makes use of high technology multimedia such as videos, slide shows as well as innovative pieces of audio visual arts. Likewise, Edward Steichen made use of elementary collage and paintings in developing his works. Additionally, the two are highly similar in the sense that their works were loaded with messages and did not contain prejudiced views. The works of art done by the two were motivated by art and talent. This is the major reason why scholars and experts in the world of art have described Cindy Sherman as the modern day Edward Steichen. It is no mystery then, why Cindy Sherman is among the most celebrated artists. Works cited Bertens, Johannes Willem. The idea of the postmodern. London: Routledge, 1996. Print. Downing, David B., and Susan Bazargan. Image and ideology in modern/postmodern discourse. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1991. Print. Marien, Mary Warner. Photography: a cultural history. 2nd ed. London: Laurence King, 2006. Print. Read More