Photography that represents the University as a whole (the sum of its many diverse parts) has also been on our work radar since spring.
Any of you who alter photos in Photoshop (who doesn’t?) might have liked the Peter Henry Emerson (1880-1895) exhibit I saw at the J. Paul Getty museum in May featuring his early photography from Eastern England.
As suspected, the alteration of negatives has been going on from the get-go. I saw the variations of prints from altered negatives. The big debate then was about “truthfulness” vs. “character of nature” in photography. Whether photos should be sharply in focus capturing detail with startling clarity, or more fuzzy, closer to what the human eye sees. These were quite heated salon discussions.
Quotes from the time:
“Negatives must be printed without alteration.”
“Nothing in nature is a hard outline, but everything is seen against something else, often so subtly you cannot quite tell where it ends and the other begins. In this mingled decision and indecision lies all of the charm and mystery of nature.”
“Remember that your photograph is a rough index of your mind, it is sort of a rough confession on paper.”
Due to my procrastination in posting the show is gone but here is a link to the highlights: www.getty.edu/art/exhibitions/emerson.
