Cultural Geographic Divide

cliveh · Jun 6, 2014

Do you think there is a cultural divide in photographic/image appreciation dependent on geographical location? For instance, is the European view different from the USA, or the Far East? I suppose this is very dependent on the subject matter, but I ask the question in the hope of stimulating an interesting discussion.

Kevin Caulfield · Jun 6, 2014

BrianShaw · Jun 6, 2014

Wayne · Jun 6, 2014

Yes. There must be.

snapguy · Jun 6, 2014

well

When the classic Japanese film "Rashomon" won a big international film prize in Italy in 1950, Japanese critics said that the film must be not Japanese enough if foreigners "got it." The truth is that there are universal truths, myths, stories, experiences. I have family members that come from Asia, the US, Europe, Latin America and the Orient -- the Middle East. People are pretty much people.

AgX · Jun 6, 2014

Seen some pretty much different approches to things here at Apug at both sides of the ocean, I say yes.

One thing that comes to my mind is nudeness. Anyway, current technology may not only equalize on information but also on attitude.

chip j · Jun 6, 2014

There is NO phtographic appreciation here in the boonies (Youngstown, Ohio)!.

hdeyong · Jun 7, 2014

I live in France and Canada, and occasionally in the US. The only difference I ever see is in modern photos and art, is when there are fads that come and go at different times.
But at a more basic, traditional level, it seems people like Cartier-Bresson, Ansel Adams, and many others are equally admired, (and valued) just about anywhere you go. At an exhibition of Adams in London a while ago, I stood behind four local Brits who were admiring the scenic beauty for sure, but also commenting on the excellent artistic eye, skill, patience and determination it must have taken to create those pictures.
Good art is good art.

Tom1956 · Jun 7, 2014

Will this discussion be on the exam?

Jeff Kubach · Jun 7, 2014

I hope not cause I already failed!

Jeff

Poisson Du Jour · Jun 7, 2014

Tom1956 · Jun 7, 2014

Good, because I'm thinking of all the pictures I'm going to be able to shoot with the 80 dollar Nikon F that will give me money leftover to buy the gas to get to all of them. I might have found it--my very own camera that I never took apart before it was acceptable for proper use.
And thinking how if I had a time machine, I'd get in it and go back and move the microphone a little closer to the guy on the drums....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-f4FAny0d1c&list=RD-f4FAny0d1c#t=5
As far as this discussion, I still think the professor will still think of some slick way to slip it past me and leave me looking empty-handed and stupid.

Newt_on_Swings · Jun 7, 2014

There must be on some level. Cultural norms play a significant part in determining how things are accepted in so many other things.

Ian Grant · Jun 7, 2014

Yes. there are definite cultural and geographic divides in approaches to photography.

Make a start by looking at Beaumont Newhall's History of Photography with it's heave US bias and compare it tom Peter Turner's History of Photography which takes a more global approach and includes the European aspects.

It's a subject that can be written about in depth.

Ian

AgX · Jun 7, 2014

I guess one further should divide between the in-crowd (Beaumont Newhall and the folks visiting art exibitions) and the wider public.

thegman · Jun 7, 2014

cliveh said:
Do you think there is a cultural divide in photographic/image appreciation dependent on geographical location? For instance, is the European view different from the USA, or the Far East? I suppose this is very dependent on the subject matter, but I ask the question in the hope of stimulating an interesting discussion.

I'd say different cultures around the world have different views on just about everything, I can't imagine photography being an exception. If you showed a picture of a mega-church in the UK, most people would likely see it in a different way than if you showed it the Bible Belt of the USA.

Xmas · Jun 7, 2014

Ian Grant said:
It's a subject that can be written about in depth.

#14 and counting...

Jaf-Photo · Jun 7, 2014

I think there are definitely differences in style between North America, Europe and Asia.

Each continent has had their photographic pioneers, who have established certain styles that others follow.

To be fair, I think that the American pioneers have the strongest styles. Although they have been very influential worldwide, they are quite difficult to translate elsewhere.

To simplify things, I would say that American photography is very strong in style and expression, European photography is a bit less dramatic and Asian photography is very subtle.

Almost all of my photographic heroes are Americans, but their style is very hard to translste into a Northern European setting. The landscape, cities and people are so different, that you have to find a different way of approaching them.

Jim Jones · Jun 7, 2014

Ian and AgX are right. There is a difference within countries, too. The East Coast of America, the West Coast, and the great Midwest are all different. Sometimes I wonder if the Eastern Establishment realizes that there is civilization between the Mississippi River and California.

Jaf-Photo · Jun 7, 2014

Jim Jones said:
Ian and AgX are right. There is a difference within countries, too. The East Coast of America, the West Coast, and the great Midwest are all different. Sometimes I wonder if the Eastern Establishment realizes that there is civilization between the Mississippi River and California.

I'm sure they do. Some of the best landscape photography is produced in the East and Midwest, surely.

But I think that the presence of cultural diversity is also a cultural thing.

I live in a small country, Sweden, which has a lot of ethnic diversity nowadays due to immigration. But cultural tastes are still pretty homogenic.

Artistic photography as had a huge upswing in recent years. Most museums and galleries do multiple photographic exhibitions each year, and they get big audiences. I think it's because photography is more accessible than other forms of fine arts.

But still the national photographic scene is very consevative. Most domestic photography is very formulaic and sticks to traditional ideas on composition, exposure and choice of subject. You could say that it's an emphasis on "nice" photography, rather than bold, expressive or personal imagery.

For comparison, I saw a Cindy Sherman exhibition at the Museum of Modern art a few months ago. Even though, most images were staged "selfies" each image carried a massive emotional content, much like a punch in the head or stomach. My companion and I actually had to take a long break in the middle of it because it was almost exhausting.

She was one of the foremost pioneers who established photography as an accepted artform for expression, not just documentation, on par with painting or drawing.

We don't have that in domestic photography, even people who try to be gritty end up bland because they don't create a correlation between the subject and the technique.

yulia_s_rey · Jun 7, 2014

snapguy said:
The truth is that there are universal truths, myths, stories, experiences. I have family members that come from Asia, the US, Europe, Latin America and the Orient -- the Middle East. People are pretty much people.

+1. The visual language is innate and knows no borders.

Jaf-Photo · Jun 7, 2014

yurisrey said:
+1. The visual language is innate and knows no borders.

True to some extent.

I am pretty much colour blind and have friends from all continents and most denominations. From this I know that people who have grown up in different cultural contexts have altogether different sensitivities.

This you must take into account when engaging with people from different cultures. For instance, you have to know the dos and don'ts if you socialise with African American Baptists, Ashkenazim, Irish Catholics or Thai Buddhists.

I also think it applies to all forms of communication, including visual.

AndreasT · Jun 7, 2014

Yes there is. Not only photgraphy, I would claim they also print differently.
As far as I am concerned.
I feel the Americans are more harmonious and the Europeans more political and harsch in their photos. Not necessarily the motiv but the way it looks.

removed account4 · Jun 7, 2014

there are as many differences in how photography or art is accepted as there are people viewing it.
it is easy to draw broad stereotypes about all of one group or all of another but it is individual not group.
topless models are on billboards &c in france ( for example ) but that would not fly in the usa, not even with "pasties"
just like all-you-can-eat-buffets are like a virus in the states but people don't seem to be as gluttonous outside the usa ...
when i was a kid the "7-11 super big gulp" was pretty much the largest soft drink sold, anywhere ... now it is just a "medium"

Poisson Du Jour · Jun 8, 2014

"...but people don't seem to be as gluttonous outside the usa ..."

Oh really!? Come visit us in Australia to view "the other" gluttons...

Cultural Geographic Divide

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