Photographers are like beer

Jim Chinn · Dec 22, 2005

Moholy-Nagy started the New Bauhaus school in Chicago in the late 30s. Nagy's experimentation with photography was considered by Callahan to be a blueprint for modern photography "with its emphasis on investigating the intrinsic structure of the medium, stimulated Callahan's enthusiasm for technology and process, encouraged his playful investigation, and opened new avenues for him to explore." (from Callahan by Sarah Greenhough)

In 1946 Callahan began to teach at the Institue of Design in Chicago (later became the teaching arm of the Art Institute of Chicago). The institute was founded by Moholy-Nagy. Siskind came to teach at the Institute of Design in 1951 and went to RID with Callahan later in the early 60s (Callahan went there to teach in 1961).

I don't know how much one can connect Moholy-Nagy with Siskind other then the fact that Siskind taught at the institute. I don't even know if Moholy-Nagy was still there at that time. It is clear that Siskind had a major impact on the institute as he brought his knowledge and experiences with the NYC abstract expressionists to his teaching.

removed account4 · Dec 23, 2005

thanks jim for filling in the gaps in my bad memory ...

i had a feeling i was reading the wrong stuff 20 years ago or i just forgot most of what i was supposed to remember

i guess the 50s and 60s was a big pot of stew - photographicly speaking.

- john

Jim Chinn said:
Moholy-Nagy started the New Bauhaus school in Chicago in the late 30s. Nagy's experimentation with photography was considered by Callahan to be a blueprint for modern photography "with its emphasis on investigating the intrinsic structure of the medium, stimulated Callahan's enthusiasm for technology and process, encouraged his playful investigation, and opened new avenues for him to explore." (from Callahan by Sarah Greenhough)

In 1946 Callahan began to teach at the Institue of Design in Chicago (later became the teaching arm of the Art Institute of Chicago). The institute was founded by Moholy-Nagy. Siskind came to teach at the Institute of Design in 1951 and went to RID with Callahan later in the early 60s (Callahan went there to teach in 1961).

I don't know how much one can connect Moholy-Nagy with Siskind other then the fact that Siskind taught at the institute. I don't even know if Moholy-Nagy was still there at that time. It is clear that Siskind had a major impact on the institute as he brought his knowledge and experiences with the NYC abstract expressionists to his teaching.

rfshootist · Dec 23, 2005

Bill Mitchell said:
ATGET. Prolific, but technically inept. A blind person could make equally good pictures in Paris.
DISFARMER. Disphotographer.

As usually, when somebody looses control over his big-mouthed arrogance:
This devasting judgement says all about the big-mouth and nothing about the photog who is judged !!

Jim Chinn · Dec 23, 2005

cao said:
Loretta Lux has my nomination for "most disposable photog."
Why is a Digi-crud version of Margaret Keane so notable?

Her work has been accepted by the powers that be to be more then photography, but "modern" art as well. I think I saw features on her in Art in America, Art Forum, and a couple other non-photography specific art magazines in the last year. Once you get into this heady atmosphere you pretty much become a darling of the gallery/collector scene. Also, it does not matter much if something is good or has long term importance. What ultimately matters is that it sells and makes the gallery and artist money. If it sells, it must be good.

I do beleive that her work is being collected by some institutions due to the fact that she has a very recognizable digital style, one of the first to do so in away that interests a lot of collectors. So from a historical standpoint I can understand some of the hoopla.

toddstew · Dec 23, 2005

I think you're right, Jim. I don't think that Siskind and Maholy-Nagy actually were peers. I think that Siskind didn't start teaching at the Institute of Design until 1951, after Harry Callahan invited him to come. I had the sequence wrong. Thanks for setting us straight.
Hey John, don't you mean stew of pot? Just kidding!
Todd

removed account4 · Dec 23, 2005

toddstew said:
Hey John, don't you mean stew of pot? Just kidding!
Todd

yeah, that's it!

-john

severian · Dec 25, 2005

Valley Forge beer

Claire Senft said:
If you are so silly as to think there is no bad beer than you have never tried Urologist Lager. Stuff is like piss.

Claire,
I do have a tendency toward hyperbole. Of course there are bad beers. The worst is (was) Valley Forge beer. It was the only beer my father would keep in the house. Two reasons. It was cheap. Me and my friends would not bother to steal it . If teenage boys won't steal beer, it is bad!
Jack

TheFlyingCamera · Jan 9, 2006

I'll second the "Ansel Adams as overrated" thread. I admire his teaching, his self-promotion skills, and his dedication, but his images, especially his later images where he decided there's no such thing as too much contrast, don't really get my gears turning. Joel-Peter Witkin is another name I'm sure will get lots of people's attention. I find his work INTERESTING in the sense of his taking the aesthetic of the un-aesthetic to the extreme he has, but in the end it's just another case of how much value is there to shock value? It's intellectual masturbation when it's all said and done.

Photographers are like beer

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