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Photography In The 1950s

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Modernism and popular styles became indistinct from each other in the 1950s. Art was never the same after the Holocaust and atom bombs. Plurality of visual forms existed in 1950s. If we take 1950s painting as an offshoot of New York school of abstract art, then photography in the 1950s is a more eclectic phenomenon, harder to classify. This can be attributed to the commercialisation of photography by the mid-century due to the rise of print media during the 1940s. There was an upsurge in newspaper photography. Newspapers like the Rocky Mountain News in Denver specialised in hardball journalism, featured regular photographer Morey Engle with sensational pictures. The emergence of new magazine like Ebony in 1945 provided work for African American …show more content…

It was quintessential for journalistic photography to be dramatic and illustrative which largely thrived on the mercy of print media. Magazine journalist W. Eugene Smith has made an individual stamp through his photographic essay. His Nurse Midwife (1951) and A Man of Mercy (1954) helped to refine the idea of photo essay. Robert Capa was another magazine photojournalist who was popular for his combat images during World War II. Working for Life, he mixed photography of Hollywood icons like Grace Kelly, Gary Cooper and Ingrid Bergman with location photographs from Paris, Japan and

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Life in the 1920s and 1950s While some similarities were noticeable between the 1920s and the 1950s, the differences were striking. The 1920s was known as the beginning of modern America. The 1950s was known for its lucrative prosperity and anxiety. Both eras’ were similar in their economics. They differed in politics and society.

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This paper is all about how the Renaissance shaped African American culture. In this paper you will read about famous black people of that time, special events that occurred and more. The 1920’s period was known as the Harlem Renaissance. This was a time where black people and white people discovered the uniqueness of art, culture, society. From 1918 to the mid 1930s talent began to expand with the new culture of the blacks in the Harlem community.

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Though I pride myself to be a student of history, I sadly know little about the life of Fredrick Douglass. His essay, “Learning to Read”, beautifully captured the significance of knowing how to read, and the obstacles that Douglass had to navigate through in order to learn how to read. Visiting the African American History museum’s exhibit on Fredrick Douglass elected me further my knowledge about the life of Fredrick Douglass, and acted as a nice companion to his essay. What shocked me the most when visiting the museum was the role that Douglass placed on photography as a tool for social reform. Douglass believed that by taking photos, most common self-portraits, he would tear apart the societal norms about what white Americans thought African

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It was a moment when modern African American culture took people's imagination. According to Coleman, F. (1995), “No one captured visually the essence of African-American life in the 1920s and 1930s as vividly or faithfully as did Archibald Motley” (para. 2). Archibald Motley was a visual artist who took part in that period and expressed his art well. He has paintings from all aspects of his career. From the time he was in college at the Art Institute of

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1582 Words | 7 Pages

Ansel Adams stated, “A great photograph is a full expression of what one feels about what is being photographed in the deepest sense and is, thereby, a true expression of what one feels about life in its entirety.” Have you ever wonder where photography first started? Have you ever wondered who made photography what it is today? What type of impact particular photographers had on photography? Alfred Stieglitz was a man who had big aspirations in his lifetime but did it so easily in with coming from a wealthy family.

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Conformity is behavior in accordance with socially accepted conventions or standards. Also according to Webster's dictionary social repression is is the act of controlling, subduing or suppressing people, groups and larger social aggregations by interpersonal means. I agree to the greater extent that during the 1950’s were a time of conformity and social repression. In American life housing, genders and culture get an impact on conformity and social repression.

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851 Words | 4 Pages

As World War II came to an end, the United States entered the 50s. This decade became a major influential time that brought many cultural and societal changes. Categories such as the economy, where a boom in new products increased, the technology world which incorporated new medicines and computers, entertainment when the television became popular and the overall lifestyles that Americans adapted to. All of these topics reshaped and created several advancements throughout society during the 1950s.

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In the 1920s the African American was starting in earnest to place his or her stamp on American culture as a whole. It is in the era the seeds of revolution were planted that would bear fruit in the Civil Rights era of the mid 20th century. As the African Americans in New Orleans did make jazz the African Americans in New York and Chicago made Jazz what it is today and it helped many people see that what they live in is not what the have to stay

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African Americans were able to work for their own money now and gain confidence while living in America. They began to publish newspapers which increased the awareness of racial violence and express their freedom from restraint through art (O’Neill). This “negro fad” in the United States influenced art and drama that focused on the depiction of an African American in the 1920’s. African Americans were revolutionizing the way they were perceived in the U.S.. They gained confidence and made efforts to achieve their ultimate goal,

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170 Words | 1 Pages

All the composers, artists, musicians, and poets introduced new ideas in ways of expressing their pride in their race and culture. The Harlem Renaissance was the general notion where it was the time for African Americans to take their place the society and contribute their way of culture. Art in the time of the Harlem Renaissance often presented usage of bold colors displayed in an expressionist manner. Work from most artists would portray African Americans dancing, dining playing music, or engaging in what seems to be amusing festivities.

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The Harlem Renaissance was a period of great cultural growth in the black community. It is accepted that it started in 1918 and lasted throughout the 1930s. Though named the ‘Harlem’ Renaissance, it was a country-wide phenomenon of pride and development among black Americans, the likes of which had never existed in such grand scale. Among the varying political actions and movements for equality, a surge of new art appeared: musical, visual, and even theatre. With said surge, many of the most well-known black authors, poets, musicians and actors rose to prevalence including Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen, Louis Armstrong, and Eulalie Spence.

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Black Artists worked hard to put an end to that. Though there was much discrimination, which made it hard for any African American artist to show off their art, through will and persistence several Black musicians, singers, dancers, and actors could perform in clubs and theaters. New expressions of art allowed for the media to see a true representation of Black culture and art, rather than the one that racism influenced. These artists worked hard and were able to represent their own experiences of life as an African American in the US (“Art Movement: Harlem Renaissance” Artland Magazine). Artists introduced many genres of music such as swing, jazz, and blues, and allowed for a lot of creative new ways to use music.

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Prior to the start of World War I, African American artists such as sculptors and painters were not well represented. When the 1920s came around, African American artists “attempted to win control over representation of their people while developing a new repertoire of images…black artists had begun developing styles related to black aesthetic traditions of Africa or to folk art” (Arora 45 and 47). African Americans were able to finally express their creativity and their culture through the art they created. Their art became seen by the population, which were displayed in many public places at the time, and inspired future artists. Harlem Renaissance painters such as Aaron Douglas, displayed black culture through their artwork.

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3654 Words | 15 Pages

America was segregated and blacks and whites had a different set of rights under what were called ‘Jim Crow’ laws. Not only was there racial oppression, however, but women were also oppressed and viewed as inferior to men. This started a huge movement of the arts which prompted changes in unjust laws and legislation. The 1960s brought about a great movement of the arts as the oppressed people and the activists spoke out against the unfair laws through their various art forms.

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What We Really Miss About The 1950s In her essay, “What We Really Miss About the 1950s”, Stephany Coontz talks about the myth of the 1950s. She begins her argument by stating some reasons why the nostalgia for the 1950s exists. The main thing Americans miss about the those days is the stability. She acknowledges that this fallacy is not insane.

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