The Human Element

The Camera Arts

THE HUMAN ELEMENT

Photography became the most contemporary of artistic media, one particularly suited to record the human dramas being played out in an increasingly modern world. French photographer Robert Doisneau’s, The Kiss on the Sidewalk from 1950 shows a romantic kiss as an oasis in the middle of a busy Paris sidewalk. That the photo was not spontaneous but was staged Links to an external site., takes nothing away from the emotional content: Paris as the city of Love. Eugene Atget (pronounced “Ah-jay”) (1856-1927) was one of the first to use the photograph as a cultural and social document. His images Links to an external site. of Paris and its surroundings give poetic witness to the buildings, people and scenes that inhabit and define the city.

 

Robert Doisneau’s, The Kiss on the Sidewalk (Le Baiser du Trottoir), 1950 Gelatin silver print

 

The work of Diane Arbus Links to an external site. (1923-1971) challenges us as we gaze at others who might've been labeled as deviant, marginalized, or simply stand out because of the context in which we persieve them. Arbus’ lens is unflinching in its honesty. She presents images of alienation and unsettling quiet without condescension or judgment. The images challenge our own assumptions as we try to fill in the blanks, resulting in the viewer finding some of themselves in the image.

Many of the photographs in Robert Frank’s series The Americans Links to an external site.depicts groups of people in different situations, including riding a bus, watching a rodeo, and listening to a speech. His photo essay on American life is seen through the eyes of an observer, not a participant. Instead of voyeuristic, they give a sense of detachment. Only a few of the figures look directly into the camera or directly at other people in the photo. Frank worked hard to maintain the observer’s point of view. Similar to Arbus, the photographs carry overtones of alienation – between the individual and the group. Controversial when first published in the United States in 1959, the book now is seen as one of the most important modern photographic social commentaries.