Page 26 - Studio International - July August 1975

and get the kind of print I wanted.'" The visionaries : 'the artist sees deeper, George Davison exhibited a photograph
resulting pigment print is the apotheosis penetrates more into the beauty and entitled An Old Farmstead (also known as
of the artist-photographer. Denying its mystery of nature than the commonplace The Onion Field) at the Photographic
photographic origins, it seeks applause man. The beauty is there in nature. It has Society in 189o. Taken with a pinhole
for its display of hand-work and its been thus from the beginning, so that the instead of a lens, the blurred quality of
control of tones. It is not concerned with artist's work is no idealizing of nature; but this photograph, which was printed on
photography. We are back once again to through quicker sympathies and training rough paper to emphasize the effect, led
the question of the status of the the good artist sees the deeper and more critics to call it the first 'impressionist'
photographer, and what we have here is fundamental beauties, and he seizes upon photograph. Davison admired the work
a bogus photograph in which the use of them, "tears them out", as Dürer says, of the painters who were called
semi-photographic methods has and renders them on his canvas, or on his `Impressionists' in France and
produced a bastard painting of a photographic plate, or on his written `Naturalists' in England. He described
photographer posing as a painter. All page. And therefore the work is the test how he 'felt enraptured by the perfection
this is done in an attempt to elevate both of the man — for by the work we see of naturalness of some of these genuine
photography and the photographer. In whether the man's mind is commonplace impressionists' paintings. There is a
order to understand the pressures which or not." He believed that it was beyond liveliness, an exuberance of joy, a
brought Steichen to produce this the abilities of both painters and yearning for a sympathetic companion to
extraordinary Self-Portrait with Brush photographers to produce 'a mere share the feeling of exultation, when one
and Palette and to learn something of the transcript of nature', and that in each has happened suddenly upon a subtle fact
techniques he used, we have to go back case what was produced would be 'a of natural light, colour, air, or form
ten years and look at photography in translation, or impression.' happily touched off, a curve of the beach,
Britain, for it was in Britain and not This is an important point which must a boat seen from the shore level on a
America that the earliest moves were be grasped in order to understand the stormy day over the crests of the surf, a
made to establish photography as a tortured and tortuous arguments of broken bit of ground in sunlight, and the
`modern' art. photographers during this period. What like. It is only in the light of such views,
In 1889 Joseph Gale contributed an they called 'Impressionism' in then, that I care to examine or put
article to The Amateur Photographer. photography has only tenuous links with forward the claims of photography, as,
Taking as his text the down-to-earth the movement in painting known by indeed, of any other method, to be
saying: 'Let every tub stand on its own this name. To a photographer of the admitted as a capable means of artistic
bottom', he argued photography's claim nineties who had developed his skills in expression.' 11 Davison's Pond at
as an art form independent of painting: the mid-Victorian period, any Weston Green, dated 1899, is an example
`The limitations in art-photography— photograph which was not of his personal response as a photographer
those inherent to it—are many; quite microscopically sharp in focus or which to a simple effect of light. In order to
serious enough without burdening in any way deviated from the normal achieve such a personal interpretation of
ourselves to begin with by the limitations mechanical and chemical processes of a scene, Davison believed that a
to which the painter is subject . . . There photography to create an 'unusual' effect photographer should approach each
is some fear of its assuming the strutting was either a mistake or, if it had artistic exposure without having to carry the
stage by apeing artists and painters and pretensions, 'an impression.' burden of rigid rules of procedure
their conventionalities, and otherwise `Impressionism' was a dirty word with intended to guide his vision: 'What we
getting outside of its proper and many photographers. To them it meant have to do is to use definition as an end in
legitimate sphere. Let us, by all means, fuzzy pictures which denied the very expressing our impression. It must vary
study how painters achieve success, how essence of the science to which they were according to our motive. Definition is a
they translate nature, how they put soul devoted. matter of relative interests. In this, as in
into their work, and let us do what we can Personal control in the production of every other branch of the photographic
in the same direction consistently with photographic prints in order to modify method, technical perfection depends
the tools at our command and the many or enhance effects had been under fire upon the motive. A process has no
other differing considerations and from conservative photographers for `natural perfection'. Its perfection is all
conditions of our handicraft. Let us not, many years. In 1869 Julia Margaret relative; and a technically good
however, stick feathers about our sombre Cameron's portrait photographs had been photograph in respect of focus is one
bird, and call it a peacock!'' His attacked by H. P. Robinson, who in which the definition is well suited to
characterization of photography as 'our criticized her work for lack of definition, the purpose, no matter whether it be
sombre bird' is significant and reflects incorrect focusing, blurring caused by sharp, differentiated, or diffused." 2
the modest, tentative claims made for the movement of the sitter during exposure, Contemporary critics such as Gleeson
medium by British photographers and other technical faults. To those who
during this period. Or rather by some praised her work he attributed a 'want
British photographers, because Gale's of knowledge of photography' and
article was published in the thick of the accused them of being 'ignorant of the
arguments and personal vendettas which capabilities of the art' : 'The arguments of
followed the publication of P. H. the admirers of these productions are,
Emerson's 'Naturalistic Photography' in that the excellences exist because of the
1889, and Emerson was a master of fiery faults, and that if they were in focus, or
invective when the need arose to defend more carefully executed, their merit
his theories. would be less. This is not true, and, if it
He had set out in the 'eighties to were, I should certainly say, Let the
establish photography as something more merits go; it is not the mission of
than a recording tool and argued that photography to produce smudges . . . If
art was possible in photography if an studies in light and shade only are
artist was behind the camera. He defined required, let them be done in pigment or
an artist as a man who has the ability to charcoal, with a mop, if necessary, but
work in such a way 'that he affects the photography is pre-eminently the art of
intellect through the senses, and so definition, and when an art departs from
produces aesthetic pleasure in us . . . Thus its function it is lost."" And yet within 3o
Photography may be, and is, in the hands years 'smudges' were to be found in
of an artist, a method of expression large numbers in photographic
"
producing works of fine art.' It is exhibitions, and were accepted by at
evident that Emerson had a high opinion least some critics as legitimate and
of the judgement of painters; he saw praiseworthy products of the George Davison
`artists' (and he believed that there were photographer's art. Pond at Weston Green 1899
many more painters than photographers As far as conservative photographers Photogravure
in their ranks) as higher beings, as were concerned, the rot had set in when Courtesy Kodak Museum
6