Berenice Abbott July 17, 1898 – December 9, 1991
1. Personal Background: (5 sentences. Culture, nationality, schooling, important life events, etc.)
Berenice Abbott is an american landscape photographer, she was born in Springfield, Ohio. In 1997 she left home and enrolled at Ohio State University and studied Journalism. She then Moved to New York she was engaged to Jimmy Light a movie director. In New York she thought “old New York” must be photographed from every aspect.” From there she opened her own portrait studio, some of her portraits and images were being published in magazines such as Vanity Fair, The Saturday Review of Literature and many more. She also went to Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and took on the project to photograph scientific phenomena.
2. Style: (5 sentences. What visual characteristics does this artist’s work possess? If you can compare it to a painting or art history style please do.)
Bernice Abbott’s work is very unique she can create consistently strong photographs from several disparate realms of experience, from portraits to cityscapes, to the world of science. She took her photos from her point of view, the way she see the picture is clear, objective, and realistic. She handled her own subject matter, developing, and processes. She would often developed in darkrooms, the visual art work she creates are black and white photos. Her portraits are people posing in certain positions and certain emotions she captures. Her landscape photos taken in New York in 1932, are capturing movement of machines or people, they looks very relaxed and not planned.
3. Philosophy: (5 sentences. What were the major ideas behind this artist’s work? Where they personal, political, social, etc. What were they trying to “say” with their photographs?)
Bernice Abbott I would say is very opinionated, she became a creative inventor. Later in her like she began her explorations in scientific photography, which is the main subject she at the time wanted to capture in her art. She specifically took photos of bouncing balls, swinging pendulums, and wave patterns. Her personal feeling we're all about science and how she wanted to present that in ways people could understand and see. Another main focus she was trying to present was objectivity and impassioned realism, she did that when she took photos of buildings in New York.
4. Influences: (5 sentences. How has the photographer influenced you in your work?)
Bernice Abbott influenced me in my photography in many ways. I find her portraits and landscaping very real and capturing the movement of that place and the emotions and personalities of the people. I adore black and white photos so when she took hers I realize how much better I could capture specific things that evoke people’s emotions. I recently went to the Cleveland Museum of Art, and saw one of her pictures up on the wall. It was a portrait of a homeless man lying on the street he looked calm but the was Abbott captured his face made it more dramatic and more engaging. I really have gotten inspired by her and how I can become a better photographer and editor to make mine more engaging and interesting and have people really feel what that person or place is feeling or capturing.
5. Sources: You need to include the 3 images, their title and their source (which may include a link).
title -Railroad Tracks
Title: Railroad Tracks - https://www.icp.org/browse/archive/objects/railroad-tracks
Title: Mrs. Joyce - https://americanart.si.edu/artwork/mrs-joyce-71953
Title: Laws of momentum - https://www.icp.org/browse/archive/objects/laws-of-momentum
6. Compare and Contrast: You will need to compare and contrast your final 3 images with the 3 images you choose by your photographer. Write about each piece (5 sentence.)
The reason I chose these photos was because they had many things I loved about them. Such as the black and white and artistic eye set up.
The portrait of Mrs. Joyce, was very formal and powerful in hers because of the poses and her hand placement or her facial expression. I took my friend and set her up and positioned her in the same way but different direction. I tried to get everything almost identical, the rings the skirt the shirt etc. I tried to set lily up in a way with the same background, and I edited in ways that looked like Berenice Abbott’s photos. Many things I also couldn’t figure out how to do some things like making the photo look old other than just putting it in black and white and editing making little tweaks.
The “Laws of momentum” photo was taken by her trying to record movement and momentum, I saw hers was a wrench being thrown in the air. There is one way that I could make this effect almost match the original, is by doing a Panorama photo. I got wrenches some where the same and some were not, I set them up while looking at the original photo. I took a Panorama of the wrenches lines up like this on a black mat, edited it in PS with black and white and did something close to the symmetry I flipped it so it was like longer in a way that looked like I threw it. I liked her photo because of how she thought of capturing momentum and movement and thought it’s weird I can make that effect without actually doing it, technology has come so far and I am inspired how she did all this with the tools she had at the time.
The “Railroad Tracks” photo was taken by the Huron river, I decided to take it there for the reason of Berenices Abbott’s photo was vintage and the place where she took it was old. the huron river railroad track looked abandoned so that was the perfect place. She took hers in NY but I tried to get my picture closest to how she took hers. I took this from the side tried to make the light the same by clicking on the sky almost so it looked like shadows of the tracks and fence. Berenice had a very good eye of things and how they should be positioned so I imaged my self as her in NY and tried to recreate it, there is not an exact location that will be the same but I thought here was the place to take it.
7. Personal Artist Statement: Your images should tell a story. In 5 sentences tell me about your images. Use the Composition 101, Elements and Principles and 10 Rules of Photography vocabulary.
In conclusion to the three photos I was recreating from Berenice Abbott’s photos, they all have a purpose and their elements leading up to make the photo. The portrait of my friend Lily recreating the one called Mys. Joyce, the spacing within her, the wall or how the picture should be angled for the spacing to look right. I would say Lily is in the middleground and so as Mrs. Joyce, because they are the main focus they cannot be too far away or close also the value in this photo is very important. The whole thing is black and white which adds drama and impact to composition, it makes the person look more powerful. The other photos also have value and another has movement and lines, the wrenches being thrown leads your eyes to the object at the end and that creates movement and leading of lines.