We love trickery. Or rather, we love the
quest for innovation, the unexpected, and the impossible. When the impossible
turns out to be, well, impossible, then we settle for illusion.
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| Three Girls Harry Pottering http://www.directmatin.fr/insolite/2013-04-08/pottering-les-fans-dharry-potter-et-leurs-balais-regnent-sur-le-web-435466 Direct Matin.fr “Pottering: Les Fans d’Harry Potter et Leurs Balais Règnent Sur le Web” 08/04/2013 |
What better way to explain the success of
Harry Houdini, David Blaine, David Copperfield, and illusion within photography
(check out the Huffington Post for some really trippy images)?
Of course, Photoshop is the bee’s knees, or so they say, when it comes to
manipulating an image to give you a photo which deceives the eye and makes you
say Wow! Or is it?
Whilst Photoshop may be a handy tool for
touching up images, getting rid of that pesky red-eye, brightening or dimming
an image, etc, I believe that not all associations with this programme are
positive. For example, when Kate Winslet appeared on the cover of Harper’s
Bazaar in 2011, people were quick to jump in with their disgruntled opinions –
outrage even – that the magazine would so blatantly alter a proudly curvaceous
celebrity in such a manner. However, this is only one example of a long list:
Andy Roddick on the cover of Men’s Fitness in 2007, Beyonce in her L’Oreal
advertising campaign, Demi Lovato on the cover of Cosmo, and even Kate
Middleton for the Royal Wedding issue of Grazia, to name just a few. Faced with
an improbable image, the natural response is to look at it, scoff, and say
‘Photoshop’.
However, a completely different reaction is
to be found when faced with an image which is downright clever, and is not the
result of Photoshop. There have been a whole host of crazes recently regarding
optical illusion – Harry
Pottering, Vadering,
etc. In my opinion, we have 19th-century masters of (photographic)
manipulation to thank for this.
When photography was first invented in the
1830’s, it soon became not just a technical innovation, but a source of
artistic innovation. Humour, creativity, and a desire to shock and thrill –
this is what sparked a trend of digitally altered photographs, a trend which
can still be seen today.
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| Unknown
American Artist Man on Rooftop with Eleven Men in Formation on his Shoulders, c. 1930. Gelatin silver print. George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film, Rochester, New York. Courtesy of The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. |
To
find out more about photographic illusion in the 19th century, you
need go no further than The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Faking it: Manipulated Photography before
Photoshop is running until the 25th
August, so be sure not to miss out! If this tickles your fancy but you’re not
sure where to go next in your quest for photographic inspiration, why not try
pick up a copy of Man Ray, by Alexander Games and Patrick Bade?
- Fiona Torsch
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