media and memory exam 2

The Cave of Hands — Unknown, c. 7000 BCE

- What: Hand outlines sprayed onto cave walls in Patagonia, Argentina.

- How: People placed their hands against the rock and sprayed pigment around them.

- Importance: Early example of humans preserving their existence and experiences through images.

Boulevard du Temple — Louis Daguerre, 1838-1839

What: A Paris street that looks almost completely empty.

Why it's empty: Moving people disappeared during the long exposure, but a man getting his boots polished stayed still long enough to appear.

Importance: One of the earliest photographs to show a recognizable person.

Photogenic Drawing — William Henry Fox Talbot, c. 1835

What: A white plant silhouette against a darker background.

How: Placed the plant directly onto light-sensitive paper.

Importance: Talbot helped develop paper-negative photography, making multiple prints possible.

Know: Calotype = negative-positive process using paper.

Self-Portrait as a Drowned Man — Hippolyte Bayard, 1840

What: Bayard pretending to be dead.

Why: He was frustrated that his contributions to photography weren't being recognized.

Importance: Early example of staged photography used to communicate a fictional story and personal message.

Boy with Parrot — Antoine Claudet, 1856

- What: Two nearly identical images of a boy sitting near a parrot.

- How: Two cameras captured slightly different perspectives.

- Importance: Demonstrates stereoscopy, which creates a three-dimensional illusion when the images are viewed together.

Two Girls Smiling — Jeremiah Gurney, 1852-1858

What: Two young girls wearing matching dresses and smiling.

Importance: Challenges the belief that people never smiled in nineteenth-century photographs.

Connection: Shorter exposure times made capturing natural expressions easier.

La Porte Rouge, Notre-Dame — Charles Marville, 1852

What: Gothic architecture at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris.

Importance: Documented historic architecture before major restoration work.

Technique: Salted paper print, an early photographic process using treated paper.

Daguerreotypomania — Théodore Maurisset, 1839

What: Chaotic illustration showing crowds obsessed with getting their portraits taken.

Importance: Satirizes how quickly photography became popular and commercialized.

Know: This is an illustration about photography, not an actual photograph.

Sign Painter — John Kurtz, c. 1870

What: A man sitting in a chair, painting a sign.

Technique: Tintype — an inexpensive photograph produced on a thin metal plate.

Importance: Shows how photography became more affordable and accessible to ordinary people.

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert — John E. Mayall, 1860

What: Formal portrait of the British royal couple.

Technique: Carte de visite — a small photographic portrait mounted on a card.

Importance: Royal portraits became popular collectibles and contributed to early celebrity culture.

Frederick Douglass — Samuel J. Miller, c. 1847-1852

What: Frederick Douglass wearing a suit and looking directly at the camera.

Who: Formerly enslaved abolitionist who fought to end slavery.

Importance: Douglass believed photography could challenge racist stereotypes and present Black Americans with dignity and authority.

Chimney Sweeps Walking — Charles Nègre, 1851

What: Three working-class laborers walking down a street.

Importance: Rather than wealthy people posing in studios, this photograph captures everyday working-class life.

Connection: Industrialization, social class, and early street photography.

The Scourged Back — McPherson and Oliver, 1863

What: An escaped enslaved man, Gordon, showing severe scars from whippings.

Importance: Widely circulated during the Civil War as visual evidence of slavery's brutality.

Connection: Photography could influence public opinion and political movements.

Self-Portrait — Robert Cornelius, 1839

What: A young man with messy hair looking toward the camera.

Importance: Widely considered the first known American photographic self-portrait.

Technique: Daguerreotype, made on a silver-coated copper plate.

The Vampire — Charles Nègre, 1853

What: A gargoyle overlooking Paris from Notre-Dame.

Importance: Demonstrates creative composition and photographic illusion rather than straightforward architectural documentation.

From your notes: Nègre used a fabricated paper gargoyle head to create an unusual visual effect.

Philip Henry Delamotte — Crystal Palace, Central Nave, 1854

What: Huge indoor exhibition space with a glass-and-iron roof.

Importance: Delamotte documented the Crystal Palace's reconstruction in London.

Connection: Photography became a tool for recording architectural history and public spaces.

Joseph-Philibert Girault de Prangey — Ramesseum, Thebes, 1844

What: Large ancient Egyptian stone columns and ruins.

Technique: Daguerreotype.

Importance: One of the early examples of photography being used to document archaeological sites and historic monuments.

Napoleon Sarony — Oscar Wilde, 1882

What: Writer Oscar Wilde posing dramatically in a chair.

Importance: Sarony sued a company that reproduced his portrait without permission.

Know: The resulting copyright case helped legally establish that photographs could qualify as creative works of art.

Nadar — George Sand, 1877

What: A woman with styled hair wearing a loose, striped garment.

Importance: Nadar became famous for portraits emphasizing personality and expression rather than elaborate props.

Extra: Experimented with aerial photography using hot-air balloons.

Augustus Washington's Portrait of John Brown, 1846-1847

What: Abolitionist John Brown holding up his hand and a flag.

Importance: Shows Brown years before his famous raid at Harpers Ferry.

Connection: Augustus Washington was an important African American daguerreotypist.

Alexander Gardner — Portrait of Abraham Lincoln, 1863

What: Close-up of Lincoln showing his beard and serious expression.

When: Shortly before the Gettysburg Address.

Importance: The portrait reflects Lincoln's public image during the Civil War.

Connection: Photography helped shape how political leaders were remembered.

Home of a Rebel Sharpshooter, Alexander Gardner 1863

What: Dead Confederate soldier lying among rocks at Gettysburg.

Controversy: Historical evidence suggests Gardner repositioned the soldier's body and staged the scene.

Importance: Challenges the idea that documentary photographs are always completely truthful.

The Valley of the Shadow of Death — Roger Fenton, 1855

What: Empty road with cannonballs scattered around it.

War: Crimean War.

Importance: Captured the atmosphere and danger of war without showing dead bodies.

Controversy: Different versions show cannonballs in different positions, raising questions about staging.

Fire in the Ames Mills, 1853

What: Large factory building burning in Oswego, New York.

Technique: Daguerreotype.

Importance: An early example of news photography documenting a real, unexpected event rather than a posed subject.

The Burial Party, John Reekie, 1865

What: Men collecting human remains after a Civil War battle.

Importance: Shows the consequences of war rather than the fighting itself.

Connection: Photography exposed people to the destruction and loss caused by war.

Fading Away, Henry Peach Robinson, 1858

What: A young woman dying in bed while her family mourns around her.

Technique: Combination printing — several negatives combined into one photograph.

Importance: The staged death scene caused controversy and demonstrated how photography could create emotional, fictional narratives.

Photographic Study, early 1860s

What: Young woman wearing a large dress, leaning beside a table.

Importance: Used clothing, poses, interiors, and lighting to explore identity and femininity.

Style: Theatrical and artistic, almost like a painting.

Mary Lincoln with the Ghosts of Her Husband and Son, 1872

- What: Mary Lincoln seated with a faint ghostlike figure behind her.

- Technique: Double exposure — layering photographic images.

- Importance: Mumler claimed to photograph spirits, showing how photography could be manipulated to deceive viewers.

- Connection: Spiritualism and grief after the Civil War.

Grotto — Thomas Demand, 2006

What: A realistic-looking cave with detailed rock formations.

What's actually happening: Demand built an artificial cave using cardboard and then photographed it.

Importance: Questions whether photographs necessarily capture real places and events.

Untitled, 2005

What: Strange interior scene with furniture, debris, and dramatic lighting.

Technique: Carefully staged photography using sets, actors, lighting, and production crews.

Importance: Creates cinematic scenes meant to provoke emotion and interpretation.

Remember: Looks like a movie still.

Daguerreotype:

Photograph on a silver-coated copper plate.

Calotype

Paper-negative process that allows multiple prints.

Tintype

Inexpensive photo made on metal.

Carte de visite

Small collectible portrait card

Stereoscopy

Two images creating a 3D illusion

Combination printing

Combining multiple negatives into one picture

Double exposure

Two images layered in one photograph

Scanography

Making images with a scanner

Digital manipulation

Altering or combining images using technology