GLOSSARY OF ART TERMS

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Photography Photography
Explore the many different ways photography has been used to document and interpret the
modern world.

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 Since its invention in 1839, photography has served as a medium for documenting,
Posed/Unposed
understanding, and interpreting the world. It has radically contributed to the evolution of
Some
photographers visual representation, in part by allowing for the documentation of a moment in time,
pose their and, because of its inherent reproducibility, by enabling the wide circulation and
subjects, others distribution of images—which has exploded with the advent of the Internet and social
capture people in media platforms.
candid moments.
Sometimes, it's
hard to tell the Photographs are forms of representation, shaped by a series of decisions made by the
difference. photographer. Moreover, the way we interpret a photograph is influenced not only by
the photographer’s intention, but also by the ways in which a picture is produced, edited,
and circulated. Photography has been used throughout history and into the present day
Photography as a tool for science and exploration; as a means of documenting people, places and
and Public
events; of telling stories and recording histories; and as a mode of communication and
Image
critique in our increasingly visual culture. The medium is being continually reinvented
Photographs of
public figures or and rethought, shaped as much by technological advances as it is by the ever-changing
celebrities often dialogues surrounding photography’s use.
reinforce their
personas rather
Related Artists: Eugène Atget, Richard Avedon, Mathew B. Brady (studio of), Julia
than reveal the
real person Margaret Cameron, Thomas Demand, Philip-Lorca diCorcia, Walker Evans,
behind the public Alexander Gardner, Katy Grannan, David Wark Griffith, Philippe Halsman, Frances
image, but Benjamin Johnston, Dorothea Lange, Nadar (Gaspard-Félix Tournachon), Gilles
sometimes Peress, Walid Raad, Jacob August Riis, August Sander, Cindy Sherman, William J.
photographers
Shew, Laurie Simmons, Lorna Simpson, Jeff Wall, Carrie Mae Weems
manage to break
through the
facade.

Related Themes Related Links

Photography
What Is Modern Art? ARCHIVAL AUDIO: Edward Steichen
as Witness hosts "What is Modern Photography?"
Photographs of
Investigating Identity symposium at MoMA in 1950 (WNYC
news stories and
Archives)
major events can
often shape Fauvism
collective memory YOUTUBE PLAYLIST: Gain a deeper
and how history is understanding of photography in
written and Media and Performance Art videos from MoMA's online course
understood. "Seeing Through Photographs"
Film
VIDEO: Meet MoMA Photography
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 VIDEO: Meet MoMA Photography
Sets, Stories,
and Situations
Throughout Expand Expand
photography’s
history,
photographers
have staged
images to evoke
literature, films,
real events, and,
sometimes, the
artifice of the
medium itself.

The
Photographic
Record
Since its
inception,
photography has
helped build a
collective archive
of human
experience.

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