One of the largest and most important difference between the role of photography in Victorian times and the role of photography now holds it’s bearing in the way humanity is represented. I noticed that the majority of the Victorian photograph collages were glorified portraits layered on painted, surreal backgrounds. This could be attributed to the fact that those who could afford to have themselves photographed at a time when the idea was still novel and expensive preferred to be represented in high standing since photos were not as dispensable as they are now. The collages were used to depict the subjects in grandiose environments meant to celebrate human ingenuity. Two of the pieces I found most interesting in the Victorian collection were the jester dropping portraits and the children sitting on mushrooms and riding a frog. These painted backdrops with cutout photographs superimposed on top were the beginnings of photo editing. The surreal environments inspired awe and provided an inflated image of the subjects.

Irving Penn paints a different side of the matter for us. His photographs emphasize ordinary life in a much less ideal light. His nudes of overweight women with sagging skin give us a very different view of ourselves. The black and white antique style of photography gives translates to a raw image that forces the viewers to evaluate their relationship with their bodies. The power behind the photos lies in their utilization of shape and shadow to give a very vivid image of the human body.  You can almost feel the textures of the photo. This goes in stark contrast to the staged photographs in the Victorian collection. Penn’s photograph, titled Italian Still Life, exemplifies another technique developed since photography’s early times. The very deliberate photo of very simple subject matter puts ordinary life on a pedestal in a way Victorian photographers would have found unnecessary. The full color photograph of a garlic, tomato, and olive stacked on top of each other finds aesthetic value in ordinary objects. Modern photography allows us to capture and observe virtually anything with such ease that the minute details of life are as valid a subject as anything else.

The concept of beauty changed dramatically since Victorian times. We’ve developed an appreciation of the ordinary in photography as a result of myriads of leaps technologically and psychologically. Victorians glorified the human being as an ideal creature, beautiful and strong. Irving Penn shows us a side of us we often like to ignore. Over the years we’ve learned to appreciate the world and ourselves for their intricacies and flaws.

“A human being is a part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feeling as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.”

Albert Einstein

As a race, we’ve advanced so far that we can accurately say we share half our genes with a banana. The irony is that the closer we come to understanding the ties linking us to everything we know, the more self absorbed we become.

This work is meant to explore the relationships between human beings and nature. the compositions embody the harmony, discord, and codependence between us and the planet we inhabit while providing an opportunity to reflect on human genius as well as understand the profound impact of human ignorance and apathy.

Shelby Lee Adams is a photographer with no morals and should be shunned for his work. He blatantly exploits the physical abnormalities and poverty of others to add shock value and maximize exposure and profit off their misfortune. Adams takes photographs meant to humiliate the subjects and imply an inherent lowliness. His photographs paint a nasty picture of the Appalachian residents. His audience looks at the works with disgust, not appreciation as the photos are all staged in unflattering environments meant to darken the message of the image. Everything about the photos is meant to impose a discomfort on the viewer. Its wrong for a man to exploit the misfortune of others to promote his name. The work Adams in no way improves or draws positive attention to the circumstances of the subjects.

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Shelby Lee Adams works to see the beauty in everyone. He photographs friends who appreciate his work and the pure heart its done with. His work on the Appalachian family shows a side of them many don’t take the time to see. While much of the world sees the community as a bunch of inbred hillbillies, Adams takes the time to point out that these are human beings. He is working to dispel an impression imposed on the region by years of stereotyping. His photos tell powerful stories that allows the viewer, just for the moment, an opportunity to empathize with the people in the photographs.

http://www.eugenicsarchive.org/images/eugenics/normal/1501-1550/1539-Russian-Jew-at-Ellis-Island-Photograph-by-Augustus-Sherman.jpg