development of the art and technique of
producing images known as photographs. Photography is so much a
part of life today that the average person in the United States may encounter
more than 1000 camera images a day. Photographs preserve personal memories
(family snapshots) and inform us of public events (news photos). They provide a
means of identification (driver’s license photos) and of glamorization
(movie-star portraits); views of far-off places on Earth (travel photographs)
and in space (astral photographs); as well as microscopic scenes from inside the
human body (medical and scientific photos). Many specialized commercial
categories, including fashion, product, and architectural photography, also fit
under the broad umbrella that defines photography’s function in the world
today.
To mid-19th-century observers, photography
seemed capable of capturing the world whole rather than describing and
interpreting it as drawing did. They called it the “mirror with a memory.” But
20th-century critics have argued whether photography is indeed a direct trace of
experience, like the mark of a footprint in the sand, or instead a reflection of
the photographer’s particular point of view. To be sure, some of the truths that
photography seemed to tell at one time were later shown to be biased. These
arguments have brought attention to the ways photography has been used as a tool
in support of industrial progress, colonialism,
government propaganda, social reform, and various disciplines in
the social sciences, especially ethnology (the study of human
cultures) and criminology (the study of criminal behavior).
Photography’s role in the visual arts is
equally a matter of debate. From the start, the photographer’s camera was seen
as a challenger to the painter’s brush. Its ability to effortlessly render
tones, detail, and perspective effectively put an end to the practice of certain
forms of painting, such as portrait miniatures. Moreover, it is widely believed
today that photography created an impetus for painters to forsake
straightforward description in favor of more interpretive or abstract styles,
such as impressionism, cubism, and abstract
expressionism. Photography itself has been defined as an essentially
modern art because of its relative newness and its reliance on the machine like
camera. A fascinating subplot within the story of photography is its complex and
still-evolving role as a medium of art like painting, its supposed
antagonist.
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