Introduction
Photography is a form of art that has allowed humanity to capture evocative images for generations. The first image is a photograph by Eva O’Leary taken from the Splitting Image series in 2017. It is part of a project that focuses on young women and their identities. The second image is an untitled tintype photograph that was taken by an anonymous photographer in 1890. It features the image of a man taken post-mortem, which was a common practice in the 19th Century. While photographs demonstrate the evolution of an artistic style from its earliest inception to its contemporary form, they exemplify the ability of images to convey messages that transcend generations.
Image Analysis
The first image is a color photograph by Eva O’Leary, an American photographer, of a girl looking at her reflection in a two-way mirror. She appears contemplative as she looks directly at the camera lens. The picture was taken indoors, and there is a blue background behind her. The picture was taken at head height, looking directly at the subject, which limits the audience’s view of the scene and directs the focus to the subject. There is an evident use of flash, seeing as the girl’s skin and clothes are highly reflected. It is highly probable that an artificial light source was used with limited natural light permeating the picture. There is limited distortion on the face, indicating that a powerful lens was used to create the portrait.
The second image is a black and white tintype image taken by an anonymous photographer in 1890, of a man standing next to a chair. The subject appears propped up, as evidenced by a prop at the bottom of the photograph, and it appears the chair serves the same purpose. The picture was taken indoors against a wall with paintings of a house and trees. The picture is taken from a head height, looking directly at the subject, which allows the audience to have an overview of the scene. There is no evidence of the use of a flash, given that the subject’s skin and clothes appear dull. The existing light is likely from a natural source from a nearby window. The face is significantly distorted, indicating that the camera had a low resolution.
The first image is clear, and the subject’s details are visibly highlighted. The lucidity of the camera reveals features that make the subject familiar to the observer. The subject in the image is observing her reflection in an unfiltered and unaffected manner. There is a clear demonstration of technical proficiency and staging, which allows the audience to experience the power of the composition. The image is a close-up of an African-American girl that is set against a blue backdrop. The subject’s face is bare and reveals blemishes that are often unnoticeable to the casual observer.
The second image is dull, and the subject’s details are blurred. The man in the picture comes across as somewhat unfamiliar, given that his features are not clearly delineated. The fact that a prop is visible at the bottom of the picture is a demonstration of artistic staging. It is not immediately obvious that the subject is dead. The image features a Caucasian male and is set against a painted backdrop. It is difficult to clearly identify his facial features, given the degree of exposure.
The first image is derived from the Splitting Image series, which was created to highlight how women see themselves. Eva O’Leary based her images on girls from a local middle school in Happy Valley, Pennsylvania (Milner). O’Leary is famed for developing photographs that reflect the psyche of young Americans in the Twenty-first Century (Karp-Evans). She is a prolific photographer who has won numerous awards for photography, including the Hyères Festival Photographie Grand Prix in 2018 (“Photographer Eva O’Leary’s Spitting Image Show at Kilkenny Castle ”). Her objective was to capture the vulnerability and innocence of young women as they come to terms with their identities (Gittlen). The project focused on girls aged between eleven and fourteen years (Caffrey). It is evident from the photograph that the young girl is looking apprehensively at the mirror, unsure of what she sees. The motivation behind the image was, perhaps, to highlight the complex and often paradoxical relationship women have with themselves.
The second image was taken by an anonymous individual at a time when tintype photographs were fairly common because they were relatively inexpensive and allowed people to easily capture their likenesses. The images were reverse photographs of a subject that were taken directly from the camera and were made of thin black sheets of iron (Miller). The increased availability of photography resulted in a significant shift in perspectives in the 19th Century. The method of photography was particularly popular in the 1860s and 70s (Stewart). However, the technique faded at the start of the Twentieth Century as more innovative techniques were developed (Travis). The process required a large camera, a plate, and a dark space so that when exposure occurred, a direct positive image was embedded in a prepared sheet of metal (Barker). The resulting image was a clear representation of the individual or object of focus.
The second picture features the image of a man taken after his demise. The most significant changes in tintype photography were seen in post-mortem portraiture, which democratized grief (Tateo 476). The act of taking pictures of deceased individuals spread across Europe and the United States. There was an overwhelming societal desire to keep the dead alive through the construction of rituals that facilitated the transition into a new social status in the afterlife (Tateo 478). The practice became increasingly popular as people sought to preserve the memories of their loved ones, as demonstrated in the anonymous picture. It was, perhaps, his family’s way of keeping his soul alive in the face of death. They honored him in the hopes that their memories would be preserved in the same way by those who would come after them.
Comparison
There are some notable similarities between O’Leary’s image and the anonymous picture. For instance, both were taken indoors, and they feature a single subject. In addition, they were both taken at head height, with a direct focus on the individuals in the images. It is also worth noting that the pictures feature artistic staging, with O’Leary applying a blue background, while the anonymous photographer used props. Both images reflect important subject matter, such as O’Leary’s focus on women and their identity and the anonymous photographer’s reconceptualization of death.
The differences in the images demonstrate the evolution of portraiture as an art form. While O’Leary’s photograph is a close-up image that magnifies the subject’s emotion, the anonymous picture is distant, with a limited focus on the subject’s emotional state. O’Leary’s use of artificial light amplifies the portrait’s clarity and directs the viewer’s focus to specific elements of the subject’s personality. The anonymous picture’s reliance on natural light limits its ability to highlight vital aspects of the man’s physical form. For instance, the expression on his face is unclear and his posture appears somewhat unnatural. The biggest difference between the two images is O’Leary’s use of a live subject and the anonymous artist’s use of a deceased man. However, it is vital to note that aside from the visible prop at the bottom of the picture, it is nearly impossible to tell that the subject is dead. There is limited distortion in O’Leary’s picture, which highlights the fact that a high-resolution camera was used in the process. There is significant distortion in the anonymous picture because tintype cameras were low-resolution devices.
Conclusion
Photography has undergone a significant transformation since its inception. The images in question are a representation of prevalent ideas at the time of their creation. On the one hand, the anonymous picture highlights society’s preoccupation with death and the desire to preserve the memories of loved ones before they were cast into the ground. On the other hand, O’Leary’s portrait captures the struggle that young women have with their identities. Despite the technical differences and the motivations behind the creation of both pictures, the gravity of the messages they convey is evident. The portraiture presented in the images highlights the evolution of an artistic style from its earliest inception to its contemporary form while conveying messages that transcend generations.
Works Cited
Barker, Erika. “Tintype Photography: A Bridge from the Past to the Present.” The Birthplace of Country Music, Web.
Caffrey, Darren. “Darren Caffrey / Eva O’Leary.” Circa Art Magazine, Web.
Gittlen, Ariela. “Eva O’Leary: Pimples & Imperfections.” Elephant, Web.
Karp-Evans, Elizabeth. “Eva O’Leary: Being Truthful With Yourself.” Emmazed, Web.
Miller, Head Jeanine. “Tintypes.” The Henry Ford Blog, Web.
Milner, Daphne. “Eva O’Leary Documents How Women See Themselves in the Mirror.” It’s Nice That, Web.
“Photographer Eva O’Leary’s Spitting Image Show at Kilkenny Castle.” Irish Central, Web.
Stewart, Jessica. “Tintype Photography: The Vintage Photo Technique That’s Making a Comeback.” My Modern Met, Web.
Tateo, Luca. “The Cultures of Grief: The Practice of Post-Mortem Photography and Iconic Internalized Voices.” Human Affairs, vol. 28, no. 4, 2018, pp. 471–82, Web.
Travis, Will. “Lansing Creative Brings Back Old-School Tintype Photographs.” The Palm Reader, Web.