Photography Schools Online » Photography http://www.photographyschoolsonline.net Top Online Photography Schools Sun, 29 Aug 2010 21:01:00 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 en hourly 1 20 Works of Art Missing or Destroyed http://www.photographyschoolsonline.net/blog/2010/20-works-of-art-missing-or-destroyed/ http://www.photographyschoolsonline.net/blog/2010/20-works-of-art-missing-or-destroyed/#comments Sun, 29 Aug 2010 21:01:00 +0000 admin http://www.photographyschoolsonline.net/?p=569 There’s a sad truth to art museums that’s not often talked about: sometimes, things just disappear. Over time, countless works of art have gone missing for one reason or another, whether it’s damage, theft, poor stewardship, natural disaster, or the tragic effects of war. For every hundred or thousand paintings or sculptures, there’s one that’s been lost to the ages. Some exist in reproductions or sketches, but some are gone for good. This list is just a small sample of those works of art that can be seen only in photos of what used to be.

  • Man at the Crossroads, Diego Rivera: Rivera’s mural for Rockefeller Center was destroyed and removed by Nelson Rockefeller, who didn’t like the painting’s inclusion of things like women drinking alcohol and images of Trotsky and Lenin. As soon as Rivera was paid, Rockefeller had the work covered, then demolished.

  • A Harlot’s Progress, William Hogarth: These 18th-century paintings depicted the story of a young woman who becomes a prostitute only to die by 23 of venereal disease. The paintings were used to make engravings, which turned out to be beneficial, since the original art was destroyed in a fire at Fonthill Abbey in 1755.

  • The Just Judges, Jan/Hubert Van Eyck: The Ghent Altarpiece was a gorgeous, enormous polyptych that pictured Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and a host of other biblical figures. The work was begun by Hubert Van Eyck and completed by his younger brother, Jan. In 1934, one of the panels, The Just Judges, was stolen during the night and held for ransom. The thief never revealed its location, and it’s believed to be destroyed.

  • St. James Led to His Execution, Andrea Mantegna: One of the many casualties of war in the field, this painting was destroyed in the spring of 1944 when Allied forces bombed Italy’s Ovetari Chapel.

  • The Stone Breakers, Gustav Courbet: This French painting was created around 1850 and first exhibited at the Paris Salon. It was destroyed in World War II when Allied forces bombed a transport vehicle carrying paintings stored at K-nigstein Fortress.

  • The Battle of Anghiari, Leonardo da Vinci: This painting by Leonardo da Vinci dates to 1505 and was abandoned by the master when technical difficulties arose with the paint. It’s rumored to still exist beneath frescoes in a hall in Florence’s Palazzo Vecchio. The surviving image is a drawing by Peter Paul Rubens that’s based on an engraving that might have been directly copied from the original. We’ll never know for sure.

  • A Vision of the Last Judgment, William Blake: William Blake had done precursors (like the one pictured) to his 1808 work A Vision of the Last Judgment, but it’s only through these and his detailed notes that we know what it looked like. The painting was intended for an 1810 exhibition, but when the exhibition was cancelled, the painting vanished.

  • The Goddess of Democracy, Students of the Central Academy of Fine Arts: Chinese students quickly built this statue as part of the 1989 Tianenmen Square protests, hoping to make a statement to the government and force them to destroy it or acknowledge it. Sadly, soldiers of the People’s Liberation Army dismantled the statue only five days after it was erected. It has since become an icon of free speech, with a replica at the University of British Columbia.

  • Vase With Five Sunflowers, Vincent Van Gogh: This is the first of several works by Van Gogh lost to accident and war. Van Gogh did several paintings of sunflowers in multiple still life series, but this particular image was destroyed in August 1945 by U.S. air raids over Japan’s Ashiya District. The painting at the time was in the collection of Koyata Yamamoto.

  • The Lovers: The Poet’s Garden IV, Vincent Van Gogh: This painting from 1888 was declared “degenerate” by the Nazis and subsequently confiscated. No one’s ever found it.

  • The Park at Arles with the Entrance Seen Through the Trees, Vincent Van Gogh: History was rough to Van Gogh: This painting was also destroyed by a fire during World War II.

  • The Painter on his Way to Work, Vincent Van Gogh: This painting was residing in Berlin’s Kaiser-Friedrich Museum during World War II, when it met with an untimely demise in a fire. It’s a tragedy that so many works by one artist suffered such a fate.

  • Winter, Caspar David Friedrich: Another artist with multiple works gone, Caspar David Friedrich painted Winter around 1808. The painting was destroyed in a fire at Munich’s Glaspalast in 1931, a blaze that took several works by Friedrich and other artists.

  • Landscape With Rainbow, Caspar David Friedrich: There’s no fire or war behind this painting: It’s simply missing, and has been since 1945.

  • The Destruction of Niobe’s Children, Richard Wilson: This lush landscape from Richard Wilson, one of the pioneers of the field in Britain, was destroyed in 1944 during enemy action surrounding the National Gallery of London.

  • Tilted Arc, Richard Serra: Commissioned in the 1970s for the Federal Plaza in New York City, Richard Serra’s artwork was a giant block of steel that met with critical and public complaint when it was unveiled. A committee voted in 1985 to dismantle and remove it, and though Serra appealed, the work was destroyed in 1989.

  • Equal-Parallel/Guernica-Bengasi, Richard Serra: The version of this work that currently sits in Madrid’s Museo Reina Sofia is a reproduction by the artist: the original went missing in 2006 and has never been found. At least Serra was around to make a new one.

  • Leda and the Swan, Michelangelo: Many artists have tackled this classical motif, including Michelangelo, whose painting of Leda and the swan was lost and very likely destroyed. The surviving image is a copy based on the original.

  • Nativity with St. Francis and St. Lawrence, Caravaggio: This Caravaggio work dates to 1609 and measures almost 6 square meters. It was stolen in October 1969 from the Oratory of San Lorenzo, located in Palermo, Sicily. No one knows who stole it, though many suspect the Sicilian Mafia to be involved in the theft. Whether it’s destroyed or in someone’s possession is unknown.

  • The Storm on the Sea of Galilee, Rembrandt: Rembrandt’s illustration of the biblical story of the storm on the Sea of Galilee was painted in 1633. It last resided in Boston’s Gardner Museum before being stolen in 1990 in one of the biggest art heists in U.S. history. The painting remains unrecovered.

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    ]]>     http://www.photographyschoolsonline.net/blog/2010/20-works-of-art-missing-or-destroyed/feed/ 2928     10 Popular Posters http://www.photographyschoolsonline.net/blog/2010/10-popular-posters/ http://www.photographyschoolsonline.net/blog/2010/10-popular-posters/#comments Sun, 22 Aug 2010 20:43:53 +0000 admin http://www.photographyschoolsonline.net/?p=553 Posters aren’t just a picture — they are a decorative expression of your personality, style and interests. Whether you like skylines, beach babes or rock bands, there are hundreds of posters made to fit your fancy. Among the thousands of posters on the market, there are just a handful of images that have maintained their popularity and influence on today’s popular culture. Here are 10 popular posters that still hang high:

    • Blown Away
      Steve Steigman’s 1980s image of a man being blown away by the power of his speakers quickly became an iconic piece of pop culture. This photograph continues to resonate among America’s youth, and its poster version can be spotted in dorm rooms, studios, game rooms and just about any living area that needs a touch of cool.

    • COLLEGE
      From game rooms, frat houses to sports bars, you are bound to find the iconic photo of John Belushi wearing his “COLLEGE” sweatshirt in the film Animal House. This ever so popular poster has become a college staple across America and a symbol for all that is classy.

    • The Beatles Abbey Road
      The Beatles’ album Abbey Road is one of the greatest albums of all time and has one of the most recognizable and beloved covers in music history. The photograph of George Harrison, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and John Lennon, walking in unison along the zebra crossing on Abbey Road, makes for a very popular poster image.

    • V–J day in Times Square
      This poster continues to capture the hearts of romantics all over. V–J day in Times Square is the unforgettable image of a World War II sailor kissing a nurse in the middle of Times Square in celebration of the end of the war on Japan.

    • We Can Do It!
      This historic image of Rosie the Riveter flexing her arms with the words, “We Can Do It!” written along the top, continues to be an empowering photograph of the 1940s that’s loved by many. This photo was created to represent American women who worked in factories and manufacturing plants during World War II, while men were in the military. We Can Do It! posters can be seen all over the country, especially among women’s groups and organizations that represent women’s rights.

    • Farrah Fawcett
      From the big blonde hair, bright smile and red bikini, Farrah Fawcett’s photo remains one of the most popular pin-ups of all time. This 1970s poster can still be seen hanging on the walls of man caves and dorm rooms alike.

    • Marilyn Monroe
      Among the many photographs taken of the iconic Marilyn Monroe, few top the image of her white dress blowing up above her knees while standing on a subway grate. Monroe’s timeless beauty and pop culture influence makes this image an unforgettable poster to hang on your wall.

    • James Dean
      James Dean is every girl’s dream and every guy’s idea of cool, which explains why this poster is considered a popular choice among the masses. In addition to Dean’s good looks and talent, his black and white photographs have a classic, rugged look that never gets old.

    • Campbell’s Soup
      Among the many brilliant and eye-catching Andy Warhol paintings, his Campbell’s soup cans remain some of the most famous and recognizable pieces in his collection. Whether it’s the modern twist to a familiar food or the pop art effect that draws people in, the Campbell’s soup can posters continue to be a fan favorite.

    • Scarface
      One of the most popular gangster movies of all time, Scarface is also one of the most popular posters to have hanging on your wall. Whether you’re watching an episode of MTV’s Cribs or walking through a dormitory, you will most certainly see the iconic Scarface poster hanging in clear view.

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    ]]>     http://www.photographyschoolsonline.net/blog/2010/10-popular-posters/feed/ 3818     10 Photoshopped Photos Passed Off as Real http://www.photographyschoolsonline.net/blog/2010/10-photoshopped-photos-passed-off-as-real/ http://www.photographyschoolsonline.net/blog/2010/10-photoshopped-photos-passed-off-as-real/#comments Fri, 30 Jul 2010 01:29:27 +0000 admin http://www.photographyschoolsonline.net/?p=539 Photoshop and other photo editing programs have truly changed the way media displays images and how the world views them. Aside from the wondrous, artistic effects that come from edited photos, nothing ruins credibility or skews the truth more than an altered photograph that is presented as real. Professional photographers will still crop, cut, copy and paste their way to the perfect picture, but the industry’s keen eye for such deceitful practices will help keep these photos out of our sight. Here are 10 photoshopped photos that passed off as real:

    • O.J. Simpson in a Different Light
      After O.J. Simpson was arrested for allegedly murdering his ex-wife Nicole Smith and her friend in 1994, his mugshot was plastered in hundreds of magazines and newspapers across the country. Time magazine took it upon themselves to make the former football player look darker and more evil by manipulating the color, burning the corners and shrinking the prisoner ID number on his mugshot.

    • National Geographic Squeezed for Space
      National Geographic magazine got caught moving pyramids for a 1982 cover story featuring the Great Pyramids of Giza, which were squeezed together to fit the vertical layout of the magazine. Although it was the ’80s, the magazine’s former director of photography, Tom Kennedy, stated that the publication no longer uses technology to alter elements to make a more convincing photo.

    • Up in Smoke
      The plot thickened and so did the smoke that loomed over downtown Beirut in a controversial 2006 Reuters photograph. In the midst of the Israel-Lebanon conflict, Lebanese freelance photographer Adnan Hajj was caught doctoring two published war photographs. When compared to the original image, Hajj’s photo showed a thicker, darker plume of smoke that rose from an Israeli bombing raid. In the second photo, Hajj made some changes to his photo by increasing the number of flares dropped from an Israeli F-16 and misidentified them as “missiles.” Reuters withdrew the doctored image, suspended their contract with Hajj and implemented a “tighter editing procedure” for war images.

    • A Badgered Brochure
      The University of Wisconsin 2001-2002 undergraduate student brochure ended up looking like a “Where’s Waldo?” photo not just because of the red and white everywhere, but because of a student that didn’t fit with the rest of the group. In an attempt to show their diverse student population, the University created a composite using a photo of all white students at a 1993 Badger football game, and inserted a black student, Diallo Shabazz’s face into the crowd. The school received serious backlash for doctoring the image and passing it off as real, in addition to faking a diverse population that just isn’t so.

    • Harper’s Magazine Against AWOL
      Harper’s photo for their cover story, “AWOL in America: When Desertion Is the Only Option,” did not sit well with some of the Marines featured when they found out what the story was really about. The photo featured seven Marines standing against a wall, with one soldier fading away in thin air. Harper’s was criticized for using real, active soldiers in a story about going AWOL, which has an incredibly negative connotation. Harper’s fought back saying they were “decorating pages” by using soldiers and not implying that they were AWOL.

    • Piecing Together Julia Roberts
      Redbook magazine, has received some flak for doctoring photos and not being transparent about its practices over the years. One of the publication’s most notorious manipulations was a 2003 cover shot of Julia Roberts that had been altered from the head down. The magazine took Roberts’ head from a paparazzi shot at the People’s Choice awards, and combined it her body from the Notting Hill movie premiere four years ago. The goal was to make the cover pop, but even with an apology by the publisher, Hearst, this magazine issue continues to be an example of what not to do.

    • Two Becomes One
      Even in war, photographs aren’t always as they seem. Point in case, the Los Angeles Times photographer Brian Walski’s emotional image of a British soldier and a group of Iraqi civilians in Basra, which graced the newspaper’s front page and was printed in other publications. To much disappointment, Walski’s photo turned out to be a composite of two images that he combined to “improve” the composition. Once confronted about the altered image, Walski admitted to his photo doctoring and was later fired for unethical practices and altering the truth.

    • Fusing Famous Females
      Today, no organization in their right-mind would use Oprah Winfrey’s face on their cover without her permission. TV Guide learned their lesson after a 1989 cover displayed the talk-show host’s face on another woman’s body. The body belonged to actress Ann-Margret from a 1979 Rockette special. The glitzy dress that Oprah was wearing caught the eye of Ann-Margret’s fashion designer, who recognized the dress from the photo shoot. Neither woman gave their consent to creating the composite.

    • Getting Crafty with Martha Stewart
      After her release from prison, Martha Stewart appeared on Newsweek magazine’s cover looking exactly as they described her, “thinner, wealthier and ready for prime time.” This smiley shot of Stewart pulling back the stage curtains was actually a composite of her face on a model’s body. In an attempt to cover their behinds, Newsweek came forward on Page 3, calling the cover a photo illustration and giving credit to the artists behind the separate head and body shot. Despite coming clean about the altered cover, Newsweek received a great deal of flak for misleading the public through unethical practices.

    • FUN Family
      In an effort to meet diversity requirements for Toronto’s summer edition of FUN Guide, the publication superimposed the face of a black man into a clustered family photo. In order to show a more diverse, eclectic side of the city, the FUN Guide nixed the photo of a tan-skinned father to display the new dad’s picture, which was poorly edited. The publication claims to have been doing its duty to “depict the diversity of Toronto and its residents,” but ended up looking way too forced.

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