The Photographer's Eye In Paintings

‘To quote out of context is the essence of the photographer’s craft. His central problem is a simple one: what shall he include, what shall he reject? The line of decision between in and out is the picture’s edge. While the draughtsman starts with the middle of the sheet, the photographer starts with the frame. The photograph’s edge defines content. It isolates unexpected juxtapositions. By surrounding two facts, it creates a relationship. The edge of the photograph dissects familiar forms, and shows their unfamiliar fragment. It creates the shapes that surround objects. The photographer edits the meanings and the patterns of the world through an imaginary frame. This frame is the beginning of his picture’s geometry. It is to the photograph as the cushion is to the billiard table.’

Q. What does John Szarkowski mean when he says that photographers are quoting ‘out of context’ when they make photographic pictures? 

A. When John Szarkowski says that photographers are quoting 'out of context' when they make photographic pictures he means photographers are constantly looking around for subjects and how they want to capture the moment while deciding what to include and exclude.

Q. The frame often ‘dissects familiar forms’. At the end of the last century photography was having a major impact on Art. Impressionist artists such as Degas were influenced by what they saw. Look at these examples of Degas work, which clearly shows the influence of Photography, and explain why the public might have been shocked to see such paintings.

A. I think the public might've been shocked to see Degas' work because he painted each individual in the moment like how you capture a moment in photography. 

Painting By: Georges Seurat

In the painting above by Georges also shows how painting was influenced by Photography caputing the moment at a crowded park.