The popularity of photography increased steadily during the twentieth century, with public opinions varying from it being the purest art form to strange with “potentially sinister overtones.” Artists were eager to experiment with this new medium, and various categories of photography arose, such as documentary, surrealist, and conceptual. These three genres share some similarities, but their differences are evident in their authenticity, subject matter, and theory.
According to many Dada artists, World War One was caused by the logic and reasoning of bourgeoisie capitalism. As a result, artist turned to the “anti-art” of Dadaism, a style that instead favored irrationality and ignored aesthetics. These principles can frequently be found in Surrealism,…show more content… Also like surrealism, conceptual artwork prioritizes the ideas behind the work over aesthetics. In this sense, conceptual photographers choose what reality to capture and have influence over the concepts presented by their artwork, which greatly differs from documentary photography. Cindy Sherman took up the role of conceptual artist with her series titled Untitled Film Stills, which consists of sixty-nine self portraits taken over three years time. In these black-and-white photographs, Sherman portrays herself in different stereotypical roles found in film noir, in addition to 1950’s and 1960’s Hollywood. Her work often implies themes of violence and sexuality, while making an obvious connection to these motifs and the lack of variety in roles written for female actors. In her work Untitled Film Still #21 (1977), the artist is well dressed in a suit and hat, with her make-up done perfectly, standing in a city amongst tall buildings. The air of dramatism can easily cause Sherman’s photograph to seem narcissistic, but artist insists that this is not the case. She once stated that she is, “trying to make other people recognize something of themselves rather than me.” By this, Sherman implies that viewers are always looking for a deeper connotation in an artwork beyond the aesthetic denotation and that she hopes that seeking
