FAKING IT: Manipulated Photography Before Photoshop at The Met

 

Man on Rooftop with Eleven Men in Formation on His Shoulders

Unknown, American, ca. 1930

Group of Thirteen Decapitated Soldiers 

Unknown, ca. 1910

 New York City, New York City, ca. 1959

Weegee (American, born Hungary, 1899–1968)

 The Pond - Moonrise, 1904

Edward J. Steichen, Alfred Stieglitz Collection, 1933

 

 Le simulateur, 1936

Dora Maar (French, Paris 1907–1997 Paris)

 Faking It: 

Manipulated Photography Before Photoshop

Organized by Mia Fineman
Asst. Curator, Department of Photographs

Faking It: Manipulated Photography Before Photoshop at The Metropolitan Museum of Art is the first major exhibition devoted to the History of Manipulated Photography Before the Digital Age.

"Featuring over 200 visually captivating photographs created between the 1840s and 1990s in the service of art, politics, news, entertainment, and commerce, the exhibition offers a provocative new perspective on the history of photography as it traces the medium’s complex and changing relationship to visual truth."

"The photographs in the exhibition were altered using a variety of techniques, including multiple exposure (taking two or more pictures on a single negative), combination printing (producing a single print from elements of two or more negatives), photomontage, overpainting, and retouching on the negative or print. In every case, the meaning and content of the camera image was significantly transformed in the process of manipulation. Faking It is divided into seven sections, each focusing on a different set of motivations for manipulating the camera image. The exhibition was made possible by Adobe Systems Incorporated" –The Met

Faking It: Manipulated Photography Before Photoshop

 October 11, 2012—January 27, 2013

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

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After Photoshop: Manipulated Photography in the Digital Age
September 25, 2012—May 27, 2013

An addendum to Faking It, After Photoshop exploring various ways in which artists have used digital technology to alter the photographic image over the past 20 years.

ALSO VIEW:

Faking It: The Show

Faking It: The Curator | Faking It: The Opening

ASMP-NY: Curators + Dealers Panel

(L to R) Moderator Susan May Tell, with Panelists: Jeff Rosenheim, Curator of Photographs, Metropolitan Museum of Art; Howard Greenberg, Owner of the Howard Greenberg Gallery; Brian Wallis, Chief Curator, ICP, The International Center of Photography

Jeff Rosenheim, Howard Greenberg, Brian Wallis

February 2, 2011: Panelists Jeff L. Rosenheim - Curator of Photographs, Metropolitan Museum of Art; Howard Greenberg - top photography dealer and owner of New York City's Howard Greenberg Gallery; and Brian Wallis - Deputy Director of Exhibitions and Collections and Chief Curator, International Center of Photography came together for a conversation on Fine Art Photography. The New York chapter of ASMP (American Society of Media Professionals) was host to this event, moderated by its Fine Art Chair, photographer Susan May Tell. The conversation took place at Soho Photo.

A few of the many topics discussed throughout the evening included, how each of them became interested in photography, their relationships with collectors and auction houses, how they choose exhibitions, the importance (or not) of prints being editioned and/or signed ("only one signature matters - Henri Cartier-Bresson"), and wet vs digital prints. The evening was casual and fun, while also inspiring and illuminating. One example is Rosenheim's response about editioning prints: "I am less concerned with rarity and more concerned with poetry."

Read more about the evening here: SHARPEN by Stella Kramer