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NATURALISM

and the establishment of photography as an artform in mid-centuryAustralia

Danielle Rossi 1998


This 2017 online version of Danielle Rossi's thesis has been adapted from a copy of Danielle's 2010 thesis as submitted for Fine Arts IV Thesis University of Sydney. This is not the thesis as submitted and includes amendments, reformatting and updated information.
©The copyright for this paper is retained by the author.



 

SYNOPSIS

The period after World War II saw several determined professional photographers fight to change perceptions about their medium. Laurence Le Guay, as editor of Contemporary Photography (1946-1950) was instrumental in the development of a style of photography that reacted against romantic Pictorialism. This new emphasis on 'Naturalism' was influenced by the aesthetic of Documentary photography, but was used in a wide range of photographic areas including commercial photography.

 

CONTENTS

Synopsis (above)
Acknowledgements/Abbreviations (below)
Introduction
Chapter 1 'Documentary and Pictorialism'
Chapter 2 'Contemporary Photography Magazine'
Chapter 3 'The Influence of Commercial Photography and Photojournalism'
Conclusion
Illustrations
Bibliography

 


 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Thank you to:
My Thesis Supervisor, Professor Terry Smith, for his comments and suggestions;  David Moore for being very helpful and enthusiastic;
Gael Newton, Curator of Australian Photography at the National Gallery of Australia;  The staff in the N. G. A. Research Library;
The staff in the Power Research Library;  Candy Le Guay (daughter of Laurence Le Guay).

 

ABBREVIATIONS

f = folio number in artists files                                                 p/pp = page/pages                                                           CP = Contemporary Photography                                 

A.P.-R. ^Australasian Photo.-Review                                      NGA = National Gallery of Australia, Canberra

AGNSW = An Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney            AWC = Allied Works Council                                           DOI = Department of Infonnation

FSA = Farm Security Administration                                      CCC = Civil Construction Corps

All illustrations are black and white photographs, unless otherwise stated. Many of the illustrations exist as reproductions in magazines, and consequently there is no information provided about the dimensions of the images, the year printed, or the collection. In these cases, only the magazine information is cited.

 

 


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