National Gallery of Art

Faking It: Manipulated Photography before Photoshop

National Gallery of Art

This week I had the great pleasure of taking my photography students to the National Gallery of Art to view the Faking It: Manipulated Photography before Photoshop exhibition!

 

In the first major exhibition devoted to the history of manipulated photographs before the digital age, some 200 works will demonstrate that today's digitally altered photographs are part of a tradition that extends back to the beginning of photography. Featuring visually captivating photographs, the exhibition will trace photographic manipulation from the 1840sthrough the 1980s and show that photography is—and always has been—a medium of fabricated truths and artful lies.

                                                                                                                   from NGA website

       There were a total of 46 students that participated over the course of two days. The computer graphics teacher and I are using this as a launching point for our students to collaborate to see and explore the commonalities between the Darkroom and Photoshop. We toured and discussed the content and techniques of the photographers work in the exhibition in the first half of the workshop.     

        The exhibition is on view in the West Building of the National Gallery of Art, Ground Floor. The second half of the workshop the students created Polaroid transfers and altered the images with watercolor crayons, sharpies, and modpodge. The imaginations and rapid fire production of these students are incredible!