One characteristic of photography is that it creates a sense of intimacy. What is another? (which makes it unlike painting, drawing, or sculpting) - Objects/People are viewed with very little alteration
Where is the light source? Where does it create shadows?
Describe his features, expression, surrounding objects, etc.
Alexander Gardner worked for Mathew Brady (photographer whose pictures of Lincoln were featured on the two $5 bills) for a time during the Civil War.
Mathew Brady (1822 – 1896) – father of photojournalism
Risked his life on the frontlines of the war to capture combat photographs. Photographed many prominent people; after the war, his audience became tired of seeing images of war and he spent the last several years of his life destitute and forgotten.
How did photography change the way people viewed the civil war? (Could see casualties and the effects of war with their own two eyes; not through the eyes of a painter or writer.)
Political art: what is the purpose?
Why was photography important in a political campaign? (it was a new medium, allowed viewers to "be there" and see the candidate interacting with others, giving speeches, or doing normal, everyday-life kinds of things)
What media/publicity tools do politicians use today? (travel, speeches, radio, the press, video, tv, photography, the internet) What was available at Lincoln’s time?
Which images from political campaigns do you find compelling and why? What do the posters proclaim about their candidates? Pay attention to symbolic imagery (Justice, Peace, colors, etc.), facial expressions (smiles, earnest frowns) and words (catch-phrases, quippy slogans):
L-R from top: 1848 Zachary Taylor, 1860 Abraham Lincoln, 1908 William Taft, 1960 John F Kennedy, 1980 Ronald Reagan, 2008 Barack Obama
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