(man) KODAK, MAKER OF MAX FILM,
IS THE PROUD CORPORATE SPONSOR
OF "AMERICAN PHOTOGRAPHY, A CENTURY OF IMAGES."
MAY THE NEXT 100 YEARS BE PICTURE PERFECT.
KODAK--TAKE PICTURES. . . FURTHER.
(man) ADDITIONAL MAJOR FUNDING IS PROVIDED BY
THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS--
INVESTING IN OUR LIVING CULTURAL HERITAGE,
THE ARTHUR VINING DAVIS FOUNDATIONS,
THE CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING,
AND CONTRIBUTIONS TO YOUR PBS STATION
FROM VIEWERS LIKE YOU.
THANK YOU!
[a crow caws]
[birds singing]
(male narrator) IN MAY, 1999,
A DEVASTATING TORNADO
TORE UP LARGE AREAS OF KANSAS AND CENTRAL OKLAHOMA.
THE STORM KILLED 46 PEOPLE;
THOUSANDS LOST THEIR HOMES.
IN THE HALL OF A CHURCH IN OKLAHOMA CITY,
VOLUNTEERS COLLECTED PHOTOGRAPHS WHICH HAD BEEN SCATTERED,
SOMETIMES OVER MILES, BY THE STORM.
THEIR HOPE WAS TO RETURN THESE TREASURED POSSESSIONS
TO PEOPLE WHO HAD LOST
ALMOST EVERYTHING THEY OWNED.
(woman) I DON'T KNOW, I HAD BOXES OF 'EM,
AND I DON'T. . .
THEY JUST ALL FLEW AWAY.
(2nd woman) THE BACK OF THE HOUSE WHERE I KEPT ALL MY PICTURE ALBUMS
WAS SUCKED AWAY AND THE HALLWAY
WHERE ALL OUR PICTURES WERE-- EVERYTHING IS GONE.
PICTURES ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN ALL THE OTHER STUFF WE LOST.
THE FURNITURE AND ALL THE OTHER STUFF CAN BE REPLACED.
THERE WAS A DAY WHEN GEORGE WAS 3 WEEKS OLD,
AND TERRY, MY HUSBAND, WAS GETTING READY TO GO BACK
TO WORK AFTER HIS LEAVE, AND I REALLY WOULD HAVE LIKED
THAT PAGE OUT OF THE ALBUM.
IS THAT DAD'S TRUCK?
NO, DARLING, THAT'S NOT DADDY'S TRUCK.
IT LOOKS LIKE IT THOUGH, DOESN'T IT?
(woman) I FOUND ONE! (man) YOU'RE KIDDIN'!
YOU ACTUALLY FOUND ONE IN ALL THIS MESS?
IT'S YOUR WRITING, AND IT SAYS
MELANIE AT 6 MONTHS, DECEMBER, 1965.
WOULD THAT NOT BE. . .?
(woman) YES, THAT'S MY HANDWRITING.
[multiple conversations]
[piano plays softly]
(Nimoy) WE TAKE PHOTOGRAPHS AND WE KEEP PHOTOGRAPHS
FOR SO MANY DIFFERENT REASONS.
EVEN WITHIN THE PICTURES
I HAVE IN MY OFFICE,
THERE ARE A NUMBER OF REASONS
FOR HAVING THEM.
SOME ARE OF GREAT EMOTIONAL MEMORIES
THAT I WANT TO PRESERVE.
SOME HAPPEN TO BE A RECORD OF SOMETHING THAT I DID
I'M PROUD OF, AND I LIKE TO HAVE IT AROUND ME.
AND IT'S A KIND OF A PROOF, I DID THAT,
I WAS THERE. [chuckles]
SOMEONE, WHEN I WAS
MAYBE 12, 13 YEARS OLD,
GAVE ME THIS PICTURE BOOK.
THE PICTURES SHOWED US WHAT THE REST OF THE WORLD WAS
TO WHICH WE ASPIRED.
I COULDN'T HAVE DREAMED HAD I NOT SEEN THE PICTURES.
I WOULDN'T HAVE KNOWN WHAT TO DREAM.
TRY TO IMAGINE THE WORLD TODAY
WITHOUT PHOTOGRAPHS-- IT'S REALLY KIND OF IMPOSSIBLE.
IT WOULD BE LIKE A PERSON WHO WAS BLIND FROM BIRTH,
TRYING TO IMAGINE THE WORLD OUT THERE.
(Friend) PHOTOGRAPHS ARE ON THE PERIPHERY OF OUR LIVES
AS SORT OF VISUAL UNDERGROWTH THAT WE TAKE FOR GRANTED,
BUT REALLY PHOTOGRAPHS ARE
A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH.
THEY'RE THE PICTURES THAT WE SEE ON THE FRONT PAGE
OF OUR NEWSPAPER THAT FORCE US
TO ACT AND STOP THIS WAR IN THIS REGION.
THEY'RE THE PICTURES THAT WHEN WE GO TO THE DOCTOR,
WHETHER WE HAVE AN X-RAY OR A SONOGRAM,
THAT CAN SAVE OUR LIVES--LITERALLY.
(Czitrom) THEY ARE ONE OF THE THINGS THAT DEFINE THE 20TH CENTURY.
THE PHOTO THAT EVERYBODY KNOWS, THAT EVERYBODY'S FAMILIAR WITH,
THAT CIRCULATES NATIONALLY, INTERNATIONALLY
THAT SEEMS TO DEFINE A PARTICULAR MOMENT.
(Buckland) THERE ARE MANY SHOTS THAT WE CAN'T
EVEN IMAGINE LIVING WITHOUT,
THEY BECOME
SO FUNDAMENTAL
TO HOW WE VIEW OURSELVES
AND HOW WE VIEW A PARTICULAR ERA.
[orchestral fanfare-- full & bright]
♪ ♪
[piano, tuba, & trumpet play rhythmic ragtime music]
♪
(narrator) ON FEBRUARY 1, 1900,
A NEW, SMALL, BOX CAMERA APPEARED IN STORES.
IT WAS CALLED THE BROWNIE.
A CAMERA SO POPULAR THAT IN ONE FORM OR ANOTHER,
IT REMAINED IN PRODUCTION
FOR ALMOST 80 YEARS.
A DECADE EARLIER,
THE ORIGINAL KODAK, AS IT WAS KNOWN,
HAD LIBERATED WOULD-BE PHOTOGRAPHERS
FROM DARKROOMS AND CHEMICALS.
BUT IT WAS TOO EXPENSIVE FOR MOST PEOPLE.
THE BROWNIE WAS SOMETHING NEW--
A SMALL, SOLID CAMERA WITH VERY FEW CONTROLS.
THE PRICE WAS ONLY $1.00.
(Goldberg) THAT WAS WITHIN THE REACH
OF THE WORKING CLASS.
SUDDENLY EVERYBODY
COULD TAKE PICTURES.
THEY COULD HAVE A VISUAL RECORD OF THEIR LIVES
EASILY, INEXPENSIVELY MADE.
WE WERE AWASH IN PHOTOGRAPHS.
♪
(narrator) BEFORE THE BROWNIE, ORDINARY PEOPLE
WOULD HAVE THEIR PICTURES TAKEN
ONLY ONCE OR TWICE IN THEIR LIVES--
STIFF, FORMAL PORTRAITS FROM PHOTO STUDIOS.
(Dr. Naomi Rosenblum) IT CHANGED THE NATURE
OF THE PHOTOGRAPHIC PORTRAIT BUSINESS COMPLETELY
BECAUSE PORTRAITURE WAS
NOW MADE IN THE HOME,
INSTEAD OF IN STUDIOS
WHERE IT USUALLY HAD BEEN.
AND IT BECAME MUCH MORE CASUAL.
IT WAS SERENDIPITOUS.
IT CAPTURED A KIND OF FLUX OF LIFE
THE WAY POSED PORTRAITURE HAD NOT BEEN ABLE TO DO.
(Czitrom) ORDINARY FOLKS BEGIN TO GET A SENSE THAT
IF AN EVENT IS NOT DOCUMENTED BY PHOTOGRAPHY,
IF YOU DON'T HAVE A PHOTOGRAPH TO SHOW, FOR EXAMPLE,
THAT YOU WERE ON VACATION, OR TO SHOW THE FAMILY
OPENING PRESENTS ON CHRISTMAS MORNING,
OR TO SHOW YOUR LITTLE INFANT BABY, SOMEHOW IT'S NOT REAL.
(narrator) IN THE FIRST YEAR ALONE,
A QUARTER OF A MILLION BROWNIS WERE SOLD IN AMERICA.
WITH THE SNAPSHOT CAMERA, PHOTOGRAPHY BECAME
THE GREAT DEMOCRATIC ART
BY AND FOR ORDINARY PEOPLE.
AROUND THE TURN OF THE CENTURY,
A SMALL CHANGE IN POSTAL REGULATIONS
CREATED A WHOLE NEW WAY TO SHARE PHOTOGRAPHS--
THE PICTURE POSTCARD.
[string quartet plays]
♪
(Luc Sante) THE PAPER MOON OF COURSE, BEING THE MOST NOTICEABLE
STUDIO PROP AT THE TIME.
AND HERE IS TRUE PATRIOTISM.
♪
AS OF 1908, I BELIEVE IT WAS,
THE EASTMAN KODAK COMPANY OFFERED TO PRINT ANY PHOTOGRAPH
ON POSTCARD PAPER AT NO EXTRA CHARGE.
WHY DID PEOPLE SEND POSTCARDS?
WELL FOR MANY, MANY, MANY REASONS REALLY--
SOMETIMES INDECIPHERABLE REASONS.
TO SHOW THE NEWBORN, THE NEWLYWEDS,
THE HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES, EVEN IN SOME CASES,
THE DEAD LYING IN THEIR COFFINS.
THEY SHOWED THE BARN, THE CHICKENS, THE NEW COW.
ALL THESE THINGS COULD BE SENT TO GRANDMA, COUSINS, UNCLES.
YOU KNOW, THE BOY GOES OFF
TO THE BIG CITY TO BECOME AN ENGINEER,
HERE IS THE NEW CALF THAT WAS BORN LAST YEAR.
SO THEY JUST SEND HIM A PICTURE VIA POSTCARD.
THEY ALSO FULFILLED THE FUNCTION OF NEWSPAPER PHOTOGRAPHS
IN THE LATER YEARS, BECAUSE NEWSPAPERS THEN
DID NOT HAVE THE CAPACITY FOR HALFTONE REPRODUCTION,
OR THEY COULDN'T AFFORD IT, REALLY IS THE STORY.
SO YOU HAVE COVERAGE OF DISASTERS, COUNTY FAIRS,
AND OF A FEW REALLY BIG EVENTS SUCH AS THE MEXICAN REVOLUTION.
THERE WERE PROBABLY TENS OF MILLIONS
OF THESE PRODUCED EVERY YEAR.
WE DON'T HAVE ANY IDEA OF THE EXACT NUMBER.
AH, PHOTO MONTAGE--
THE WRIGHT BIPLANE IN SPRINGFIELD, MINNESOTA.
DO WE ACTUALLY BELIEVE THAT THE PLANE FLEW DOWN MAIN STREET?
IT LOOKS KIND OF CONVINCING, ACTUALLY,
BUT THIS IS ACTUALLY MONTAGE.
SO THE DADAISTS DIDN'T INVENT THIS STUFF AFTER ALL.
AND YOU HAVE THESE EXAGGERATION PHOTO MONTAGES, TOO.
THE MODERN FARMER HERE CAN ONLY GET ONE POTATO
ON THE BACK OF THE WAGON,
BECAUSE THE EGGS WERE TAKING UP THE REST OF THE SPACE.
THERE ARE ALSO MANY, MANY PICTURES RECORDING, FOR EXAMPLE,
THE LABOR UNION STRUGGLES,
THE SOCIALIST PARTY, THE SUFFRAGETTES.
AND THEY TURN UP IN THE ATTICS
OF CONSERVATIVE MIDWESTERN FAMILIES, BECAUSE SOMEWHERE
IN THERE WAS AUNT MATHILDA OR UNCLE BRUCE,
AND YOU JUST DIDN'T THROW AWAY THEIR IMAGES.
IT WOULD BE SACRILEGIOUS TO DO SO.
SO FORTUNATELY, BECAUSE OF
PERSONAL SENTIMENTAL ASSOCIATIONS
THESE GREAT SLICES OF SOCIAL HISTORY HAVE BEEN PRESERVED.
[piano plays softly]
(narrator) FOR MOST OF THE 19TH CENTURY,
PHOTOGRAPHS COULD NOT BE REPRODUCED
IN MAGAZINES OR NEWSPAPERS.
IF PHOTOS WERE USED IN BOOKS,
THEY HAD TO BE GLUED IN BY HAND,
ONE AT A TIME.
THEN, IN THE 1880s, A PROCESS CALLED HALFTONE WAS INVENTED,
MAKING IT POSSIBLE TO PRINT PHOTOGRAPHS
DIRECTLY ONTO A PAGE.
BUT IT WOULD TAKE YEARS FOR PUBLISHERS
TO APPRECIATE HOW THIS MASS PRODUCTION OF IMAGES
COULD CHANGE THE WORLD.
IN 1905 GILBERT GROSVENOR WAS THE EDITOR
OF A DRY SCIENTIFIC JOURNAL WITH 3000 EARNEST SUBSCRIBERS.
IT WAS CALLED "THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC."
THE MAGAZINE WAS LOSING MONEY HAND OVER FIST,
AND GROSVENOR WAS UNDER PRESSURE TO INCREASE CIRCULATION.
BUT HOW?
THE ANSWER CAME BY ACCIDENT.
THERE WAS A PRINTERS DEADLINE.
HE WAS WONDERING, WHAT AM I
GOING TO PUT INTO THIS MAGAZINE
THIS MONTH?
AND THERE ON THE DESK WAS
A PACKAGE ADDRESSED TO HIM,
AND SO ALMOST OUT OF BOREDOM HE OPENED IT,
AND IT TURNED OUT THAT THEY WERE PICTURES OF LHASA IN TIBET.
AND HE DECIDED TO PUBLISH THEM.
(narrator) SOME OF THE SOCIETY'S
CONSERVATIVE BOARD MEMBERS OBJECTED,
BUT THE GENERAL PUBLIC LOVED THE PICTURES.
GROSVENOR BEGAN FILLING THE MAGAZINE
WITH MORE AND MORE PHOTOGRAPHS.
[flute plays]
♪
(Goldberg) SUDDENLY, THE WONDERS OF THE WORLD
WERE ON YOUR DOORSTEP.
AND EVERYBODY COULD SEE A LAND
THAT ALMOST NOBODY WAS GOING TO
OR COULD GO TO READILY.
IT WAS SOME PLACE THAT WAS NOT LIKE HOME.
IT WAS SOMEBODY WHO WAS NOT LIKE YOU.
THEY WERE IN ODD COSTUMES,
AND SOME OF THEM WERE NOT IN MUCH COSTUME.
(narrator) NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC PIONEERED
THE PRINTING OF COLOR PHOTOGRAPHS.
PHOTOGRAPHY MADE THE MAGAZINE A HUGE SUCCESS.
CIRCULATION SOARED, FROM 3000 SUBSCRIBERS
TO ALMOST HALF A MILLION, IN JUST 10 YEARS.
(Osborn) IT WAS REALLY VALUABLE TO OWN
AND TO HAVE.
AND YOU TREASURED IT.
OH I THINK AMERICANS LEARNED
A GREAT DEAL FROM IT.
I CAN REMEMBER SO MANY FOREIGN PLACES,
INDIANS, HALF-DRESSED PEOPLE FROM AFRICA,
YOU KNOW, THINGS LIKE THAT, WHICH AS A GIRL
GOING TO A CHURCH SCHOOL IN NEW YORK,
WE NEVER EVEN THOUGHT OF THE NATIVES IN AFRICA.
(narrator) IT WAS THROUGH THESE PAGES THAT GENERATIONS OF AMERICANS
FORMED THEIR IMPRESSIONS OF THE WORLD.
IT WAS A HIGHLY SELECTIVE VIEW,
WITH FOREIGNERS ALWAYS
IN QUAINT DRESS,
AND THE NATIVES ALWAYS HAPPY
AND FREQUENTLY DANCING.
THERE WERE NEVER IMAGES OF AFRICANS
GETTING UP IN THE MORNING AND GOING TO THE OFFICE.
(Goldberg) IT WAS A WAY OF RATIONALIZING
THIS KIND OF COLONIALIST POINT OF VIEW, ACTUALLY.
THE WEST WAS DOMINATING A NUMBER OF THOSE COUNTRIES.
AND THEY WERE MADE BEAUTIFUL, EXOTIC, ATTRACTIVE,
WHATEVER, IN PHOTOGRAPHS AND ARTICLES WHICH SUBTLY SAID
THAT INTERESTING AS THEY WERE, THEY WERE INFERIOR
TO OUR WONDERFULLY UPSTANDING, TECHNOLOGICAL, CIVILIZED,
SOPHISTICATED CIVILIZATION.
(narrator) IN THE EARLY PART OF THE CENTURY,
EDWARD CURTIS PUBLISHED A 20-VOLUME SET OF PHOTOGRAPHS
DOCUMENTING THE LIVES OF NATIVE AMERICANS.
MOST PEOPLE'S IDEA OF WHAT INDIANS LOOK LIKE
COMES FROM CURTIS'S PHOTOGRAPHS.
I'M RAYNA GREEN.
I'M OKLAHOMA CHEROKEE
AND GERMAN-JEWISH
FROM TEXAS AND OKLAHOMA.
I HAVE NO PICTURES IN MY FAMILY ALBUM
FROM THE TURN OF THE CENTURY.
WHOEVER MY PEOPLE WERE, THEY TOOK NO PICTURES.
EVERY INDIAN IN NORTH AMERICA HAS A CURTIS PHOTOGRAPH
ON THEIR WALL AT SOMETIME DURING THEIR LIVES.
EDWARD CURTIS, A GREAT PHOTOGRAPHER,
AN EXTRAORDINARY MAN,
MADE IT HIS ENTERPRISE TO PHOTOGRAPH THE PEOPLE
WHOM HE BELIEVED WOULD DISAPPEAR.
AND SO HE SET ABOUT ON THIS EXTRAORDINARY ENTERPRISE.
AND HE DID GO ALL OVER NORTH AMERICA
FROM THE NORTHWEST COAST TO HOPI LAND
TO THE NORTHERN PLAINS.
CURTIS GAVE NON-INDIANS AN IMAGE
OF A WORLD THAT THEY WANTED INTACT.
INDIANS AS BEAUTIFUL, INDIANS AS ROMANTIC.
HE DRAGGED AROUND A TRUNK FULL OF CLOTHES
JUST IN CASE INDIANS DIDN'T LOOK THE WAY HE WANTED THEM TO LOOK.
IF THEY DIDN'T LOOK RIGHT, HE FIXED IT.
IF HE DIDN'T THINK THEY LOOKED GLAMOROUS ENOUGH
IN THEIR DAILY SIOUX OUTFITS, HE'D DRAG OUT
THE BLACKFEET ERMINE-TAILED WAR BONNETS,
JUST TO HYPE IT UP A LITTLE MORE.
WHAT CURTIS DID WAS EXTRAORDINARY,
AND WHAT HE LEFT US WITH WAS AN AMAZING LEGACY--
THESE BEAUTIFUL PICTURES OF A MOMENT IN TIME
THAT WE ALL WISH WAS TRUE--
THAT LAST BRIEF SHINING MOMENT
WHEN WE LOOKED GLORIOUS,
WHEN THINGS WEREN'T SHATTERED.
FOR ME THOUGH, AND I THINK FOR A LOT OF NATIVE PEOPLE,
THOSE PICTURES GIVE US A LIE,
GIVE US A FANTASY.
I WANT THE REAL PICTURE OF A DAILY WORLD
THE WAY NATIVE PEOPLE WERE LIVING IT,
AND CURTIS CAN'T GIVE ME THAT.
[flute plays]
♪
FRANK MATSURA PHOTOGRAPHED
HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS OF INDIAN PEOPLE AT THE TIME.
HE WAS MAKING PICTURES OF ALL THE THINGS THEY WERE,
OF ALL THE WAYS THEY LOOKED.
HE TOOK PICTURES OF THE "NOT-CURTIS" WORLD.
AND I WANT THOSE PICTURES.
I WANT THE REALITY.
I WANT THE PAST AS IT WAS
RATHER THAN AS SOMEONE DREAMED IT INTO BEING.
[piano & violin play softly]
♪
(narrator) IS PHOTOGRAPHY AN ART?
SINCE ITS INVENTION, CRITICS HAD ARGUED
THAT IT COULDN'T BE COMPARED TO PAINTING AND DRAWING,
BECAUSE THE CAMERA WAS SIMPLY A MECHANICAL MEANS
OF REPRODUCING REALITY.
AND NOW THERE WAS THE SNAPSHOT CAMERA.
"WHERE IS THE ART," THE CRITICS ASKED,
"WHEN ALL YOU DO IS PRESS A BUTTON?"
(Szarkowski) THE PROBLEM FOR SERIOUS PHOTOGRAPHERS
AT ABOUT THE TURN OF THE CENTURY
WAS THAT BASIC PHOTOGRAPHY HAD BECOME SO EASY
THAT THERE WAS NO LONGER
ANY DISTINCTION
IN BEING A PHOTOGRAPHER.
SO THAT A NEW SYSTEM HAD TO BE DESIGNED
THAT WOULD SEPARATE THE SHEEP FROM THE GOATS.
(narrator) IN 1902, ALFRED STIEGLITZ
STARTED THE PHOTO-SECESSIONIST MOVEMENT.
THE NAME MEANT "BREAKING AWAY"-- AWAY FROM WHAT STIEGLITZ CALLED
"COMMERCIAL TRASH" AND "ARTLESS AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHY."
(Goldberg) STIEGLITZ FELT THAT PEOPLE SHOULD RECOGNIZE PHOTOGRAPHY
AS ANOTHER BRANCH OF ART, JUST AS THEY RECOGNIZED ETCHING,
JUST AS THEY RECOGNIZED AQUATINT,
JUST AS THEY RECOGNIZED LITHOGRAPHY.
(narrator) THE PICTORIALISTS, AS THEY BECAME KNOWN,
INTERVENED IN THE PHOTOGRAPHIC PROCESS
BY SMEARING VASELINE ON THEIR LENSES
OR IN THE DARKROOM AFTERWARDS BY SCRATCHING THE NEGATIVE
OR PAINTING CHEMICALS ON THEIR PRINTS
TO SIMULATE BRUSH STROKES.
THE AIM WAS TO MAKE PHOTOGRAPY A HANDMADE PROCESS,
LIKE THE OTHER ARTS.
(Foresta) THE PICTORIALIST PHOTOGRAPHS LOOKED LIKE ART,
QUITE LITERALLY.
THEY LOOKED LIKE PAINTINGS.
THEY LOOKED LIKE DRAWINGS.
THEY LOOKED LIKE BEAUTIFUL,
RICH PRINTS.
THEY WERE MEANT TO HAVE CHIAROSCURO,
THEY WERE MEANT TO HAVE DARKNESS,
THEY WERE MEANT TO HAVE A KIND OF SKETCHINESS.
♪
(Hambourg) THESE PICTURES DO HAVE
A VERY SEDUCTIVE QUALITY
WHICH IS ONE
OF A SORT OF A DREAM WORLD.
IT'S A KIND OF PLACE WHERE
YOU DON'T HAVE TO HAVE THINGS EXACT,
WHERE YOU CAN ENTER A KIND OF
FLOATING EXISTENCE THAT IS NOT TOO UNLIKE MUSIC.
(Foresta) THIS HANDS-ON PROCESS BROUGHT
PHOTOGRAPHY BACK TO THE
OLDER TRADITIONS OF HANDMADE ART AND
SORT OF SATISFIED THAT QUESTION, AT LEAST FOR THE MOMENT,
THAT PHOTOGRAPHY WAS MADE BY A MACHINE.
NO, IT CLEARLY WASN'T. IT NEEDED HUMAN INTERVENTION
IN ORDER TO REALLY BECOME ART.
[violins play fast-paced music]
♪ ♪
(narrator) IN THE FIRST DECADES OF THE CENTURY,
AMERICA WAS SPEEDING UP.
PHOTOGRAPHY NOT ONLY DOCUMENTED
AMERICA'S GROWING INDUSTRIAL MIGHT,
IT WAS PUT TO WORK AS A TOOL OF THE MODERN ASSEMBLY LINE.
IN THIS SPEEDED UP WORLD, FACTORY OWNERS
LOOKED TO THE CAMERA TO MAKE THEIR WORKERS MOVE EVEN FASTE.
♪ ♪
(male announcer) FRANK BUNKER GILBRETH TOOK HIS FIRST STEP
INTO THE FIELD OF MANAGEMENT IN 1885,
WHEN, ON HIS SECOND DAY AS AN APPRENTICE BRICKLAYER,
HE QUESTIONED WHY HE WAS BEING TAUGHT
SEVERAL DIFFERENT METHODS FOR LAYING BRICKS.
HIS INTEREST IN FINDING THE BEST METHOD LED
TO HIS DEVELOPMENT OF MOTION AND FATIGUE STUDY.
(narrator) EARLY IN THE CENTURY, FRANK GILBRETH USED PHOTOGRAPHS
TO BREAK A WORKER'S EVERY ACTION INTO THE SMALLEST UNITS,
REVEALING EVERY UNNECESSARY MOVEMENT.
HE STUDIED THE FASTEST WORKERS
IN ORDER TO TEACH MAXIMUM EFFICIENCY TO EVERYONE.
IN GILBRETH'S CYCLOGRAPH TECHNIQUE,
HE ATTACHED FLASHING LIGHTS TO A WORKER'S FINGERS
TO INDICATE THE LENGTH OF TIME A MOTION WOULD TAKE.
SOON GILBRETH'S PHOTOGRAPHS WERE CHANGING THE LIVES OF EVERYONE
FROM GOLFERS TO OYSTER SHUCKERS.
GILBRETH OBSERVED THAT SURGEOS TOOK MORE TIME
LOOKING FOR THEIR INSTRUMENTS THAN THEY DID
IN PERFORMING THE OPERATION ITSELF.
HE SUGGESTED A NEW PROCEDURE: KEEPING AN EYE ON THE INCISIO,
THE SURGEON WOULD EXTEND AN OPEN PALM TO THE NURSE
AND UTTER THE NOW-FAMOUS WORD, "SCALPEL, PLEASE."
SOME ACCUSED GILBRETH OF TURNING SKILLED WORKERS INTO ROBOTS,
BUT THE BOSSES LOVED HIS TECHNIQUES.
GILBRETH EVEN BROUGHT HIS ZEAL FOR EFFICIENCY
TO HIS OWN LARGE FAMILY.
HIS CHILDREN GOT THEIR REVENGE WHEN THEY WROTE ABOUT HOME LIFE
WITH THEIR ECCENTRIC FATHER AND CALLED IT
"CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN."
GILBRETH DIED OF A HEART ATTACK AT AGE 55.
[piano plays softly]
♪
(narrator) IN THE FIRST DECADE OF THE CENTURY,
PHOTOGRAPHS WERE BEGINNING TO ENTER
INTO MANY ASPECTS OF AMERICAN LIFE.
THEY CAME THROUGH THE MAIL.
PICTURES APPEARED IN NEWSPAPERS
AND MAGAZINES.
PHOTOGRAPHY WAS STARTING TO HAVE AN INFLUENCE,
NOT ONLY ON HOW PEOPLE SAW THE WORLD,
BUT ON WHAT THEY BELIEVED.
[flute plays softly]
♪
WRITERS HAD BEEN DESCRIBING THE SUFFERINGS OF THE POOR
SINCE BEFORE THE TIME OF DICKENS.
BUT NO ONE THOUGHT OF USING PHOTOGRAPHS
TO ADVOCATE SOCIAL CHANGE.
SOON AFTER IT BECAME POSSIBLE TO PRINT PHOTOGRAPHS IN BOOKS,
JACOB RIIS INCLUDED PICTURES
IN HIS INFLUENTIAL WORK ON HOUSING REFORM.
RIIS'S WORK INSPIRED LEWIS HINE,
A TEACHER WHO FIRST PICKED UP A CAMERA AS AN EDUCATIONAL TOOL.
IN 1906, HE WAS HIRED BY THE NATIONAL CHILD LABOR COMMITTE.
THEY HOPED THAT PHOTOGRAPHS MIGHT LEND POWERFUL SUPPORT
TO THEIR CAMPAIGN TO MAKE CHILD LABOR ILLEGAL.
HINE AND THE NATIONAL
CHILD LABOR COMMITTEE SET OUT
TO EDUCATE THE AMERICAN MIDDLE-CLASS PUBLIC
ABOUT THE NEED FOR LEGISLATION.
HINE'S PURPOSE WAS TO SHOW
THAT CHILDREN WHO WORKED SO HARD
WOULD BE USED UP,
WOULD NOT PROVIDE AMERICA WITH
AN INTELLIGENT WORKING CLASS.
(narrator) HINE ASSEMBLED HIS PICTURES INTO
EXHIBITIONS AND SLIDE SHOWS,
WHICH CRISS-CROSSED THE COUNTRY.
HIS PHOTOGRAPHS REACHED A HUGE AUDIENCE--
PEOPLE WHO HAD NEVER SEEN THESE KINDS OF IMAGES BEFORE.
THEY WERE BOTH MOVED. . . AND OUTRAGED.
"PERHAPS YOU ARE WEARY OF CHID LABOR PICTURES," HINE WROTE.
"WELL, SO ARE THE REST OF US. BUT WE PROPOSE TO MAKE YOU
"AND THE WHOLE COUNTRY SO SICK AND TIRED
"OF THE WHOLE BUSINESS THAT WHEN THE TIME FOR ACTION COMES,
CHILD LABOR PICTURES WILL BE RECORDS OF THE PAST."
LEWIS HINE IS PROBABLY ONE OF
THE FIRST PEOPLE WHO REALIZES
THAT WHAT YOU SEE
IN A PHOTOGRAPHIC IMAGE
HAS EXTRAORDINARY POWER,
AND IT'S GOT POWER WAY BEYOND LOGIC AND WAY BEYOND LANGUAGE.
THERE WERE CERTAIN KINDS OF THINGS THAT YOU COULD SEE
IN THOSE PICTURES THAT WOULD GO RIGHT TO YOUR HEART
INSTEAD OF TO YOUR HEAD.
(narrator) THE PHOTOGRAPHS AND THE CAMPAIGN LED TO STATE,
AND ULTIMATELY FEDERAL LEGISLATION
OUTLAWING CHILD LABOR.
HINE HAD MADE PHOTOGRAPHY AN ESSENTIAL TOOL
IN THE STRUGGLE FOR SOCIAL CHANGE.
[orchestra plays brassy, spirited music]
♪ ♪
(narrator) IT WAS 1915.
IN POLITICS, IN THE ARTS AND IN THE WORLD OF IDEAS,
REVOLUTION WAS IN THE AIR.
CUBISM. . .
FREUDIAN PSYCHOANALYSIS. . .
EINSTEIN'S THEORY OF RELATIVITY. . .
JAZZ, WITH ITS STRANGE NEW RHYTHMS,
WAS SWEEPING AMERICA.
EVEN BALLET WAS CAUSING RIOTS.
EVERYTHING WAS CHANGING.
BUT IN PHOTOGRAPHY, THE PICTORIALISTS
WERE STILL EVOKING FOGGY, ROMANTIC IMAGES OF THE PAST.
ONE PHOTOGRAPHIC ARTIST WOULD LEAD THE MEDIUM
INTO THE MODERN AGE.
HIS NAME WAS PAUL STRAND.
(Hambourg) STRAND HAD BEEN WORKING
IN THE SHADOW OF STIEGLITZ'S TEACHINGS FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS,
WHEN FINALLY IN 1915 HE
BROUGHT IN A PORTFOLIO OF PRINTS
TO THE OLDER MAN AND SHOWED HIM
WHAT HE HAD BEEN DOING.
STIEGLITZ LOOKED AT THE PORTFOLIO, AND SAID,
"WELL YOUNG MAN, THIS IS IT.
YOU HAVE CREATED A NEW AND GREAT MODERN ART."
(narrator) STRAND REALIZED THAT THE CAMEA
HAD A UNIQUE ABILITY TO CAPTURE
SHAPES AND FORMS SIMPLY, DIRECTLY,
AND IN SHARP FOCUS.
THE MODERNIST MOVEMENT HE PIONEERED WAS CALLED SIMPLY,
"STRAIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY."
AND THAT AESTHETIC BECAME
THE AESTHETIC OF THE 20s.
IT MEANT THAT YOU TOOK THINGS
THE WAY THEY WERE,
AND YOU DID NOT MANIPULATE THEM IN THE DARKROOM.
THE PICTURE WAS SUPPOSED TO LOOK
THE WAY IT LOOKED IN YOUR VIEWFINDER.
THE CAMERA WAS SUPPOSED TO BE CLEARLY FOCUSED.
YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO FACE REALITY,
NOT MUCK AROUND WITH IT.
(narrator) INSTEAD OF DISTORTING THE IMAE
OR MANIPULATING THE PRINT AFTERWARDS,
STRAND WOULD EMPHASIZE THE SELECTION
AND FRAMING OF THE PICTURE.
THE ART WOULD DEPEND ON THE EYE OF THE PHOTOGRAPHE.
♪
(Goldberg) THE BIG REVOLUTION THAT
STRAND INSTITUTED IN AMERICA
WAS AN INVESTIGATION OF ABSTRACT FORM.
HE TOOK THE SHADOWS MADE
BY A CHAIR RAILING ON THE PORCH
AND A TABLE, AND THEN ONCE IN A WHILE HE TURNED THE PICTURE
ON ITS SIDE, SO YOU REALLY WEREN'T CERTAIN WHAT IT WAS.
HE HAD LOOKED AT WORK BY PICASSO AND PICABIA
AND BRAQUE AND MATISSE IN STIEGLITZ'S GALLERY.
HE REALLY KNEW SOMETHING ABOUT ABSTRACTION.
AND HE WAS DOING SOMETHING SIMILAR
WITH A CAMERA.
(narrator) STRAND'S ENTHUSIASM FOR SHARP-FOCUSED REALISM
WAS SHARED BY A NEW GENERATION OF YOUNG PHOTOGRAPHERS:
EDWARD WESTON,
IMOGENE CUNNINGHAM,
WALKER EVANS.
AS STRAND PUT IT,
THE CAMERA WOULD NOW BECOME AN INSTRUMENT
OF A NEW KIND OF VISION.
AMERICANS WERE BEING BOMBARDED
WITH MORE AND MORE PHOTOGRAPHS,
AND THEY STILL SEEMED TO HUNGER FOR MORE.
A WRITER IN HARPER'S MAGAZINE COMPLAINED THAT
"WE CAN NO LONGER SEE THE IDES FOR THE ILLUSTRATIONS."
PHOTOGRAPHY'S POWER
TO MOTIVATE AND INSPIRE
DID NOT GO UNNOTICED BY THE U.S. GOVERNMENT.
[snare drum plays march tempo]
♪
(narrator) IN 1917, THE UNITED STATES ENTERED WORLD WAR I.
THE WAR DID HAVE ITS ENTHUSIASTIC SUPPORTERS,
BUT MUCH OF THE COUNTRY REMAINED TO BE CONVINCED.
A LARGE PERCENTAGE OF THE POPULATION WAS ISOLATIONIST
AND BELIEVED THAT IT WAS SENSELESS FOR AMERICANS
TO DIE IN THIS DISTANT EUROPEAN CONFLICT.
JUST ONE WEEK AFTER AMERICA'S DECLARATION OF WAR,
PRESIDENT WILSON ESTABLISHED
THE COUNTRY'S FIRST PROPAGANDA AGENCY.
IT WOULD UNLEASH
A MASSIVE MEDIA CAMPAIGN TO RALLY
THE COUNTRY TO THE CAUSE.
THE CAMERA, TIGHTLY CONTROLLED,
BECAME AN IMPORTANT WEAPON OF WAR.
(Fussell) IN THE FIRST WORLD WAR,
ANY PHOTOGRAPHY OF THE TROOPS
WAS DESIGNED ONLY TO
RAISE THEIR MORALE, OR TO RAISE
THE MORALE OF THE FOLKS AT HOME.
IT WAS THE GOVERNMENT'S ATTITUDE, I THINK CORRECTLY,
THAT PHOTOGRAPHS DEPICTING ANYTHING DISGUSTING
MIGHT SLOW DOWN ENLISTMENTS, AS WELL AS ANNOY THE HOME FRONT.
(narrator) PHOTOGRAPHERS WERE KEPT AWAY
FROM THE FRONT LINES,
AND MOST IMAGES OF COMBAT WERE EITHER POSED,
OR TAKEN VERY FAR FROM THE ACTION.
GOVERNMENT CENSORSHIP WAS TOTAL.
IN A WAR IN WHICH OVER TEN MILLION PEOPLE WERE SLAUGHTERED,
NO NEWSPAPER OR MAGAZINE WAS EVER PERMITTED
TO SHOW A PHOTOGRAPH OF A DEAD AMERICAN SOLDIER.
(Osborn) WE HEARD A GREAT DEAL ABOUT THE TRENCHES.
I HAVEN'T THOUGHT OF IT REALLY
UNTIL YOU BROUGHT IT UP,
THE FACT THAT WE DIDN'T SEE
PICTURES AND PICTURES
OF DEAD SOLDIERS.
I DON'T REMEMBER SEEING MANY PHOTOGRAPHS OF DEATH,
NO I DON'T.
WELL IT WAS AN APPALLING WAR.
I MEAN, IN TERMS OF HUMAN SACRIFICE AND IDIOCY,
IT WAS SURELY A MUCH MORE HORRIBLE WAR,
AT LEAST FROM THE POINT OF VIEW
OF THE ARMIES THAT WERE ENGAGED,
THAN THE SECOND WAR.
I MEAN, REPEATEDLY BACK AND FORTH
FOR THE SAME 100 YARDS OF TERRITORY
YEAR IN AND YEAR OUT,
KILLING MILLIONS OF MEN
ON THE SAME
NARROW STRIPS OF GROUND.
YOU KNOW, YOU DON'T WANT THAT KIND OF THING REPORTED
IN YOUR DAILY PAPER WHILE THE WAR IS GOING ON.
(Fussell) THE ARGUMENT IS ALWAYS MADE
AGAINST THE ACTUAL SHOWING OF PHOTOGRAPHS SHOWING REAL LIFE.
THAT IT WOULD BOTHER THE RELATIVES,
AND THAT'S QUITE TRUE.
YEAH--MY POSITION IS THAT
I WANT TO BOTHER THE RELATIVES.
YOU SEE, BECAUSE I THINK WAR IS
A REALLY APPALLING BUSINESS,
AND I THINK IT'S EVERYBODY'S BUSINESS
TO KNOW HOW APPALLING IT IS.
(narrator) THE ACTUAL HORRORS OF WAR,
ALTHOUGH CENSORED AT THE TIME,
HAD IN FACT BEEN PHOTOGRAPHED.
IN THE 1930'S,
AS HOSTILITIES WERE AGAIN BUILDING UP IN EUROPE,
THESE PHOTOGRAPHS WERE PUBLISHED
BY AMERICA'S ANTIWAR LOBBY.
RIGHT UP UNTIL THE MOMENT
THAT THE JAPANESE BOMBED
PEARL HARBOR IN 1941,
THEY BOLSTERED THE COUNTRY'S DETERMINATION
TO AVOID FOREIGN WARS.
THE PICTURES SHOWED THE TRUTH:
THAT MODERN WARFARE WAS ANYTHING BUT GLORIOUS.
[Dixieland jazz band plays rhythmic music]
[phone ringing]
(narrator) 7:00 P.M.
THE OFFICES OF THE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS.
THE TENSION IS RUNNING HIGH.
THE PRESSES MUST BEGIN TO ROLL IN LESS THAN AN HOUR,
AND NOBODY IS QUITE SURE WHAT PICTURE
AND WHAT SCREAMING HEADLINE WILL APPEAR
ON THE ALL-IMPORTANT FRONT PAGE.
(man) YOU'VE GOT A HEADLINE HERE?
NO--DON'T EVEN HAVE A STORY.
(narrator) THIS RITUAL HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR OVER 80 YEARS.
(man) I JUST LOVE THE PHRASE
"CHEERFUL ACCOUNT OF SEX ABORTION, AND SUICIDE."
(narrator) THE DAILY NEWS IS THE OLDEST TABLOID NEWSPAPER
IN THE UNITED STATES.
WHEN IT STARTED PUBLICATION IN 1919,
IT WAS THE FIRST PAPER TO SELL ITSELF ON THE BASIS OF PICTURES.
(Goldberg) IT WAS THEN CALLED "THE ILLUSTRATED DAILY NEWS."
AND ITS LOGO WAS A WINGED CAMERA.
THAT CAMERA WENT EVERY PLACE
AND BROUGHT THE NEWS WINGING BACK TO YOU.
AND IT HAD PHOTOGRAPHS--
AND IT HAD BIG PHOTOGRAPHS,
AND IT HAD A LOT OF PHOTOGRAPHS.
(Maeder) THE ONE DRIVING PRINCIPLE
OF ASSEMBLING A PAGE,
THEN AS NOW,
IS THAT YOU'RE FOCUSING ON ONE SPECIFIC STORY.
AND YOU'RE BLOWING THAT STORY UP FOR THE MAXIMUM POSSIBLE EFFECT
IN TERMS OF WHAT KIND OF ELECTRIC EFFECT
IT'S GOING TO HAVE ON THE READER
THE INSTANT HE LOOKS AT IT.
A TABLOID FRONT PAGE IS
A KIND OF POSTERLIKE,
"COME TO THE CIRCUS."
AND YOU WANT THE FAT LADY ON THE FRONT
OR THE ROARING TIGER, SOMETHING WHICH MAKES
AN IMMEDIATE APPEAL TO THE EMOTIONS.
(Heiferman) NEWSPAPERS DID 6, 7 EDITIONS A DAY, SO YOU WANT
THE BIGGEST, LOUDEST, BRASHEST PICTURE
THAT YOU CAN SPLASH ON THE COVER OF THAT NEWSPAPER
TO GET PEOPLE TO BUY YOUR NEWSPAPER.
TO GET PEOPLE TO BUY THAT EDITION OF YOUR NEWSPAPE,
SO PICTURES ARE USED TO ATTRACT ATTENTION.
♪ ♪
IT WAS HARD
NOT TO HAVE A GOOD NEWSDAY IN THE 1920s REALLY,
WHICH JUST HAPPENED TO BE
THE GREAT PERIOD OF TIME OF THE TABLOID WARS.
YOU HAD THESE 3 TABLOID PAPERS, THESE UNBELIEVABLY ROWDY,
RAUCOUS, IN-YOUR-FACE TABLOIDS.
"THE DAILY NEWS," AND "THE DAILY MIRROR,"
AND SOMETHING CALLED "THE EVENING GRAPHIC"
WHICH WAS PROBABLY THE WORST NEWSPAPER
THAT'S EVER BEEN PUBLISHED IN NORTH AMERICA.
(Czitrom) THE NEW YORK GRAPHIC WAS
THE MOST EXTREME TABLOID OF ALL.
THAT IS, IT SEEMED TO HAVE THE MOST SEX,
THE MOST ILLUSTRATIONS, IT HAD THE MOST SCANDAL.
IT WAS IN SOME WAYS THE LOWEST RENT TABLOID THERE WAS.
AND ONE OF THE MOST INTERESTING INNOVATIONS OF THE GRAPHIC
WAS THE SO-CALLED "COMPOSOGRAPH."
(Heiferman) WELL, THE EVENING GRAPHIC DECIDES THAT
THE REAL WORLD AND PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE REAL WORLD
ARE NOT INTERESTING ENOUGH-- RIGHT?
THAT THERE'S SO MANY PICTURES OUT THERE NOW
THAT WE'RE GOING TO SHOW YOU WHAT YOU'VE NEVER SEEN BEFORE.
AND SO BERNARD MACFADDEN, THE GUY WHO'S THE EDITOR
AND HIS I GUS, PHOTOGRAPHERS AND ART DIRECTORS AND EDITORS,
COME UP WITH THIS IDEA OF A COMPOSOGRAPH.
WHAT THEY WOULD DO IS STAGE THE PHOTOGRAPH,
OFTEN USING STAFFERS AT THE NEWSPAPER,
COPY BOYS AND STENOGRAPHERS,
HAVING THEM POSE,
AND THEN LATER PASTING IN
THE FACES OF THE PRINCIPALS.
(narrator) ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS USES OF THE COMPOSOGRAPH
CAME DURING THE RHINELANDER SCANDAL.
WEALTHY SOCIALITE, KIP RHINELANDER,
WAS SEEKING A DIVORCE FROM HIS WIFE, ALICE.
HE CLAIMED SHE HADN'T TOLD HIM SHE WAS PART NEGRO.
WHEN ALICE STRIPPED IN FRONT OF THE JUDGE
TO SHOW THAT KIP MUST HAVE KNOWN HER RACE ALL ALONG,
THE FAKE PHOTOGRAPH BOOSTED THE GRAPHIC'S CIRCULATION
BY 100,000.
BUT THE MOST SENSATIONAL TRIAL
OF THE 1920s WAS THAT OF RUTH SNYDER.
SHE WAS FOUND GUILTY OF MURDERING HER HUSBAND
BY SMASHING HIS HEAD IN WITH AN IRON BAR.
THE DAILY NEWS GOT ITS BIGGEST SCOOP OF THE DECADE
WHEN THEIR PHOTOGRAPHER SNUCK A HIDDEN CAMERA
INTO THE EXECUTION CHAMBER.
THE DAILY NEWS PHOTOGRAPHER HAD
A CAMERA STRAPPED TO HIS ANKLE.
AND YOU SEE RUTH SNYDER BEING ELECTROCUTED.
SHOCKING PHOTOGRAPH.
AND THE SIMPLE, SINGLE WORD
ON THAT FRONT PAGE WAS DEAD!
WELL, THAT'S NEWS!
I THINK, IN PHOTOGRAPHY,
OR IN LIFE, THE TRUTH
ALWAYS LOSES OUT TO FANTASY.
I MEAN, THE TRUTH IS THERE,
BUT FANTASY? THIS IS BETTER THAN THE TRUTH.
A CAR IS A CAR IS A CAR.
YET THEY SHOOT IT FROM AN ANGLE
SO THAT IT'S NOT A CAR-- IT'S A SEX ORGAN.
AND SUDDENLY EVERYBODY HAS A FANTASY ABOUT THAT CAR.
WITHOUT PHOTOGRAPHERS, ADVERTISING WOULD HAVE BEEN
IN A LOT OF TROUBLE.
[violins play light 20s music]
♪
(narrator) IN THE 1920s,
PHOTOGRAPHS BEGAN REPLACING DRAWINGS
IN PRINTED ADVERTISING.
A PHOTOGRAPH COULD SHOW THE PRODUCT IN A DIRECT
AND BELIEVABLE WAY.
♪
(Hambourg) IT WAS REMARKABLE HOW MUCH MORE
THE PUBLIC RESPONDED
TO PHOTOGRAPHS THAN TO DRAWINGS.
PEOPLE BELIEVED THE PHOTOGRAPH.
THEY KNEW THAT DRAWINGS COULD LIE,
BUT THEY BELIEVED THAT PHOTOGRAPHS WERE TRUE.
(narrator) ADVERTISERS REALIZED THAT
PHOTOGRAPHS COULD INVEST THEIR PRODUCTS WITH DRAMA AND GLAMOUR.
THE MOST AVANT-GARDE ART PHOTOGRAPHERS
WERE SHOWING THE WAY.
PAUL STRAND HAD USED THE CAMERA
TO EXPLORE THE SHAPE AND FORM
OF A CAR FENDER.
PAUL OUTERBRIDGE TOOK A LOVING CLOSEUP OF A TELEPHONE.
WESTON MADE A BEAUTIFUL PHOTOGRAPH
OF AN EXCUSADO--A TOILET!
THE CAMERA CAN ELEVATE THE MOST LOWLY OBJECT
INTO SOMETHING QUITE MAGNIFICENT!
(narrator) ADVERTISERS WERE QUICK TO APPY
MODERNIST PHOTOGRAPHY TO THE BUSINESS OF SELLING.
WITH THE SKILL OF TOP PHOTOGRAPHERS
LIKE EDWARD STEICHEN, A CIGARETTE LIGHTER COULD BE
TRANSFORMED INTO AN OBJECT OF DESIRE.
(Sante) THE ADVERTISING PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE 1920s
IS WHERE MODERNISM STARTS HITTING
ITS VERNACULAR STRIDE IN THE UNITED STATES.
AND YOU SEE, WELL YOU SEE A LOT OF FUDDY-DUDDY ADVERTISING
IN THE 1920s OBVIOUSLY BUT OCCASIONALLY YOU SEE,
YOU KNOW, AN ISOLATED CELLULOID COLLAR
AGAINST A CHECKERBOARD BACKGROUND.
AND IT JUST SAYS BAUHAUS.
BUT HERE IT IS APPEARING
IN SOME AMERICAN PUBLICATION IN 1924.
THE MESSAGE IS,
BECOME THE NEW PERSON
STEP IN TO THE MODERN WORLD.
THE PHOTOGRAPH ISOLATES,
MONUMENTALIZES,
AND IN SOME WAY WORSHIPS THESE OBJECTS.
AND WE CAN SCARCELY HELP
BUT RESPOND TO THEM ON THE SAME LEVEL.
>> IT HELPS TO BRING ABOUT
A REVOLUTION IN ADVERTISING.
BY THE 20s ADVERTISING IS NOT READ--IT'S SEEN.
AND THAT'S A TESTAMENT TO THE FACT
THAT INCREASINGLY ADVERTISEMENTS ARE ORGANIZED
AROUND PHOTOGRAPHIC IMAGES.
[big band plays "Dream a Little Dream of Me"]
♪ ♪
(narrator) FROM JULIUS CAESAR TO GEORGE WASHINGTON,
THERE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN FAMOUS PEOPLE.
BUT PHOTOGRAPHY ADDED A NEW DIMENSION TO FAME
AND CREATED A UNIQUELY 20TH-CENTURY PHENOMENON--
THE MEDIA CELEBRITY.
SCIENTISTS, GANGSTERS,
POLITICIANS, AND PREACHERS
ALL COULD BECOME FAMOUS,
AS LONG AS THEY LOOKED GOOD IN PICTURES.
(Goldberg) BY AND LARGE, THE MORE YOU'RE SEEN,
THE MORE PEOPLE FIND YOU INEVITABLE.
NOT JUST UNAVOIDABLE, BUT INEVITABLE.
THE STORIES OF INDIVIDUALS
WERE BEING BROUGHT TO A PUBLIC
THAT SEEMED TO BE HUNGRY
FOR MORE STORIES ABOUT THESE INDIVIDUALS.
PEOPLE WANTED TO CONNECT WITH THESE PEOPLE,
WANTED TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THEM,
WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT THEIR PRIVATE LIVES,
WANTED TO KNOW WHAT THEY DID OFF-CAMERA.
(narrator) FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HISTORY,
SPORTS STARS BECAME SUPERSTARS.
BASEBALL PLAYER, GEORGE HERMAN RUTH BECAME,
AFTER THE PRINCE OF WALES,
THE MOST PHOTOGRAPHED HUMAN BEING ON EARTH.
♪
BABE RUTH WAS THE FIRST SPORTS STAR TO HAVE HIS IMAGE
MARKETED AS A COMMODITY,
SELLING EVERYTHING FROM ANCHOVIES
TO ZIPPERS.
AS A BASEBALL PLAYER,
HE EARNED $50,000.
AS A CELEBRITY, HE MADE MILLIONS!
IN HOLLYWOOD, PHOTOGRAPHERS LIKE CLARENCE SINCLAIR BULL
AND GEORGE HURRELL INVENTED A NEW SCHOOL
OF PUBLICITY PHOTOGRAPH THAT WAS INSTANTLY RECOGNIZABLE.
THEY DIDN'T MERELY PHOTOGRAPH STARS, THEY CREATED STARS.
THEY DIDN'T MERELY CAPTURE AN ACTOR'S IMAGE,
THEY INVENTED IT.
THEY DEFINED GLAMOUR.
(Czitrom) INCREASINGLY, WHAT THE HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS SEES
IS THAT THEY'RE NOT JUST SELLING MOVIES.
THEY'RE SELLING A BELIEF THAT ORDINARY PEOPLE
CAN SOMEHOW ENTER INTO THAT WORLD
AND INHABIT THAT WORLD
THROUGH THEIR RELATIONSHIP WITH THEIR FAVORITE STARS.
(Goldberg) YOU COULD SIT AND STARE AT SOMEBODY
YOU WERE SORT OF HALF IN LOVE WITH ANYWAY FOR MINUTES ON END!
YOU COULD PUT IT UP ON YOUR WALL,
YOU COULD PUT IT ON YOUR DRESSER,
AND YOU THEN HAD A SORT OF
ERSATZ INTIMACY WITH THIS PERSON.
IT RELATED YOU TO THAT CELEBRITY.
(narrator) IN 1913, RODOLFO GUGLIELMI, AGED 18,
IMMIGRATED TO NEW YORK FROM HIS NATIVE ITALY.
HE WORKED AS A GARDENER, A DANCER,
AND THEN AS A BIT PLAYER IN HOLLYWOOD.
RENAMED RUDOLPH VALENTINO, HE WOULD BECOME
THE ROMANTIC IDOL OF THE SILENT SCREEN.
IT WAS HIS EXTRAORDINARY GOOD LOOKS,
RATHER THAN HIS ACTING ABILIT, WHICH MADE HIM A STAR.
HIS SMOLDERING EYES LOOKED OUT FROM THE TABLOIDS
AND THE FAN MAGAZINES.
YOUNG WOMEN ALL OVER THE COUNTRY LOVINGLY ASSEMBLED
HIS PICTURES IN SCRAPBOOKS.
AND THEN IN 1926,
AT THE HEIGHT OF HIS CAREER,
VALENTINO WAS SUDDENLY TAKEN ILL.
YOU SEE A COMPOSOGRAPH ON THE FRONT PAGE OF THE GRAPHIC
WHICH SHOWS RUDOLPH VALENTINO LYING ON A HOSPITAL BED.
OF COURSE IT'S A MODEL WITH HIS FACE PASTED ON IT,
ALL THE NURSES AND DOCTORS AROUND.
(narrator) VALENTINO DIED OF A BURST APPENDIX.
HE WAS ONLY 31.
(man) ♪ VALENTINO GOOD-BYE ♪
♪ BUT WAY UP IN THE SKY ♪
♪ THERE'S A NEW STAR IN HEAVEN TONIGHT. ♪
(narrator) THE NEW YORK GRAPHIC PRINTED
A FRONT PAGE PHOTO OF VALENTINO IN HEAVEN.
(Heiferman) EVERY NEWSPAPER'S GOT A PICTURE OF RUDOLPH VALENTINO, DEAD.
SO YOU KNOW, "BIG DEAL." SO HERE'S A PICTURE
OF HIM IN HEAVEN, RIGHT? THIS IS IT--
YOU'VE NEVER SEEN THIS BEFORE!
HERE'S RUDOLPH VALENTINO
IN HEAVEN MEETING FATE AND MEETING CARUSO
AND WHOEVER ELSE HAPPENS TO BE HANGING AROUND
IN café society-- DEAD café society.
(narrator) THE INTENSE MEDIA ATTENTION
TURNED VALENTINO'S DEATH INTO A CIRCUS.
A CROWD OF 100,000 PEOPLE
DESCENDED ON THE FUNERAL HOME,
IN A SCENE THAT BROUGHT OUT THE RIOT POLICE.
OVER 100 PEOPLE WERE INJURED.
ONE MOURNER, MRS. ANGELINE CELESTINA, WENT HOME,
TOOK POISON, AND THEN SHOT HERSELF FOR GOOD MEASURE,
COLLAPSING IN A HEAP UPON HER VALENTINO PICTURE COLLECTION.
VALENTINO'S DEATH WAS JUST A SMALL PREVIEW
OF WHAT WOULD BECOME A CELEBRITY-OBSESSED CENTURY.
FOR THESE FANS, THE LOSS OF A HERO THEY'D KNOWN
ONLY IN PICTURES WAS AS REAL, PERHAPS MORE REAL,
THAN THAT OF A FAMILY MEMBER.
[synthesizer plays]
♪
SOME PEOPLE ARE MOVED
BY PICTURES OF CELEBRITIES
OR OF DISASTERS, OR OF WAR,
FOR ME, I'M MOVED BY THESE
VERY SPECIAL PHOTOGRAPHS THAT HELP HUMANS
PLACE OURSVES IN A CONTEXT OF COSMIC TIME AND COSMIC SPACE.
20TH CENTURY ASTRONOMY WOULD BE UNTHINKABLE
WITHOUT THE PHOTOGRAPH.
IN THE EARLY PART OF THE CENTURY,
JUST BEFORE PHOTOGRAPHY STARTED TO PLAY A SIGNIFICANT ROLE
IN THE ACQUISITION OF DATA ON TELESCOPES,
WHAT WERE ASTRONOMERS DOING?
THEY WERE LOOKING THROUGH EYEPIECES
AND DRAWING WHAT THEY SAW.
PERCIVAL LOWELL LOOKED THROUGH HIS EYEPIECE
OF HIS TELESCOPE AT THE PLANET MARS
AND STARTED DRAWING WHAT HE BELIEVED HE SAW.
IF YOU LOOK AT HIS HAND DRAWINGS, HE'S GOT CANALS,
AND VEGETATION, AND REGIONS THAT HE IDENTIFIED WITH CITIES.
THERE WERE ARTISTS OF THE DAY THAT PAINTED UP
WHAT MARS MUST LOOK LIKE,
GIVEN THE ILLUSTRATIONS OF PERCIVAL LOWELL.
ONLY LATER DID PEOPLE COME TO TERMS WITH THE FACT
THAT SINCE NOBODY ELSE SAW WHAT HE SAW,
MAYBE THIS SYSTEM OF CANALS WAS IN HIS IMAGINATION.
WHAT PHOTOGRAPHY DID WAS NEUTRALIZE ANY EFFECT
THAT YOUR IMAGINATION MIGHT HAVE
IN YOUR ACQUISITION OF DATA.
BUT THE PHOTOGRAPH WASN'T SIMPLY A RECORDING OF WHAT YOU SAW.
IT COULD BE MUCH, MUCH MORE THAN THAT.
WHAT THE HUMAN EYE SEES DOES NOT COMPARE
TO WHAT YOU CAN RECOVER WITH THE HELP OF A PHOTOGRAPHIC EMULSION.
THE NAKED EYE SEES ABOUT 6,000 STARS IN THE NIGHTTIME SKY.
THE MILKY WAY CONTAINS BILLIONS OF STARS,
BUT THEY'RE SO FAR AWAY,
THAT THEIR LIGHT IS JUST SMEARED INTO THIS GLOW.
YOU DON'T RESOLVE IT. WHEREAS A PHOTOGRAPH,
YOU CAN OPEN THE SHUTTER AND LEAVE THAT FILM EXPOSED
FOR AS LONG AS YOU CHOOSE-- A MINUTE, 10 MINUTES,
AN HOUR, 10 HOURS, 20 HOURS.
AND IN SO DOING, HOWEVER FEEBLE THAT SOURCE OF LIGHT WAS,
IT WILL ACCUMULATE ON THE PHOTOGRAPHIC EMULSION.
BY ENABLING HUMANS TO SEE THINGS
THAT HAPPEN FASTER THAN WE WOULD OTHERWISE BE ABLE TO RECOGNIZE;
TO SEE BANDS OF LIGHT THAT ARE OUTSIDE THE SENSITIVITY
OF THE HUMAN RETINA;
TO SEE THINGS THAT ARE FARTHER AWAY IN THE UNIVERSE
THAN THE HUMAN EYE OR MIND COULD HAVE EVER IMAGINED;
WHAT PHOTOGRAPHY HAS DONE FOR US THIS CENTURY,
IS ENABLED OUR 5 SENSES
TO BE BROADENED, TO BE EXPANDED.
A FEW YEARS AGO I WAS INVITED TO COME TO MOSCOW
WHERE A FILM OF MINE,
A FILM THAT I DIRECTED, WAS BEING SHOWN.
SO MY WIFE AND I WENT TO MOSCOW,
AND WE WERE THERE FOR THE SCREENING,
AND THEN THIS VOYAGE STARTED, A VOYAGE BACK TO ROOTS.
AND WE HAD DONE SOME RESEARCH AND DISCOVERED THAT THERE WAS
A NIMOY FAMILY LIVING IN A CITY CALLED CHMELNITSKY.
AND THERE WERE A SIZABLE FAMILY OF NIMOYS WAITING FOR US;
THEY'D BEEN TOLD WE WERE COMING.
THEY WERE VERY SUSPICIOUS OF US, HAD NO IDEA WHO WE WERE.
SO THERE WAS THIS WARY KIND OF
STANDOFF RELATIONSHIP FOR A WHILE.
THEN WE SAT DOWN, WE ATE, WE HAD A COUPLE OF BEERS.
AND THEN WHEN THERE SEEMED TO BE THE APPROPRIATE MOMENT,
THE GENTLEMAN OF THE HOUSE GOT UP AND LEFT THE ROOM
AND CAME BACK CARRYING AN ENVELOPE.
WHITE ENVELOPE, OBVIOUSLY CAREFULLY KEPT IN A DRAWER
SOMEWHERE WITH A U.S. POSTAGE STAMP ON IT AND I IMMEDIATELY
RECOGNIZED MY MOTHER'S HANDWRITING ON THE ADDRESS.
IT WAS VERY CLEAR. AND I GOT A CHILL.
AND HE OPENED THE ENVELOPE AND BROUGHT OUT 2 SMALL
BLACK AND WHITE SNAPSHOTS AND LAID THEM OUT ON A TABLE
IN FRONT OF ME AND SAID TO ME, "DO YOU KNOW THESE PEOPLE?"
AND THROUGH THE INTERPRETER WHO WAS WITH US AND THROUGH YIDDISH,
WHICH I SPEAK AND HE SPOKE, I SAID, "I DO,
THIS PHOTOGRAPH IS ONE OF MY CHILDREN."
THIS WAS 25 YEARS LATER, AND BECAUSE I WAS ABLE
TO IDENTIFY THESE CHILDREN, OBVIOUSLY IMMEDIATELY
MADE CONNECTION AND UNDERSTOOD WHAT OUR RELATIONSHIP WAS.
"SO YOU ARE THE SON OF. . . AND HE WAS THE BROTHER OF. . ."
AND THE FAMILY TREE WAS ESTABLISHED--THOSE PEOPLE
HAD BEEN HOLDING ON TO THOSE PHOTOGRAPHS FOR 25 YEARS.
THAT WAS THEIR CONNECTION TO FAMILY IN THE UNITED STATES.
THERE HAD BEEN NO FURTHER COMMUNICATION.
BUT THEY HAD THEM CAREFULLY TAKEN CARE OF
LIKE SOMETHING PRECIOUS IN A DRAWER.
(narrator) IT HAD BEEN 30 SHORT YEARS
SINCE THE INTRODUCTION
OF THE BROWNIE.
PHOTOGRAPHS, ONCE RARE, WERE NOW EVERYWHERE,
INFLUENCING EVERY ASPECT
OF AMERICAN LIFE.
IT SEEMED AS IF PHOTOGRAPHY HAD REACHED ITS PEAK,
BUT THE MEDIUM HAD YET TO SHOW ITS FULL POWER.
IN THE COMING DECADES, PHOTOGRAPHS WOULD TRAVEL
AROUND THE WORLD INSTANTLY, OVER TELEPHONE LINES.
PICTURE MAGAZINES WOULD SWEEP THE COUNTRY,
AND VIVID PHOTOGRAPHS WOULD UNIFY THE NATION
DURING THIS CENTURY'S DARKEST HOURS.
THE GOLDEN AGE OF PHOTOGRAPHY WAS ABOUTO BEGIN.
♪