New Topographics is a movement in photographic art that evolved from the New Topographics Exhibition, which was conceived by William Jenkins, assistant curator of photography at the International Museum of Photography, Eastman House in Rochester New York. The 1975 exhibition featured photographs of man altered landscapes or, more accurately, lands upon which humans have erected houses, buildings or other structures that attest their presence (though actual people are eerily absent). New Topographics was a form of documentary photography. Even though the images were not intended to be judgmental, in hindsight they are extraordinarly telling about urban sprawl and other environmental issues. The photographers included were Robert Adams, Lewis Batz, Bernd and Hilla Becher, Joe Deal, Frank Gohlke, Nicholas Nixon, John Schott, Stephen Shore, and Henry Wessel, Jr.
The New American West
By the late 1960s, the American Western Landscape looked different than it did when early photographers, such as Carlton Watkins, and Timothy O' Sullivan, made their albumen prints. Camera technology also changed. The Leica 35mm, hand-held camera became popular by the mid 40s, and artist such as Stephen Shore and William Eggleston began to experiment with color photography. Leading American fine-art photographers no longer made pictures of the awe inspiring, natural American landscape. Instead, their pictures often revealed the suburbanization of the American West and the standardization of American society.
William Eggleston, Memphis, Tennessee, 1969-70
Stephen Shore, Church and 2nd St. Easton, PA 1974
Robert Adams, Midday, Pike’s Peak, Colorodo Springs, 1968-1971
Robert Frank, Parade, Hoboken, New Jersey, 1955-1956
Swiss Born photographer, Robert Frank, immigrated to the United States from Europe right in the midst of the second World War. In 1955, he received a Guggenhiem fellowship that enabled him to travel across the United States and take personal, poetic documentary photographs of American life. He arranged over 83 photographs into a book, titled The Americans. The book was a critical, loving look at American culture. Television sets, cars, jukeboxes, and flags were prominant subjects. Initially, the photographs were denounced by the press, but today The Americans is celebrated as a moving and honest interpretation of American life. The book was influential publication that inspired photo-book makers and documentarians alike.
Bellow you will find additional information regarding the New Documentary tradition.
American Documentary
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