Stephanie Gonzales

Professor Lindahl

HUM177B

Arts and Technology Essay

The technology woven art piece that I chose to write about at the current San Francisco

museum of Modern Arts, is the photo of trains resting at Novosibirsk station in western Siberia.

When the railway in Siberia was constructed, Novosibirsk was then at the intersection of two

great transportation routes- the rivers, railways and the city. The name of the piece is 14/3/1991

Novosibirsk, Russian SFSR, captured by Keizo Kitajima. The sole reason I decided on choosing

this piece is because the artist photographed it after the collapse of the soviet union.

Though the photo seems to be in black in white it has hints of colors that are soft that

enhance some of the buildings and also capture what the people are wearing. This photo captures

how this railroad brings together both city and land. You see the people with their bags leading to

a train traveling to another destination. This photo was captured during the dissolution of the

Soviet Union.

Though there is an immense showing of technology by having the whole photo being

trains and railroad work a huge form of transportation and how this had a great impact on the
collapse of the Soviet Union. I think the most impactful part of technology was the use of

photography around this time.

Keizo Kitajima a japanese photographer was working in the Soviet Union just before the

collapse in 1991. However for Keizo he started making photography in the middle of the 1970s

and around that time embarked an era of global political revolution and protest. Photography did

not emerge in the japanese society until the 1970s and was seen as the powerful realistic medium

art. During that time art in japan did not feel real so when the introduction of photography came

in it made an extremely radical and intensely powerful expression. Instead of shooting

photography in his hometown japan he decided to shoot in different interesting cities.

Photography has come a long way and much like a painting , a photograph has the ability

to move engage and inspire its viewers. It could range from black and white to colorful

landscapes to bring out the natural beauty of its subjects. Photography for decades was in debate

on if it was or could be an art form. It seemed to be more of a scientific tool then a form of

artistic expression. Many photographers did not call themselves artist but referred to themselves

as engineers. One reason early photographers were not considered works of art are because it did

not look like art. No other form of art possessed such detailed than that of a photograph. Some of

the earliest forms of photography came with archeology and botany. This type of medium was

better used for the documentation of specimens like plants or archeological finds because of such

detail. The forms of art such as painting drawing and sculpture was created by human hands and

photography was merely created from a machine.

In the 20th century there are many critics and artists that continued to debate about the

use of photography as fine art. Looking back to the 19th century it reminded us of the mediums
initial shocking realism as photo portraits were printed on calling cards and was as fashionable as

social media outlets such as facebook and instagram. However the photographer can create art

from any genre, still life, street photography, documentary, landscape, nude, portrait, using a

particular style–point of view, choice of lens, type of lighting, color or black and white.

The artist Keizo Kitajima his art was usually in black and white and was shown as more

of a documentary. He used his artwork to tell a story upon his arrival to the Soviet Union he was

unaware that it had collapsed so when shooting these photographs he used it as the ability to

accumulate a photographic experience. This is an art form that has been able to bring world

experiences. Not all photographs are art. An image loses its authenticity and originality because

of so many people taking the same type of shot of the same [Link] photographer who takes

a snapshot without intention of capturing an idea is not an artist.

Like a painter or installation artist a photographer is an artist when he or she “intends” to

create art with his or her camera and not a snapshot. The photographer has a vision of what he or

she desires to capture and then intends to make this image with his camera and digital darkroom

software. Before taking the image, the photographer pre-visualizes the photograph or plans how

he or she intends to capture the image with lighting, lens, and point of view.

A photographer becomes an artist when he or she embraces the medium of photography

and then masters the use of the camera, just like an artist learns how to paint or draw or sculpt.

He or she has developed a skilled acquired knowledge and expertise. The photographer learns to

use the technical controls of the camera, such as how to use shutter priority, aperture priority, as

well as how to use wide-angle, macro, telephoto lens, and then uses their expertise to capture a

photograph that is art. To do this, the photographer must be able to see creatively using the
elements of art contrast, horizon line, leading lines, perspective, and point of focus. The

photographer must also compose the image, arrange the elements in the viewfinder and have a

point of focus before pressing the shutter button. The photographer also learns to use light

creatively, for instance, creating high key or low key images. The photographer develops a

particular style. To understand the the art of photography is simply for it to take you to that time,

to transport you to a time of heartache, defeat, victory and that's what photographers through

their art and the art that is displayed in these museums around us.
 Bibliography
Anthony Hamber (2011) The Use of Photography by Nineteenth Century Art Historians, Visual
Resources, 7:2-3, 135-161, DOI: 10.1080/01973762.1990.9658907

“When Photography Became Art.” Harvard Gazette, 5 Oct. 2010,