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From Landscape to Portrait: How aspect Ratio changed the way we perceive the world.

INTRODUCTION A photograph has edges, the world does not. The edges separate what is in the photograph and what is excluded. This is where the structures of the photograph begins with the image and works its way out to the frame, where it ends.

The frame of the photograph also sets up a relationship between its edge and its subject. It can contain and hold an image and by composition gather the objects and create subject matter. Without the frame, there can be no composition.

Framing speaks with the aspect ratio, and the aspect ratio is strictly related to the historical period and the technology in use. Documentary photography has been historically rooted in the landscape format, the analog square format gave the possibility to choose which was the better orientation afterwards, and today’s imagery production is mostly vertical due to the usage of smartphones.

What makes for good image cropping? Open literatures generally have two different opinions: image cropping guided by attention and image cropping informed by aesthetics.

What’s interesting for me as image maker, is analyzing how the photographs format it’s strictly related to the technology (and historical period), and how our perception of the meaning images can changes according to the format or kind of frame.

What gets lost in the crop? How to define an image efficiency? How our ability of interpret images has changed through history? These are some of the fundamental questions that I would like to investigate within my thesis research.

CHAPTER .1 REALITY SEEN THROUGH THE FRAME

In this chapter, I will introduce the role that image composition plays in image aesthetic and “visual efficiency”. Quantifying the aesthetic value of a photograph is a very hard problem, for this reason I will introduce fundamental visual theories such as Gestalt and geometrical sections to set up the necessary rules to build up the conversation. I will touch arguments such as the passive vs active frame and the “Decisive Moment” theory. Afterwards, I will outline the evolution of the aspect ratio along photography history in relation to the technology in use.

1.1 What is composition? 1.2 A brief history of the Aspect Ratio 1.3 Paying attention to the frame: Passive or active frame and the decisive moment

CHAPTER .2 HOW WE TAKE PICTURE IS HOW WE PROCESS THE WORLD

A never ending photography question is: the photograph happens during the shooting or during the editing process? Also, is editing cropping considered as cheating? Cropping images can be considered a controversial technique as you can alter the image meaning. In photojournalism, cropping is widely considered outrageous as the image can’t be a reliable document anymore. On the other hand, cropping can considerably improve the image visual performance and balance. For instance, the analog square format of camera such as the Rolleiflex used by Cecil Beaton, enabled photographers and editor to choose the most suitable orientation after the shot. On the contrary, nowadays the most preferred orientation became the vertical, due to the widespread use of smartphones.

2.1 On cropping photographs: Between Ethics and Strategy 2.2 Why shooting squares can transform the landscapes 2.3 Going vertical and essential with the advent of smartphones

CHAPTER .3 CASE STUDY: STEPHEN SHORE IMAGERY ANALYSIS

Stephen Shore's photographs often appear as unstudied snapshots before revealing themselves, on closer examination, to be carefully calculated and balanced. His images show a deep consideration of framing, with lines and colors chosen to emphasize the formal qualities of the places or objects within the frame, heightening the viewer's focus. His imagery production it’s well know to be un-cropped, usually cutting objects at the margins and leaving room for the viewer’s interpretation and imagination.

3.1 Introduction to Stephen Shore’s work 3.2 Building a mental image: Pointing vs framing 3.3 Image analysis: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, July 1972

4. REFERENCES

Arnheim R, 1982 The Power of the Center: A Study of Composition in the Visual Arts (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press).

Cartier-Bresson, H., MATISSE, H., & TÉRIADE, E. (1952). The decisive moment.

Daston, L., & Galison, P. (2007). Objectivity. New York, Zone Books.

Jurgenson, N. (2011). Digital Dualism and the Fallacy of Web Objectivity. Online. Available at https://thesocietypages.org/cyborgology/2011/09/13/digital-dualism-and-the-fallacy-of-web-objectivity/

Mcmanus, Ian & Zhou, Fanzhi & l'Anson, Sophie & Waterfield, Lucy & Stöver, Katharina & Cook, Richard. (2011). The Psychometrics of Photographic Cropping: The Influence of Colour, Meaning, and Expertise. Perception. 40. 332-57. 10.1068/p6700.

Ritchin, F. (2009). After photography. New York, W.W. Norton.

Shore, S. (2020) “Q&A with Stephen Shore and Gregory Crewdson.” YouTube, uploaded by Yale MFA Photography, 20 Apr. 2020, www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXpQ1wCH7mU&t=1522s.

Sontag, S. (1977). On photography. New York, Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-SPIRALS AS A GENERATIVE FORM OF BEING
+'''From Landscape to Portrait: How aspect Ratio changed the way we perceive the world.'''
-'''1. INTRODUCTION'''
+INTRODUCTION
+A photograph has edges, the world does not. The edges separate what is in the photograph and what is excluded. This is where the structures of the photograph begins with the image and works its way out to the frame, where it ends.
+The frame of the photograph also sets up a relationship between its edge and its subject. It can contain and hold an image and by composition gather the objects and create subject matter. Without the frame, there can be no composition.
-''1.1. Thesis Statement:''
+Framing speaks with the aspect ratio, and the aspect ratio is strictly related to the historical period and the technology in use. Documentary photography has been historically rooted in the landscape format, the analog square format gave the possibility to choose which was the better orientation afterwards, and today’s imagery production is mostly vertical due to the usage of smartphones.
-Spirals are a common shape found in nature, art, architecture and symbolism. It has been there in art, religion and philosophy from the most ancient times, in earth divination, event patterning, occult belief or "magical" systems, and in aspects of the studies of many sciences including astronomy, quantum physics, psychology, biology, anthropology and zoology.
+What makes for good image cropping? Open literatures generally have two different opinions: image cropping guided by attention and image cropping informed by aesthetics.
-Indeed, the spiral vortex, as found in whirlpools in water and in the double helix structure of the DNA molecule — just two of myriad examples — is nature’s favored form for the transmission of its energy, both economically and efficaciously, radiating out and drawing in simultaneously, infinitely and eternally.
+What’s interesting for me as image maker, is analyzing how the photographs format it’s strictly related to the technology (and historical period), and how our perception of the meaning images can changes according to the format or kind of frame.
-This shape seems to be the "way" the universe tends to arrange itself, the perfect link between microcosm and macrocosm, a visibile and tangible example of the nature-culture dualism, a mysterious symbol and a generative mechanism.
+What gets lost in the crop? How to define an image efficiency? How our ability of interpret images has changed through history? These are some of the fundamental questions that I would like to investigate within my thesis research.
-''1.2 Background''
-Through a conceptual and philosophical study, I’d like to highlight the tension between nature and culture, with a focus on the “spiral shape” as eternal sign of the creative and organizing principle at work in the universe, as a natural motif that inspired art, architecture and science.
-In this work I will try to set out and subject to critical analysis the many analogies which have been made by a great variety of writers, researchers and artists, between science and visual arts, showing how this interpolation happened through the centuries.
-I have come to the study through and interest in the theory of design and visual arts - especially photography - and a concern with what contribution, if any, systematic or scientific research can make to the art field.
-There is a parallel concern in anthropological theory, some reference to which will be helpful in this context, with the distinction between the study of what features of human society, institutions and artifacts can be regarded as utilitarian and practical, and what features are to be seen cultural or symbolic.
-''1.3 Methodology''
-I will summarize the structure of the thesis, highlighting key topics and touchpoint.
+'''CHAPTER .1'''
+REALITY SEEN THROUGH THE FRAME
+In this chapter, I will introduce the role that image composition plays in image aesthetic and “visual efficiency”.
+Quantifying the aesthetic value of a photograph is a very hard problem, for this reason I will introduce fundamental visual theories such as Gestalt and geometrical sections to set up the necessary rules to build up the conversation. I will touch arguments such as the passive vs active frame and the “Decisive Moment” theory.
+Afterwards, I will outline the evolution of the aspect ratio along photography history in relation to the technology in use.
-'''2. THE BODY'''
+.1 What is composition?
+.2 A brief history of the Aspect Ratio
+.3 Paying attention to the frame: Passive or active frame and the decisive moment
-''2.1 First Topic:'' An overview of the primordial meaning of the spiral in the natural world in relation to the artificial realm
+'''CHAPTER .2'''
+HOW WE TAKE PICTURE IS HOW WE PROCESS THE WORLD
-'''→''' The vaste natural world of spirals
+A never ending photography question is: the photograph happens during the shooting or during the editing process? Also, is editing cropping considered as cheating?
+Cropping images can be considered a controversial technique as you can alter the image meaning. In photojournalism, cropping is widely considered outrageous as the image can’t be a reliable document anymore. On the other hand, cropping can considerably improve the image visual performance and balance. For instance, the analog square format of camera such as the Rolleiflex used by Cecil Beaton, enabled photographers and editor to choose the most suitable orientation after the shot. On the contrary, nowadays the most preferred orientation became the vertical,  due to the widespread use of smartphones.
-'''→''' The Golden Section
+.1 On cropping photographs: Between Ethics and Strategy
+.2 Why shooting squares can transform the landscapes
+.3 Going vertical and essential with the advent of smartphones
-'''→''' Spirals in engineer and architecture
-'''→''' Spirals in visual arts
+'''CHAPTER .3'''
+CASE STUDY: STEPHEN SHORE IMAGERY ANALYSIS
+Stephen Shore's photographs often appear as unstudied snapshots before revealing themselves, on closer examination, to be carefully calculated and balanced. His images show a deep consideration of framing, with lines and colors chosen to emphasize the formal qualities of the places or objects within the frame, heightening the viewer's focus. His imagery production it’s well know to be un-cropped, usually cutting objects at the margins and leaving room for the viewer’s interpretation and imagination.
-''2.2 Second Topic:'' Anthropological and philosophical context of nature vs culture
-→ The relation of the parts to the whole in the organism and in the work of art
+.1 Introduction to Stephen Shore’s work
+.2 Building a mental image: Pointing vs framing
+.3 Image analysis: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, July 1972
-→ Relationship between the human body and proportion in architecture
-→ Technological and Organic evolution
+'''4. REFERENCES'''
-''2.3 Third Topic:'' Case Study: Karl Blossfeldt’s work analysis
+Arnheim R, 1982 The Power of the Center: A Study of Composition in the Visual Arts (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press).
-→ Karl Blossfeldt - Mediating Nature
+Cartier-Bresson, H., MATISSE, H., & TÉRIADE, E. (1952). The decisive
+moment.
-→ The New Objectivity Movement
+Daston, L., & Galison, P. (2007). Objectivity. New York, Zone Books.
-→ Forensic Analysis of Blossfeldt’s photographs
-'''3. CONCLUSIONS'''
-''3.1 Raising Questions:''
-→ Why the spiral was such an important and sacred symbol in many ancient cultures?
-→ Why spirals are still used today in art, design and architecture?
-''3.2 Sum-up of main points''
-''3.3 Final Memorable Statement''
-Ultimately, the implication is that the spiral form is integral to strength and growth and indeed, it may be that all curves of growth are based on it. Moreover, the spiral is a powerful example of how nature tends to repeat the use of a successful design over and over again on every level of its creative handiwork: indeed, this design is the most universal of all.
-'''4. REFERENCES'''
-Steadman, P. (1979). The Evolution of Designs Biological Analogy in Architecture and the Applied Arts /Philip Steadman. Cambridge University Press, 1979.
+Jurgenson, N. (2011). Digital Dualism and the Fallacy of Web Objectivity. Online. Available at https://thesocietypages.org/cyborgology/2011/09/13/digital-dualism-and-the-fallacy-of-web-objectivity/
-March L. and Steadman P. (1971), The Geometry of Environment (London, 1971), pp. 229-32.
+Mcmanus, Ian & Zhou, Fanzhi & l'Anson, Sophie & Waterfield, Lucy & Stöver, Katharina & Cook, Richard. (2011). The Psychometrics of Photographic Cropping: The Influence of Colour, Meaning, and Expertise. Perception. 40. 332-57. 10.1068/p6700.
-Thompson, D. (1992). On Growth and Form (Canto) (J. Bonner, Ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9781107325852
+Ritchin, F. (2009). After photography. New York, W.W. Norton.
-Cook, Theodore Andrea, Sir. (1903). Spirals in nature and art. J. Murray. Retrieved from 10.5479/sil.25890.39088001368638
+Shore, S. (2020) “Q&A with Stephen Shore and Gregory Crewdson.” YouTube, uploaded by Yale MFA Photography, 20 Apr. 2020, www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXpQ1wCH7mU&t=1522s.
-Cook, Theodore Andrea, Sir. (1914) The Curves of Life (London, 1914).
+Sontag, S. (1977). On photography. New York, Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
-J. Stoots. Karl Blossfeldt Indisputably Modern, 2011
-Murata, H., Material Forms in nature: The Photographs of Karl Blossfeldt.
-Scholfield, Peter Hugh. “The Theory of Proportion in Architecture.” (2011).