Thursday, October 28, 2010

The First Picture of Humans

It's almost impossible to fathom a time when photographs of people were nonexistent. But rest assured that such a time did exist - and it really wasn't that long ago in the grand scheme of things.

So, the recent discovery of what appears to be two men near the river's edge in a photo of Cincinnati taken in 1848 is kind of a big deal among photography historians.

The photo was taken by Charles Fontayne and William Porter who were standing on the other side of the Ohio River on Sunday, September 24th, 1848, 162 years prior to Krulwich's post about it.

The photo is what's known as a daguerreotype - an image developed via an early photographic process developed in France. When zooming in on the photo, Krulwich noticed what appeared to be two human figures. [more...]

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Recommended Documentary: The Art of the Steal

The Art of the Steal is an amazing documentary that every artist, student of art or art history needs to watch.  It's stunning, shocking and a piece of American history that not many people know about.  It was riveting - I was glued to the screen throughout the entire film and couldn't believe what a saga unfolded before me.

Don Argott’s gripping documentary The Art of the Steal chronicles the long and dramatic struggle for control of the Barnes Foundation, a private collection of art valued at more than $25 billion. In 1922, Dr. Albert C. Barnes formed a remarkable educational institution around his priceless collection of art, located just five miles outside of Philadelphia. Now, more than 50 years after Barnes’ death, a powerful group of moneyed interests have gone to court for control of the art, and intend to bring it to a new museum in Philadelphia. Standing in their way is a group of Barnes’ former students and his will, which contains strict instructions stating the Foundation should always be an educational institution, and that the paintings may never be removed. Will they succeed, or will a man’s will be broken and one of America’s greatest cultural monuments be destroyed? [more...]