Free Essay

Andre Kertesz

In: Other Topics

Submitted By andrea29
Words 1143
Pages 5
Distortion Master
A Hungarian born photographer, Andre Kertesz, is known for his innovative collection of photojournalism that first began to fully develop in Paris. His collection named Distortion came to be discovered and developed when Kertesz photographed a man swimming underwater. This photo named Underwater Swimmer taken in 1917, more than slightly distinguishes what his distortion collection consists of. As seen in the photo the water morphs the body; some parts are enlarged, for example the swimmers shoulders and others are not as seen from the waist down. This un-proportional effect caused by the water developed his ideas of what and how he came to create his series of distorted photographs.

In 1933, Kertesz began to work for a magazine called Le Sourire. Le Sourire was a “magazine known for its piquant illustrations of undressed girls” (Andre 18). That today would be considered a playboy type of magazine. Kertesz approached this task by photographing nude women but transformed the photos into distorted photos. He did this by using fun house mirrors to provide him the effect he wanted to convey though his photos. The fun house mirrors shifted the body, stretched, squeezed, and of course distorted it. The photograph that best exemplifies his distortion collection is Distortion #70.
As mentioned before these photos were taken for a nude magazine. So, here all you see is a woman’s breast and much of her torso when you first look at it. The model’s face is morphed out making it seem as if there were three women in the photo when there is just one. She seems to just have one item of clothing on, therefore allowing her to show herself to the public eye. Originally, this model could have been casually posing looking to her left with one hand on her left hip, but because of the distortion we cannot really tell what exactly her pose was to begin with. By the way her hand is placed and fingers bent onto her hip, it shows a sign of comfort within her. In this case the distortion is more focused on her breast and torso than any other area. The breast becomes enlarged and placed more onto the center of the photo. Her torso is stretched downward giving it a smooth and elegant effect.

The transformation he made to the photos also changed the photo’s meaning and style as a whole. What could have been considered a regular nude photo of an attractive woman posing to please the viewers became a photo with dignity and class. The distortion created from the fun house mirrors, to some was considered to be comical. But according to Hilton Kramer, Kertesz was able to caress the naked female bodies with their swellings, elongations, and sudden foreshortenings (2). Sometimes a picture looks strangely odd that it becomes funny to the viewer, but Kertesz never meant it to be taken in that form. “Kertesz’s transformations of the female anatomy are at once erotic and esthetic-the love songs of a photographer who has made his medium the instrument of his emotions” (Kramer 2). This quote touches on the subject that Kertesz had no perverted connection to the photos, but had an emotional connection and humor of love to them.
As described previously, Hilton Kramer came to the conclusion that Kertesz distorted photos were taken in that form out of love and his own emotional connections. But Oivind Bjerke, a professor from the University of Ohio has his own conclusion on what these photos can mean. “One of them is to read them as comments on the nude photograph’s traditional functions, which to a considerable extent highlighted the female body as the incarnation of harmonic and beautiful form”. By this Professor Kramer is saying that Kertesz’s collection of distorted photos was to point out and embrace the female body. This makes sense to a certain extent because it was one of the aspects that stand out in a magazine like Le Sourire. Another possibility of why these nude photos were taken, according to Bjerke, was because the female body depicted as a sexual object, which has been the primary motif for photographers throughout history (8). Throughout history, especially in the earlier decades, women have been seen either as just housewives or sexual objects. In photographs history we have seen repeatedly different forms of how sexuality is represented, but the major representation of it is the figure of the woman.
Another way in which these photos can be seen as is a change in reality though a mirror. By this I mean that for that moment that the model stands in front of the fun house mirror, everything that surrounds disperses. As if reality was contained in only the framed fun house mirror. “Every reference to reality is impeded, as in a hallucination. The edges of the mirrors are deliberately kept outside the frame of the photograph, so that the amorphous bodies come to stand by themselves, and only indirectly refer to the living model in front if the mirror” (The Distortions 3). This quote proves to say that reality can undergo in the real world, but in a fun house mirror it cannot. That sometimes what we want to see cannot be possible and what we see is not what we desired to begin with.
The distortion of Kertesz’s photographs has many possible meanings, but the one that truly connects and makes sense to me is the twisted reality that is seen through a fun house mirror. Every distorted photo that Kertesz took is purposely cropped out to focus on what the mirror contained and not what was going on around it. This meaning that reality was gone for those few minutes, or even hours from the model and photographer. I believe that Kertez message is that what we see in the mirror can and could be reality. The morphing of the female body exemplifies how some women view themselves when they see themselves in the mirror. As in the photos, it is possible to single out what is seen as normal and abnormal. As a woman, the majority of our comments to us fall into the abnormal category; picking out what is seen as attractive or not. These photos in fact say the opposite.
Every photo Kertesz took embraces the female body, in which is his own reality. The reality of respecting the female body and taking the time to make each body part stand out on its own. Each body part that Kertesz focused on results as a way to distinguish each of them in a loving manner. Therefore saying that even if women have been seen as sexual objects for a long time, our bodies will always be embraced by men. Even if it’s in a distorted manner like photographer Andre Kertesz presented us in his collection Distortions.

Similar Documents

Free Essay

Money

... For example, the celebrity Jade Goody grew to fame by badmouthing people, swearing, and doing many other morally wrong things in order to win the reality TV show Big Brother. However, this spring she was diagnosed with terminal cancer. In the remaining weeks of her life, she was like a changed person: she spent her time raising awareness for cervical cancer, writing out wills in order to make sure that her two young sons would have enough money after she passed on, and so forth. Knowing that they are going to die can often change someone dramatically. In her final days, Jade's conscience motivated her to do several good things. History is strewn with the names of famous people who have given large donations to charity: Bill Gates, Andre Agassi, etc. Sometimes, these people may not only be motivated by sheer conscience, but also the public honour and fame of having a foundation, a charity, or a building named after them. But people also give anonymous donations - in 2009, an anonymous donor gave a million dollars to some American universities. As no-one knew who they were, money, fame, and power cannot possibly have been ther reason for their donation. Conscience and conscience alone must have inspired them. In LOTR: The Fellowship Of The Ring, Boromir, motivated by power and glory, attempts to steal the One Ring from Frodo, almost killing him. Frodo escapes and disappears; soon afterwards, Boromir repents and realizes his mistake. This is demonstrated by the fact that...

Words: 411 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

Wimbledon Event Economics

...James Bragg 1/23/11 Dr. Ahlseen 2010 Wimbledon Tennis Championship The Wimbledon Tennis Championship was from June 21 to July 4 2010. The capacity of the championship grounds is 38,500. (Wikipedia 1*) The actual attendance for the event was 489,946 for the 13 days the 2nd most of all time only beat by 2009. (Wimbledon 2*) It was held at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom. (Wimbledon 3*) Seating capacity for Centre Court was 15,000, for No. 1 Court was 11,000, and Court No. 2 was 4,000. (Wikipedia 6*) The ticket prices for the court seats were:  1st Week: | Centre Court | No. 1 Court | No. 2 Court | Mon 21 June | £41 | £38 | £34 | Tue 22 June | £41 | £38 | £34 | Wed 23 June | £52 | £47 | £41 | Thu 24 June | £52 | £47 | £41 | Fri 25 June | £65 | £56 | £48 | Sat 26 June | £65 | £56 | £48 | Sun 27 June | No Play Scheduled |   | | | | |  2nd Week: | Centre Court | No. 1 Court | No. 2 Court | | Mon 28 June | £74 | £63 | £52 | | Tue 29 June | £74 | £63 | £35 | | Wed 30 June | £85 | £72 | £32 | | Thu 1 July | £85* | £47 | ** | | Fri 2 July | £95* | £31 | ** | | Sat 3 July | £95* | £29 | ** | | Sun 4 July | £104* | £25 | ** | | (Wimbledon 4*) For grounds tickets they were:  1st Week: | Before 5:00pm | After 5:00pm | Monday to Saturday | £20 | £14 |   | | |  2nd Week: | Before 5:00pm | After 5:00pm | Monday | £20 | £14 | Tuesday | £17 | £12 | Wednesday | £17 | £12...

Words: 494 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Rizal Reviewer

...CHAPTER 19: EL FILIBUSTERISMO PUBLISHED IN GHENT I. PRIVATIONS IN GHENT a. Reasons for moving to Ghent i. Cost of printing in Ghent was cheaper than in Brussels ii. To escape from the enticing attraction of Petite Suzanne II. PRINTING OF EL FILIBUSTERISMO a. He pawned his jewels in order to pay the down payment and the early partial payments during the printing of the novel III. VENTURA, SAVIOR OF FILI a. Valentine Ventura in Paris learned of Rizal’s predicament and immediately sent him the necessary funds b. With his financial aid, the printing of the Fili was resumed IV. THE FILI COMES OFF THE PRESS V. DEDICATED TO GOM-BUR-ZA VI. SYNOPSIS OF EL FILIBUSTERISMO a. This novel is a sequel to the Noli i. It has little humor, less idealism, and less romance than the Noli Me Tangere ii. It is more revolutionary, more tragic than the first novel b. Simoun i. The hero of the novel and is a rich jeweler 1. He was Ibarra of the Noli ii. He fled to Cuba where he became rich and befriended many Spanish officials 1. He returns to the Philippines where he freely moved around 2. He is a powerful figure not only because he is a rich jeweler, but also because he is a good friend and adviser of the governor-general. iii. He is secretly cherishing a terrible revenge against the Spanish authorities 1. 2 magnificent obsessions are: a. Rescue Maria Clara from the nunnery...

Words: 6646 - Pages: 27

Premium Essay

Sport

...SPORT Sporting event: - there are many sport event are help in the Britain + Premier League + Golf Ryder Cup + Race formula (F1) Grand Prix + Horse- race Grand National + Tenis Wimbledon. 1/ Premier League Premier League's top division of English football club. Football League foreign. The season starts from August to May, with 38 rounds and a total of 380 matches. Most of the game takes place on Saturday and S out of 47 clubs attended since the tournament was founded in 1992, has five clubs have won the title: Manchester United (13), Chelsea… 2/ the Ryder Cup was officially established, with the Gold Cup by the sponsors merchant with the first official season in 1927. Ryder Cup takes its name from the person is said to have created it, Samuel Ryder. He was a merchant's capital, and has put forward the idea to form leagues and is also the sponsor for the season's first Cup. Winners will last from Friday to Sunday. On Friday there will be 4 fourball and 4 foursome matches take place in the afternoon. 3/ Wimbledon resolution files (English: The Championships Wimbledon) tennis championships is English. It is the oldest and most prestigious of tennis. The championship was organized in about June, July, the 3rd prize in the Grand Slam system every year, after the Australian Open and French Open, and before the US Open. League conducted in 2 weeks; 4/ Grand National is the world famous horse race, held...

Words: 294 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Who Made Rizal Foremost National Hero

...Who Made Rizal Our Foremost National Hero, and Why? BY: ESTEBAN A. DE OCAMPO Dr. Jose Rizal Mercado y Alonso, or simply Jose Rizal (1861-1896), is unquestionably the greatest hero & martyr of our nation. The day of his birth & the day of his execution are fittingly commemorated by all classes of our people throughout the length & breadth of this country & even by Filipinos & their friends abroad. His name is a byword in every Filipino home while his picture adorns the postage stamp & paper money of widest circulation. No other Filipino hero can surpass Rizal in the number of towns, barrios, & streets named after him; in the number of educational institutions, societies, & trade names that bear his name; in the number of persons, both Filipinos & foreigners, who were named "Rizal" or "Rizalina" because of their parents’ admiration for the Great Malayan; & in the number of laws, Executive Orders & Proclamations of the Chief Executive, & bulletins, memoranda, & circulars of both the bureaus of public & private schools. Who is the Filipino writer & thinker whose teachings & noble thoughts have been frequently invoked & quoted by authors & public speakers on almost all occasions? None but Rizal. And why is this so? Because as biographer Rafael Palma (1) said, "The doctrines of Rizal are not for one epoch but for all epochs. They are as valid today as they were yesterday. It cannot be said that because the political...

Words: 5521 - Pages: 23

Premium Essay

El Presidente

...El Presidente: The General Emilio Aguinaldo Story and the First Philippine Republic Review Posted by Robert V. Yesterday I managed to go to one of my favorite cinema houses and watch the Scenema Concept International and Viva Films' entry to the 38th Metro Manila Film Festival "El Presidente: The General Emilio Aguinaldo Story and the First Philippine Republic. | A Scene from The "El Presidente"  | El Presidente tells the story of the Philippines' very first president Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo, the deliverance of the Philippines from the hands of its colonists and the establishment of our first republic. Jeorge "ER" Estregan plays the lead role with Cesar Montano as Andres Bonifacio. The entire movie did not disappoint me as it was able to deliver what I was expecting based on the theatrical trailer they released. I am no expert when it comes to the Philippine History but I have some knowledge about our past so this film's plot is not that new to me but this movie still gave me some new things about this particular matter of which I do not know if those were really part of our history or just an additional "spice" to the film to make it a little bit entertaining and that maybe because what director Meily described the movie as "fiction film based on a historical figure" according Abs-cbnnews.com. For example if my memory serves me correctly, I never read nor heard during my school days that the katipuneros used bow and arrows. In the movie especially during the ambush...

Words: 731 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Rizal

...------------------------------------------------- SCHEDULE: MWF 8:30-9:30 ------------------------------------------------- Reaction on Dr. Jose Rizal Dr. Jose Rizal is one of the Filipino heroes and he is the very famous enthusiast of the changes in the Philippines in the time of Spaniards invasion. He recognizes as one of the primary hero and selected as one of the national hero of the Philippines. Rizal was a great writer, he is a poet and novel writer, he wrote two novels the Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo. Thesew were very harsh indictments of Spanish tyranny and of the church which came to acquire immense political power. He founded the La Liga Filipina one organization that became way instead of integrality aggregation leaded by Andres bonifacio, one of the secret organizations that started a filipino rebellion against Spain that became fundamental of first republic of the Philippines under Emilio Aguinaldo. He is mainstay of having the Philippines own government in peaceful way instead in blustery rebellion, and just support the violence as the lasted resorted. He believe that the only reason of liberation of the Philippines and having own government was returning reputation of the citizens. Jose Rizal was the Filipino hero who sacrifice his life to gain the aspire freedom for the Philippines . Even we can say that he did not fight using sword but he fight using pen. And because of what he did, his life became miserable. His novel entitled Noli Me Tangere and El...

Words: 359 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Case Study Paper

...journey through the world of fertility treatments. When none of them worked, she got frustrated and depressed. She felt like a failure. And then one day, finally, she became pregnant. She was thrilled beyond belief. She had a wonderful pregnancy and a perfect baby girl. At long last, her dream of being a mommy had come true. But instead of being relieved and happy, all she could do was cry.” (Shields, 2005) Brooke Shields was born to Frank and Terri Shields on May 31, 1965. Her father an executive for Revlon and her mother a model separated when Brooke was very young. Brooke began her modeling career at 11 months and has been acting and modeling since then. After graduating from Princeton University brook met and married tennis player Andre Agassi, they were married for two years before they got divorced. In 2001 she married Chris Henchy and began to try to conceive a baby. Unfortunately, she was not able to conceive naturally and after many attempts of trying with the help of fertility treatments and a painful miscarriage, she finally got pregnant in 2002. After having daughter Rowan, Brooke did not experience the happiness she expected she instead experience sadness and was afraid to be left alone with the baby not because she was scared of hurting the baby but she was scared of not...

Words: 1197 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

Plan Colombia

...El plan Colombia en el siglo XXI Durante los últimos 50 años Colombia has sido un país que ha debido luchar fuertemente contra innumerables atentados por lo cual los colombianos se han mantenido sin sosiego. Su historia nos recuerda la incesante lucha de poderes que de alguna manera permitió el desarrollo de su conflictiva situación que hasta hoy en día no se resuelve. Las principales causas han sido los grupos armados que fueron creciendo mano a mano con el narcotráfico. De esta manera para el año 1998 bajo la presidencia de Andrés Pastrana es que se concreta un acuerdo con los Estados Unidos conocido como “Plan Colombia”. El plan Colombia ha producido varios efectos que han dado como resultado: conflictos armados, desplazamiento de la población y una marcada alianza con los Estados Unidos. A Partir del plan Colombia se ha desatado los conflictos armados que si bien al principio no se veían resultados, actualmente ha permitido una reducción en los grupos violentos bajo un gran proceso de enfrentamiento con los diferentes frentes lo que ha logrado debilitar sus fuerzas mediante la desmovilización. Las estadísticas indican que desde el 7 de agosto de 2002 hasta la actualidad se han registrado alrededor de 20.732 casos de desmovilización cuyos datos son revelados por el (Pahs) o programa de Atención Humanitaria al Desmovilizado. (Desmovilizados,2009) Por otro lado, se conoce que la reducción en los cultivos de hoja de coca, ya sea por fumigación o erradicación manual, fue de...

Words: 924 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Qerewrtery

...CHAPTER XIX : A LEADER OVERTAKEN The Katipunan was a Philippine revolutionary society founded by anti-Spanish Filipinos in Manila in 1892, whose primary aim was to gain independence from Spain through revolution. The society was initiated by Filipino patriots Andrés Bonifacio, Teodoro Plata, Ladislao Diwa, and others on the night of July 7, when Filipino writer José Rizal was to be banished to Dapitan. Initially, the Katipunan was a secret organization until its discovery in 1896 that led to the outbreak of the Philippine Revolution. Being a secret organization, its members were subjected to the utmost secrecy and were expected to abide with the rules established by the society. Aspirant applicants were given standard initiation rites to become members of the society. At first, membership in the Katipunan was only open to male Filipinos; later, women were accepted in the society. The Katipunan had its own publication, Kalayaan (Liberty) that had its first and last print on March 1896. Revolutionary ideals and works flourished within the society, and Philippine literature were expanded by some of its prominent members. In planning the revolution, Bonifacio contacted Rizal for his full-fledged support for the Katipunan in exchange for a promise of rescuing Rizal from his detainment. On May 1896, a delegation was sent to the Emperor of Japan to solicit funds and military arms. The Katipunan's existence was revealed to the Spanish authorities after a member named Teodoro Patiño...

Words: 4195 - Pages: 17

Premium Essay

Shortcut Methods of Multiplication

... If there is a need to place someone as national hero then who should we pick between those huge names? It is always said in many cultures that the pen is mightier than the sword, the blood of academic scholars are better than that blood of warriors, wars are not won in the battlefield, it’s pure politics. The name Jose Rizal and Andres Bonifacio are some of the well-known personalities that have been mentioned in the annals of Philippine history. The exemplary deeds that they had done for our country; in order to achieve freedom from the hands of the Spanish colonizers is worth to be remembered specially by the present generation. Indeed, their heroism is well done. Apparently, there are some students, faculty, leftist, writers, critics and even we perhaps questioned the credibility of Rizal when he got the title of being our “Philippine National Hero” why not Bonifacio which results to the existence of pro-Bonifacio and anti-Rizal or pro-Rizal and anti-Bonifacio. The comparison of these two personalities and made endless debate of who should be our national hero is much discussed in the environment of academe. Jose Rizal and Andres Bonifacio opted for different courses of action.  Rizal fought against the friars with the use of his pen. Bonifacio advocated for revolution. According to author Renato...

Words: 867 - Pages: 4

Free Essay

Managerial Analysis (Byp1-2)

...What are the primary information needs of each manager? Andre Agassi, Sales Manager: As the sales manager, Andre would be interested in the details surrounding sales. The overall sales data is the primary need and this data is found by looking at three distinct values: total sales, by territory, and per sales person. These details include information on the volume of sales comprehensively, quarterly and for the types of products. The numbers surrounding specific sales territories and level of sales in those territories will provide valuable information to Andre as well as the information on sales numbers for individual sales representatives. With sales increasing over the last 10 years, Andre would need to do a comparative analysis of the variety of products and look at sales volumes to specific customers. Serena Williams, Technical Specialist: As a technical specialist, Serena would be interested in the departmental cost data. Since she supervises computer programmers, there would be a need to have the cost information by looking at how many programmers there are and the individual cost as well as the total departmental costs and assisting in the management of these period costs. Additionally, the information needs of Serena surrounding the new implementation of the advanced manufacturing techniques would be the programming necessary to have the robot arms function effectively and efficiently. She would also need to be working with the engineering and design teams as the...

Words: 496 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Andres Bonifacio

...of ANDRES BONIFACIO (1863-1897) Was born on November 30, 1863, his parents Catalina de Castro and Santiago Bonifacio. The proud parents named the boy Andres, after St. Andrew the apostle, the patron saint of Manila. Andres had three brothers and two sisters. Their names were Ciriaco, Procopio, Esperidiona, Troadio, and Maxima. Young Andres learned to read and write alphabet in Tagalog and Spanish from CATON, or primer book, given to him by an aunt. Later he went to school in Meisic. His teacher was Guillermo Osmena, a schoolmaster from Cebu. At the age of 18, his mother died due to tuberculosis then his father a year later. Andres gave up his studies to work full time. At first he was a BODEGUERO (warehouse keeper) in a mosaic tile factory in Sta. mesa in Sampaloc. Later he got a job as a clerk. After that he bought tar and ties as an agent for the English firm of J.M. Fleming & Company in Binondo. Although he never finished high school, Andres Bonifacio was very Smart. He knew Spanish and spoke a little English, which he learned while working for the Fleming Company. He read foreign novels, as well as books about the French Revolution, politics, law, and religion. Books opened his mind to new worlds. Andres learned that common people had right and that freedom was a valuable to have. The Philippines had been a colony ruled by Spain since the sixteenth century. But the Filipino people did not have the same rights as the Spaniards. Inspired by new Ideas, Andres began...

Words: 1275 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Comparing The Giant Triplet For Dr. King And Esayande

...The Giant Triplet for Dr. King and Ewuare X Osayande is a collage by artist Theodore A. Harris in 2008. In his artwork he uses mixed media, I’m assuming its magazine cut outs and oil paint. In my opinion the subject of this artwork is the upside down Capitol Building located in the center of the three panels. This artwork is collage that is spread across three panels with a background that moves you across the piece. Harris also makes the panels move by making the left and right panels focal point at the bottom and the center panel on the top half of the piece. I believe his painting expresses how capitalism and war suppress people. In this work of art the background of the three panels is what ties them together by fading from a black on the left to a red-orange gradient on the right. In the left panel, the Lincoln Memorial is taking up the bottom half of the panel. In the top center above the Lincoln Memorial is a pair of chained feet. The focal point in this panel is Abe Lincoln, due to his size and his coloring. In the center panel the Capitol Building is placed upside down in the dead center of the artwork. Above the Capitol Building there are fighter jets dropping bombs onto dead soldiers legs with a automatic weapon on top of them that are located below it. To the left of the fighter jets is a spanish article clipping. The focal point in the center panel is in my opinion the focal point of the entire piece which is the upside down capital building in the direct center....

Words: 534 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Comparison Of Howl's Flying Town, And Roy Nachum Unknown

...My theme is surrealism, but none of my artworks are really directly related. I looked into mixing surrealism with expressionism because I like both styles, but they don’t really mix so I went with surrealism. After long deliberation I finally decided on surrealism, once I did it was hard to find works that were not only visually striking to me, but also correlated. So I choose these works mostly based on my liking of them. My chosen works and artists are Salvador Dali Woman with a Head of Roses, Jacek Yerka Flying Town, and Roy Nachum Unknown. When looking at Jacek Yerka’s Flying Town my immediate thought is Howl’s moving castle. Obviously, this is an entire town not just a castle, but the resemblance is uncanny. The most visually striking part of the painting is that the town goes from nice and bright to dark and decaying. The only real subject in this work is the town as the rest of the painting is just landscape. The town portrays movement as it looks as though it’s being pulled upward and being ripped apart from the back forward. In a similar fashion, the most obvious line of the painting is also the town and how it’s angled upward. In the bottom of the painting you can kind of see lines of what looks like the town’s main road when you enter. However, this bit about the painting looks rather off because if you were to sit the town down it would go on top of trees and a river which shouldn’t be there if a town were truly there, but this is a surrealist painting, not a realistic...

Words: 1057 - Pages: 5