Photography, an art that seems to be the face of Modernism, existed before many of the inventions we consider staples of the modern age. While there were prototypes of the automobile that predate the daguerreotype, which became publicly available in 1839, large-scale manufacturing of affordable cars was not in effect until 1901. Therefore, twentieth-century photographers had the privilege of documenting the transition from beasts of burden to motorized vehicle. Russian photographer Dmitry Baltermants captured the intersection of the two in his iconic images of World War II when vehicles dominated but officers still entered battle scenes on horseback.
Inspecting the German Losses on the Outskirts of Odessa (1944)
gelatin silver print
Dmitry Baltermants
Route 90, Alabama (1964)
gelatin silver print
Danny Lyon
Women on donkeys (film strip montage)
gelatin silver print
Danny Lyon
Croix des Bossales (The Slave Market), Port-au-Prince (1983-1986)
gelatin silver print
Danny Lyon
A Broadman's Cottage (1886)
platinum print from a glass negative
Peter Henry Emerson
Farmer with Bullocks, India (1943)
gelatin silver print
William Witt
Access to Carter Bridge, the Main Roadway to Lagos, Nigeria (1959-64)
gelatin silver print
Ken Heyman
Downed German Plane, Breslau (1945)
gelatin silver print
Dmitry Baltermants
Migrant to Oregon from South Dakota (1936)
gelatin silver print
Arthur Rothstein
--Katie O’Hara, University Art Collection Curatorial Intern and Graduate Student in Art and Museum Studies (Fall 2018)