Option 1: In the 19th century, the camera was a revolutionary invention, and many artists were concerned about the effect that photographs would have on the art world.
The invention of the camera has had a profound impact on the arts. It transformed the way artists thought about representation, composition, and subject matter. Some artists viewed photography as a threat to traditional art forms, such as painting and sculpture, while others embraced it as a new tool for creative expression.
One artistic movement that was heavily influenced by the camera was Impressionism. Impressionist painters sought to capture the fleeting effects of light and atmosphere, and photography helped them achieve this goal. By the late 19th century, handheld cameras became more widely available, and Impressionist painters began using photography to capture candid moments and fleeting impressions. For example, Claude Monet, one of the most famous Impressionist painters, used photographs as references for his paintings of water lilies and the Rouen Cathedral.
According to contemporary photographer Stephen Shore, “Photography has had an enormous impact on painting and other visual arts, not just in terms of image-making but in terms of what we expect from art. Photography helped to establish a more objective way of looking at the world, and artists had to respond to that challenge.”
While the camera did change the arts, it did not replace traditional art forms. Instead, it opened up new avenues for creative expression and influenced artists to experiment with new techniques and subject matter. The camera also had a democratizing effect on art by making it more accessible to a wider audience.
Reference: Shore, S. (2017). The Nature of Photographs. Phaidon Press.