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How a Dancer Raised to Believe Dance was a Sin Revolutionized the Artform
Every field has its revolutionaries – dance is no different.
02 November, 2016
Martha Graham, 1919. Image: Picryl
Martha Graham, along with Doris Humphrey, Charles Weidman, Hanya Holm, has been recognized a one of the 'big four' founders of American modern dance. For 70 years she dedicated her life to the art form, first as a performer and later as a choreographer. She ran a dance company and received numerous awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and National Medal of Arts. In 2015, Graham was posthumously inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame.
<p>Life threw her a curve ball early on: Graham was born into a religious family where dance was viewed as a sin – but she still found her way to it when she attended the performance of famous dancer Ruth Saint Denis. It was a day that changed her life. Since then Graham aspired to be a dancer. In 1913, she was allowed to enroll in the Cumnock School of Expression, an experimental college in Los Angeles. In following years, she studied at the Denishawn School; that was founded by Ruth Saint Denis and Ted Shawn.</p> <p>At the beginning of the 20th century, dance belonged to entertainment; it was part of vaudevilles, fancy shows, and balls. Only a ballet had the status of high art. Graham did not want to be seen as a cabaret girl – she was an artist.</p> <p>Gender stereotypes of the time implied that men were cerebral, and women were emotional. Therefore, in dance, men express themselves by inching and straight movements, while women swayed in a smooth motion, following curved trajectories. Graham broke this delineation, and stated that she did "not want to be a tree, a flower or a wave." In her dance, she withdrew from the standard view of femininity. She made her characters impersonal, strong, and even masculine. The movements based on the opposition between contraction and release were coined 'Graham technique', and now that technique is taught worldwide.</p> <p>See the full collection of <a href="https://picryl.com/collections/martha-graham" target="_blank">Martha Graham images on Picryl</a>, the largest public domain search engine.</p> <p><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xODQwODcyNi9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1MTcyNjExM30.leiY9LBRc7ukGYVKxRy04NSu8bSAwV29T7lqyoK7NzQ/img.jpg?width=980" id="a1177" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="16303ba0bcdaf80bca534956ae4b78c6" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image"></p> <p><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xODQwODcyNy9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYwMjE5NTI3OH0.F2fXMgTteNVkmzhy2DHpxw0RPFWWazifOszeiaVe96I/img.jpg?width=980" id="c2505" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="b71eb9a643909137da092c7d465bf79e" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image"></p> <p><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xODQwODcyOC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTU5OTU1MDAxNX0.HWd2VePh01tYx19T6fA5kcI59yjSDulfqiHQVZKdEGY/img.jpg?width=980" id="632b9" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="6ce46c728c0d7472a47c510a7183112d" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image"></p> <p><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xODQwODcyOS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTU5ODAwNzg4OH0.r7omHq3DU6V0e7WjsUbXf9udzZZT_38EFB5-jwQZTeQ/img.jpg?width=980" id="10cd1" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="6e6c783849a56c459dcb9c00883bb5ad" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image"></p>
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See Images By America's First War Photographer
Who was the father of American photojournalism? Here's a look at the Civil War work of Mathew Brady.
13 October, 2016
Confederate prisoners awaiting transportation, Belle Plain, Va, 1865. (Image: Picryl)
Despite the limits of early picture-taking technology, in the 1840s photography had become a popular art form and a profitable business.
<p>Back then, portrait photography was tedious; it required a very brightly lit scene, and a patient model that was able to sit still under that scorching light (which, disturbingly, is the very same reason post-mortem photography was so popular in the Victorian era).</p> <p>In the United States in the 19th century, people preferred the living, and the desire to preserve an image of a loved one captivated the masses. A New York photographer, Mathew Brady, caught onto that need and in 1856 he published an ad in <em>The New York Daily Tribune</em> that stated: “You cannot tell how soon it may be too late”, and suggested people commission photographic portraits of their loved ones while it was still possible. With the start of Civil War in 1861, it became more relevant than ever. Thousands of soldiers and their families were ready to pay about one dollar for a tintype photograph (nowadays that amount is equal to nearly $30). Brady even had a special offer for celebrities: he did not charge a fee for portraits of politicians, generals, and actors – but he did use them as marketing tools to bolster his profile and build his brand.</p> <p>As the country's political climate boiled, Brady decided he had to document the Civil War itself. Due to the technological restrictions of his time, he could make photographs only before and after a battle, but thanks to his efforts, historians have gleaned a lot of information about the Civil War from those pictures. Brady was the father of American war photography and the first to captured war scenes right in the army camps.</p> <p>As the war progressed and his ambitions grew, he took on a few employees and for each of them he bought a mobile darkroom. All his photos, as well as all the works of his employees, were credited “by Brady.” This photography team followed the armies through victory and defeat and recorded an impressive and harrowing photographic history of the American Civil War.</p> <p>To see the full collection of Mathew Brady's photographs, which are now in the public domain, head to <a href="https://picryl.com/collections/mathew-brady-photographer-of-us-civil-war" target="_blank">Picryl</a>.</p> <p><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xODQwODQ3OC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0MDk2ODY5NX0.VeMDNr2AFhNQPi_b94meZyJ3ApMMt91L-vgyBQzxcZY/img.jpg?width=980" id="15ed4" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="d2af597786f68f9b0270ef668a2bc044" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image"><br><em>"Atlanta" (Confederate Ram) on James River after capture, 1865</em></p> <p><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xODQwODQ3OS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYwNTM0OTc4NH0.ArEAdDkk7EGzECZMu2nkz6DEx5-JsaZLMR5yxojfitk/img.jpg?width=980" id="40edf" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="3aced59d6e56ce71ac79f0b5c7febb74" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image"><br><em>Camp of 28th Wisconsin, 1865</em></p> <p><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xODYwNjM5Mi9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0OTkxNjUwMH0.Y8pcfAvMP0Bs5IopPe_PBTZz267EDH1j41Af5hJIp-A/img.jpg?width=980" id="abad4" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="82bcf66ee5f4a259e7eb7013ab08e3d6" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image"><br><em>Camp scene, ladies in camp, 1860</em></p> <p><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xODQwODQ4MC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTU5ODk0NDgyOH0.hUv43xCaCwYf6FVk0eSzMFEP5nPkDCdYF0Y3MVoChDc/img.jpg?width=980" id="7520d" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="4b879e9d14b4a36785c432d0373d372e" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image"><br><em>General Porter, plus others, 1865</em></p> <p><em><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xODQwODQ4MS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1NjI4MjQ1MX0.LcpQeXT87lvmUIb0Qp5gVFEZ9zL7pkeMR4uUcDK0ICM/img.jpg?width=980" id="b9ffc" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="e532fd700fe84b44bf31b96774b25ead" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image"><br></em><em>View from Lookout Mountain, Tenn, 1865</em></p>
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How Ancient Greece and Rome (But Definitely Not Britain) Inspired American Architecture
Wake up and smell the independence. Thomas Jefferson urged 18th century Americans to think of themselves not as colonial Englishmen, but as a new culture. To that end, he used architecture to serve as a visual reminder of America's proud new direction.
03 August, 2016
1979. U.S. Capitol dome, Washington, D.C.
The United States was a brand-new country in the 18th century. A country that had just fought for independence and won it. Across the ocean in Europe, that same century was the Age of Enlightenment, the Age of Reason. Liberty, progress, tolerance, fraternity, and constitution reigned with a thick French accent.
<p>Benjamin Franklin arrived in Paris as America's first ambassador in December 1776. In Europe, everything from art and religion to science and mathematics was questioned. The architecture was no exception. When Franklin arrived, Paris was not the "city of light" of later years but a city of poverty, with narrow, crooked streets, and open sewers running down the middle. At the palace of Versailles, King Louis XVI and his queen, Marie Antoinette, presided over a world of luxury. When Franklin went home in 1785, America's new ambassador to France arrived. His name was Thomas Jefferson, and he would later be the one translating Enlightenment ideas into new American architecture.</p> <p>Jefferson knew very well that in language, religion, and in temperament, American colonists were not much different to the English. However, the founding fathers envisioned a country with a unique path, a new culture that would be entirely its own. Jefferson aimed to make people think of themselves as Americans, not as colonial Englishmen. He advocated for a new measuring system, a new currency, a new State and a different shape of things to come. Significantly, he made the new American architecture his artistic declaration of independence.</p> <p>Rococo buildings dominated Europe at his time, but since childhood, Jefferson was inspired by symmetry, clean lines, and the mathematical precision of Greek and Roman buildings. Jefferson was under the influence of Andrea Palladio, Julien David Le Roy, Roland Fréart, and Antoine <span>Desgodetz</span>. Because of Jefferson’s aesthetic taste, classical structures of antiquity became a basis for new kind of American architecture that we now call "Jeffersonian architecture". It is embodied in the design of Jefferson's homes, Monticello and Poplar Forest; the University of Virginia, which he founded; and designs he created for the homes of his friends and political allies.</p> <p>Over a dozen private homes bearing his personal stamp still stand today. Even after Jefferson's style went out of vogue it continued to have an influence on building designs on the East Coast until the mid-20th century.</p> <p>The photographic collection <a href="https://picryl.com/collections/early-american-architecture-jefferson/" target="_blank">'Age of Reason of American Architecture'</a> was created by <a href="https://picryl.com" target="_blank">Picryl</a>, the largest public domain media search engine. See more images of Jeffersonian architecture at <a href="https://picryl.com/collections/early-american-architecture-jefferson/" target="_blank">Picryl</a>. </p> <p><strong>1991. The Jefferson Memorial and members of the the 1ST Helicopter Squadron.</strong></p> <p><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xODQwNzY3Ny9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1MzU1NDg3MH0.ljdAS9wu6YDxSujgAw4iqxzvy1ETbv5-uKCoe46zFhM/img.jpg?width=980" id="8649a" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="1dfbffe9d4b4a4ff9d019020f2ae6b5a" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image"></p> <p><strong>1979. Aerial view from above the U.S. Capitol, looking west along the National Mall, Washington, D.C.</strong></p> <p><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xODQwNzY3OC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYwMDI2Mjg1NX0.WQWlB7TD06MppLiNdCY_vs3jR3aLAzjIq3Y0Pgs24_o/img.jpg?width=980" id="3e2e5" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="11490c1d80f6a84855faa18211c764a5" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image"></p> <p><strong>1916. Saint Louis Gateway Arch (originally Jefferson National Expansion Memorial), Saint Louis, Missouri.</strong></p> <p><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xODQwNzY3OS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0ODE1MTk3Nn0.zFs5t4sIRb35qRGrZoFFh7m1Rvvqhyn3ih0GRde6X-s/img.jpg?width=980" id="37af9" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="0bcdcfddb1b7dd4fe0d71b80ae0922fd" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image"></p> <p><strong>2006. View of approaches from the west façade of the Jefferson Building. Library of Congress Thomas </strong><strong>Jefferson Building, Washington, D.C.</strong></p> <p><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xODQwNzY4MC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0MTI4NzQzNn0.is5BkKPWULm98OG22EpdX5fkvYcJAoIMpMMvbBV3t48/img.jpg?width=980" id="7ad5f" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="e0208a7ff6528ffb62261be54ef4b442" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image"></p> <p><strong>Northwest Corridor, First Floor. Mural depicting the muse Melpomene (Tragedy), by Edward Simmons. Library of Congress Thomas Jefferson Building, Washington, D.C.</strong></p> <p><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xODQwNzY4MS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTU5NjIyMDI1OX0.Hi7vr8C4lIC3fVbHr3pTP_bwiluS0dp8bWqWKuHqjrg/img.jpg?width=980" id="e7652" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="2d5919ec0c77cf128d6bfff9751fba54" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image"></p> <p><strong>2006. Great Hall in Thomas Jefferson building, Washington, D.C. Detail of cherubs representing the literary genres on the Grand staircase by Philip Martiny.</strong></p> <p><strong><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xODQwNzY4Mi9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyOTY5MDc3MX0.F8aa3GNAcspNuRG-Am_yVI8VwYIhFo-n8Yr-ppflA0I/img.jpg?width=980" id="a490c" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="69cfb975b0e12036748ee630ab9d685d" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image"></strong></p> <p><strong>1979. Hallway, U.S. Capitol, Washington, D.C.</strong></p> <p><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xODQwNzY4My9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyMTE1NzYyOH0.CMeD-8uLqxIGn4jzA5Y5h4AB4lAhT_6_rSNGt292q6o/img.jpg?width=980" id="1b1ac" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="7603738202d99ab3403c0cbf26eeaff6" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image"></p> <p><strong>1979. Cove inside the Library of Congress Thomas Jefferson Building, Washington, D.C.</strong></p> <p><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xODQwNzY4NC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1MzYzNzQ5MX0.fuDw01-tv8iDRvI0CuEbw9X4qqu9-Ugc4KcLp1XcFR8/img.jpg?width=980" id="27c5c" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="8656753b2761a5af3d111b59d7a929f3" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image"></p>
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