He was raised in Atlantic City, NJ and later in Miami Beach, FL, so his nationality is American. He earned a scholarship to the University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL from 1936 to 1938. In 1945 he got his first exhibit in a museum at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Due to the success in his museum exhibit, he moved to New York in 1946 to start a photography studio and joined the American Society of Magazine Photographers. He published his first book 1967, and many more afterwards.
Style
Arnold Newman is widely known for his popularization of a new photography style called “environmental portraiture”. A majority of his works are taken in black and white except for maybe 10%, and this could be because there weren’t many color cameras at his time, or because he just liked the dramatic effect that comes with black and white. He often took photos of people doing everyday things, such as working and just hanging out. He always captured the real essence of the people he photographed and their emotions seem to be so obvious in every one of his photos. If his style had to be compared to a painting style it would probably be photorealism because in that painting style the paintings look like real life, and he doesn’t put any filters to make his photos look unrealistic.
Philosophy
One of his quotes was “You don’t take pictures with your camera. You take pictures with your mind and heart.”. I think that this means that he really believed in being involved in his photos and not just tapping the button to take a random photo. One of his main focuses was to make an idealized photo of his subject, to make them look nicer than they are in their current circumstances. He did have one instance though, where he shot in menacing lighting to make his subject look evil and unappealing because he was an arms manufacturer, which he obviously disagreed with. Arnold was an overall happy guy and he put that mindset into all of the photos he took. There is a story that one of his friends told after he passed away that he didn’t want to spend his last day in the hospital, so they went on a car ride together and just enjoyed the day.
Influences
He started off by being interested in painting and great painters like Pablo Picasso, but then found a path to photography and that’s what he has done ever since college. In his first exhibit in a Manhattan gallery, he met some of his biggest influences in photography, including Alfred Stieglitz and Ansel Adams. He also always made sure that people knew that he had a real interest in his subjects and that could’ve been influenced by many other people in his life, possibly doubting him. He has influenced me in my photography work by showing that you can take a picture of just anything, but there has to be a deeper meaning behind it, which he does in all of his works. Another big takeaway from his photos for me is that he captures the emotions of people really well and I want to learn how to make it look so natural like he does.
Compare and Contrast
"Self Portrait" -Arnold Newman
"Selfie"
This photo took me the longest to shoot because I kept looking the wrong direction and not having the camera in the right spot. I improvised and found the only hat I have and put it on for this photo. It's not as perfect as it could be, just because I don't have a mirror that looks like his or a hat that looks like his. In photoshop I put the black and white adjustment, brightness, contrast, and curves to make the colors match the original as closely as possible, and the grain filter. I feel like this photo came out pretty well considering how different times were when the original was taken and now.
"Through the Window on 12th Street" -Arnold Newman
"Through the Window on Nature Road"
I took this photo in an area with more trees compared to the building in the original photo because I didn't have any other window that matched the exact view. I think it is a good contrast with the original, but matches it the perfect amount because it shows the differences of an urban area versus a more nature filled area. I edited these in photoshop with brightness, contrast, and curves, along with the black and white adjustment. I think I actually like my photo more because it's not just staring at a building, but that could be because I put time into the one I took and I don't know how much time he put into his. Overall, i really like this piece, and I think that it is a good recreation of Newman's original.
"Augusta" - Arnold Newman
"Laura"
This was the final replica that I did of Newman's photos, and I think it turned out pretty well. This is a photo of my mom, and I had her do the same pose as "Augusta" on a wall similar to the one in the original. I edited this in PhotoShop with rightness, contrast, curves, and the black and white adjustment. I also cropped out her legs and to the right of her so that the framing was accurate. A couple struggles I had taking this photo was taking town the hammock that was previously on the wall and also as soon as I took the photo it started pouring, so that made the whole experience a little less enjoyable, but I think the final product turned out pretty well.
Artist Statement I enjoyed recreating some of Newman's greatest pictures because of the whole process around it. I took about 15 photos on each piece to get the perfect photo that matched the original as well as possible. The first photo represents the difference between times a while ago and present times, and how much things can change. The second piece represents the difference between being in a more urban area versus an area with more nature. The final picture I just really tried to recreate the original as accurately as I could.