Metropolitan Museum Takes A Look Back at the History of Photo Manipulation

The Metropolitan Museum of Art previewed “Faking It: Manipulated Photography Before Photoshop”, an exhibit that examines the history of photo doctoring before digital photography.

The collection features over 200 photographs from the 1840s to the 1990s; around 60 of these photos will be display in the Met’s Galleries for Drawings, Prints and Photographs from October 11^th, 2012 until January 27^th, 2013.

“In the 1840s, photographs were reality – people considered them magical images created by the light of the sun,” said showcase organizer Mia Fineman, “There have been various phases of how people look at photographs in their relation to the truth.”

In an effort to capture these phases, the exhibit is divided into seven sections, each one exploring a different type of photo tweaking.

The earlier works, in the section “Picture Perfect”, feature photographers adjusting technical aspects such as lighting or color, learning the tools of a new technology rather than trying to distort reality.

Moving forward in time, the manipulations become more familiar. The section entitled “Politics and Persuasion” features faked photos that were used as propaganda during historical periods. It includes a faked photograph of the Paris Commune massacre, manipulated to place famous generals in front of a firing squad.

The section entitled “Pictures in Print” showcases photographs that have been manipulated by newspapers and advertisers.  It includes doctored photographs of atomic bombs being dropped and prisoners executed by electric chair, images which were impossible for journalists to photograph.

One of the memorable photos in this section is of Elvis Presley, taken right after he was drafted, manipulated to make it seem like he had an army style buzz cut when in fact his iconic locks were still intact.

Other photos in the showcase had less of an agenda, such as the ones in “Novelties and Amusements”, where men held their own severed heads and ghosts were placed in everyday scenes.  

Also on display at the Met is “After Photoshop: Manipulated Photography in the Digital Age”, an addendum to “Faking it” that will be on display from September 25^th, 2012 to May 27^th, 2013.