American Photography

• Daily News was the first newspaper to sell itself on the basis of pictures
• pictures are used to attract attention (cover)
• in photography, and life, fantasy is always more interesting than the truth
• 1920s---photographs began taking the place of drawings and the public responded in a positive was as they believed the photographs were completely true; not just drawn
• photography was used to turn boring objects into objects of desire
• the media celebrity---photography added a new element to fame
• sports stars became superstars---Babe Ruth was the first person to have his picture sold as a commodity; as a celebrity he made millions
• photographs help humans place themselves in cosmic times; Pluto and other planets were first seen through photographs
• people were able to draw what they thought was on Mars simply by looking at photograhps and drawing what they saw
• what the human eye sees doesn't compare to what you can grab through a photograph; it has enabled our five senses to be broadened and expanded
• photographs began to influence every aspect of American life; they traveled around the world over telephone lines and picture magazines unified the world---"The Golden Age of photography was about to begin!"