Photoshop and the subversion of truth
Photoshop has been manipulating images so long and with such creative intensity that the 'Photoshop' noun has become a verb of common usage even among those who've never used the tool. To 'Photoshop' something or to refer to something being 'Photoshoped' are testament of a tool and a process deeply embed in our digital culture.
This tool, that began life as a system for generating title cards for television, continues to evolve and now with CS3 and extended functions for animation, rotoscoping, working with video and even 3D, the 'photo' in the title has largely become a legacy symbol and not a true reflective moniker of the tool.
None the less the creative and cultural impact of Photoshop has been massively profound in re-defining the broad expectations of the image in the digital age. Where once the photographic image was the very definition of truth and factual representation we now very much live in an age where the image is popularly regarded with innate scepticism and a pre-set of accepted manipulation. And this 180 degree shift can be largely attributed not just to the evolution from celluloid to digital but more specifically to the direct impact of Photoshop as a means of manipulation.
The website for
www.iwanexstudio.com provides a fantastic way to see the power of Photoshop and the manipulation of the image. (select PORTFOLIO and click a face) Here portrait photos of celebrities and the beautiful people are shown in natural before and 'Photoshopped' after. The effects are, as you would expect, profound to say the least.
You'll never look at a fashion magazine the same way again.
Along with what Photoshop can do and the cultural/creative aesthetic it begat, the history of Photoshop as a tool is also facinating -
as per this article from Computer Arts, although the image below pretty much distills the story down to a bite sized chunk. :)
Posted at 01:00AM Sep 23, 2007
by Mike Jones in general |
