The Impact of Cinema on late 20th and early 21st Century Photography

 
 
 
After the invention of photography, followed by the birth of cinema, both arts experienced growth and evolution over less than a century. The techniques and themes guiding cinema emerged. This new art form surpassed other arts in attracting audiences and gradually became the most influential art of its time. Cinema was not only indebted to photography but also to literature, painting, theater, and music. However, the direct connection between photography and cinema through recorded images made the interaction between the two more prominent than with other arts. Additionally, contemporary intellectual movements that coincided with the birth of cinema created unique theoretical discussions, leading to the development of photography and film theories.
This study aims to demonstrate the influence of cinema on contemporary photography and to explore why this influence occurs, utilizing theoretical studies conducted in this field through descriptive analysis of written and visual sources, with an emphasis on the views of thinkers such as Walter Benjamin, particularly in his essay The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, Henri Cartier-Bresson and his theory of The Decisive Moment, as well as more recent theories such as Gilles Deleuze's The Time-Image. Intellectual movements appear to have shifted the influence of cinema on the arts, redirecting it toward cinema's impact on other art forms. At the beginning of the 21st century, following the intellectual developments of the late 20th century, cinema's trace is evident in photography. Examining these developments, factors such as time, stillness, framing, movement, continuity, and sequence reveal that a new visual language has been established in both cinema and photography. By observing the earliest cinematic works following the invention and emergence of cinema, one can discern the role of photography in this new form of artistic expression, both in the technical aspects of cinema's creation and in the themes presented in films.
Many filmmakers have created films influenced by individual photographs or collections of photographs by renowned photographers. John Ford, for instance, developed the unique mise-en-scène of his films under the influence of Edward Curtis's collection of American photographs. Filmmakers such as Stanley Kubrick, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, and Abbas Kiarostami are notable for integrating photographic elements into their cinematic works. Conversely, with the evolution of photography tools from analog to digital, the methods of creating photographs have also transformed, resulting in a diverse range of photographic styles that have been significantly affected. These changes evoke connections to Cindy Sherman’s work, as many artists incorporate cinematic concepts as a structural framework and utilize photography as a new medium. Meanwhile, certain works have transcended mere documentation of reality and seem to approach cinema more closely than other media in their search for novel forms of artistic expression, as seen in the works of Hiroshi Sugimoto and Denis Darzacq. This raises the question: Are these influences one-directional, or is there a two-way interaction between cinema and photography? If such an interaction exists, which ideas have shaped and expanded it? Furthermore, in light of cinema's influence on photography, what vision can be anticipated for the future of both media in the 21st century? This research aims to address these questions by drawing on new schools of thought and analyzing contemporary visual arts. Answering these questions will ultimately clarify the main goal of this study, which is to identify the reasons behind the influence of cinema on contemporary photography. This research employs descriptive and analytical methods to examine how cinema and photography interact and how their new forms emerged at the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century. To achieve this, the study focuses particularly on the works of photographers and cinematographers after 1980, using both written sources from libraries and image resources from various archives. The selection of artists and works has been conducted through non-random, purposeful sampling. In discussing the interaction between photography and cinema, the period from 1980 to the present is considered, focusing on the ideas that have had the greatest impact on significant shared elements such as time, stillness, framing, movement, continuity, and sequence. These elements have contributed to establishing a new form of visual language in both cinema and photography. David Bordwell, a noted cinema author and researcher, asserts that philosophical and structuralist approaches cannot be simultaneously applied in cinema studies. Although this research provides a suitable context for post-structuralist analysis, a philosophical approach is chosen to allow for a broader exploration and the incorporation of various theories. Theories such as Henri Cartier-Bresson's The Decisive Moment, Gilles Deleuze's Time-Image, and Dudley Andrew's collection of contemporary theories are pivotal in understanding the influence of cinema on photography. It is important to note that the roots of this perspective in photography—and subsequently in cinema—are significantly influenced by Walter Benjamin's ideas, particularly following the publication of his essay The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. In this essay, Benjamin argues that technical reproduction holds value for two main reasons. Firstly, the reproduced work gains independence from the original; he provides the example of photography, where aspects of the original can be captured by the lens in ways that human vision alone cannot achieve, such as through zooming and angle discovery. Secondly, Benjamin notes that a reproduced work can sometimes surpass the original in terms of its condition. In his A Short History of Photography, he highlights how photography can reveal angles that are not apparent when viewing the original piece, exemplified by architectural photography. In What is Cinema? (2010), Dudley Andrew expresses his concern over the transformation brought about by the shift from analog to digital, fearing the loss of the film’s unique characteristics. He suggests that film is no longer merely a modern medium but embodies modernity itself and has become entirely historical. Deleuze made significant contributions to cinema theory through his works Cinema 1 and Cinema 2. Unlike the dominant theories of cinema before 1980—namely, the realist and phenomenological approaches (the latter of which emphasizes subjective perception as a reference model, based on André Bazin’s ideas) and the linguistic approach (which equates images with forms of expression, as seen in Christian Metz's psychological analysis)—Deleuze uncovers the essence of cinema and articulates the unique state in which cinema can reflect on images as independent entities. In Image-Movement, Deleuze examines the relationship between montage and the shot, as well as the connection between cinema and narrative. In Image-Time, he explores the leap in post-war cinema and the break between classical and modern cinema. Deleuze, in his analysis of image movements, emphasizes the equality of movement and light, considering images as perceptions independent of the human gaze. He views perception as conscious only when it retains the useful aspects of objects and conscious perception is linked to action. He observes that classical cinema (including both the Soviet Union and Europe) is structured around the link between perception and action. When this link is broken and perception becomes associated with images of time and thought, the shift from classical to modern cinema occurs, exemplified by Italian Neorealism and the French New Wave. Deleuze uses these points to connect Bergson's philosophy to cinema, asserting that, after this rupture, cinema becomes about "seeing to see" rather than "seeing to act." Time and movement are distinguishing features that separate cinema from photography. However, their use in contemporary photography has transformed its nature, making it distinct from traditional photography. While it might seem that movement and time are characteristics that differentiate cinema and photography, later theories, such as Deleuze's, propose that movement and action no longer define time and space. Deleuze considers time as independent and absolute, not subordinate to movement. He believes that, in cinema, time is layered over scenes and characters, diminishing the significance of recording natural movement. Modern cinema, influenced by these theories, has evolved to perceive time as more than just recorded duration. Although time is often seen as an element uniquely belonging to cinema, photography during this period also developed in a way that treated time as incidental. This notion manifests in photography through stillness, or the suspension of time. Beyond the concept of time, examining other characteristics shaped by cinema—such as framing, storytelling, and narration—helps explain why cinema has influenced contemporary photography.