History of Photography — Module 10: From Universalism to Cultural Relativism, 1945–1975
Throughout the mid-twentieth century, between 1945 and 1975, global photography underwent a profound shift from the universalist social realism embodied by Edward Steichen’s 1955 exhibition, "The Family of Man," to a deeply focused embrace of cultural relativism. While Steichen deliberately homogenized images to emphasize a common humanity against Cold War anxieties, international photographers increasingly rejected this sweeping narrative, which many equated directly with American imperial aspirations. Instead, post-war and post-colonial photographers emphatically documented distinct regional histories, indigenous vitality, and political resistance. By photographing marginalized communities, oppressive regimes, and the deep scars of war, practitioners globally forged distinctive, culturally specific visual identities.
The Flaw of Photographic Universalism
"The Family of Man" (1955): Edward Steichen’s MoMA exhibition aimed to highlight the "essential oneness of mankind" to soothe public fears of the Cold War and nuclear annihilation.
Homogenization of Context: To achieve universal harmony, Steichen purposefully stripped photographs of their original titles, cropped them, and removed images that showed strong political or cultural differences.
The Backlash: Critics, notably Roland Barthes, argued this forced universalism suppressed the determining weight of history and equated the idea of a global "community" with American imperial aspirations.
Rise of Cultural Relativism
A New Philosophical Focus: Cultural relativism asserted that human values are not universally the same, but emerge instead from dissimilar, specific cultural experiences.
Resistance to Americanization: Photographers around the world rejected the overarching "American Way of Life," harboring resentment against perceived cultural imperialism and focusing instead on forging distinct regional identities.
Shifting the Lens to the Marginalized
Indigenous Populations: Photographers shifted from viewing indigenous groups as "vanishing peoples" to venerating their spiritual and ethical values. Claudia Andujar vividly documented the vitality of the Yanomami people in Brazil, framing the destruction of their habitat as a moral deficiency of the invading culture.
Victims of Discrimination: In South Africa, photographers like Ernest Cole (House of Bondage) and Peter Magubane operated under severe risk to document life under apartheid, using photography as a tool for political resistance.
People with Mental Challenges: Photographers turned toward other unassimilated groups, such as Sara Facio and Alicia D'Amico documenting the harsh realities of a state-run mental institution in Argentina.
Documenting National History
and Post-War Trauma
Japan and the Atomic Scars: Japanese photographers focused heavily on the physical and psychic trauma of the atomic bomb, pushing back against traditional aesthetic rules.
Shomei Tomatsu created subjective, expressionistic images of bomb-induced scars and recovery in Nagasaki.
Eikoh Hosoe used ancient Japanese myths in his series Kamaitachi to visually narrate the anxiety of the nuclear blast and creeping American influence.
African Independence and Identity: Seydou Keïta infused the Western portrait with African qualities, creating lively images of modern town life that contrasted sharply with European anthropological photography. Meanwhile, Ricardo Rangel shot images aligned with the struggle for independence in Mozambique.
Indian History and Regionalism: Photojournalists like Sunil Janah chronicled major transitions like the 1943–44 famine and India's independence, while Raghubir Singh used color photography to explore the distinct regional characteristics of the country.
That shift from a single universal standard to distinct cultural visual identities defines global fashion photography today. scottparkerphoto.com/fashion.
Module 11:
Cold War Photography, Street Photography, and the Rise of Color