Throughout history, art has been a powerful tool for storytelling and self-expression. It can give voice to the voiceless, shine a light on social injustice, and capture the beauty and wonder of the world around us. Art is an important part of our world. It can make us feel more emotions than we ever thought possible. It can make us think about things in new and different ways. It can even help us to understand other cultures better.
World Art Day is a day to celebrate and encourage the power of art in our lives. On this wonderful day, it is a great opportunity to explore all the different forms of art that exist in the world. Let’s take some time to appreciate the beauty of photography, and all the different ways that it can be used to capture the world around us.
We presented in the previous weeks some of the most influential and powerful photographers in the world. These artists have used their photos to educate, inform, and change how we see the world.
If you missed out on all of these for the first time, we’ve rounded them up for you, and you’ll find the full list of them below. Click on the links for each, and you’ll see the short blurb with the introduction of each blog we published for our World’s Famous Photographers series.
In addition, here’s a free lesson plan that goes along with this series which outlines a presentation project you can use in your class. Click the button below and enter your email! (You can also click here to purchase the full unit, which includes all the worksheets with keys, project outlines, grade sheets, review and test key, a full presentation, examples, and more.)
World Famous Photographers: Hiroshi Sugimoto Creates Sensational Lightning Photography
Hiroshi Sugimoto is a Japanese photographer and architect who is the director of New Material Research Laboratory, a Tokyo-based architectural business. He was born on February 23, 1948 in Tokyo, Japan. He is heavily influenced by the Dadaist and Surrealist movements in general, as well as Marcel Duchamp’s writings and works. Additionally, he has demonstrated a keen interest in late twentieth-century modern architecture.
World Famous Photographers: Candid Photography with Jacques-Henri Lartigue
Jacques-Henri Lartigue, or Jacques-Henri-Charles-Auguste Lartigue, was born on June 13, 1894 in Courbevoie, France, near Paris. He is a painter and photographer best known for the spontaneous and joyful photographs he took as a youngster and throughout his life.
World Famous Photographers: Unique Contemporary Photos with Loretta Lux
Loretta Lux was born in Dresden, East Germany. She moved to Munich from East Germany in 1989, just a few months before the Berlin Wall fell. She attended the Akademie der Bildenden Künste in Munich from 1990 to 1996 to study. Portraiture is Loretta Lux’s primary area of expertise.
World Famous Photographers: Powerful Portrait Photography with Yousuf Karsh
Karsh was born in April 1908 (though the exact date remains unknown) to a family of Armenian immigrants and a survivor of the Armenian genocide. In 1915, his parents took him and his brother to their mother’s hometown of Bitlis in Southeastern Anatolia. Karsh returned with his family to Canada in July of 1921. Yousuf Karsh can be said to be the father of modern portrait photography.
World Famous Photographers: Iranian Photography With Shirin Neshat
Karsh was born in April 1908 (though the exact date remains unknown) to a family of Armenian immigrants and a survivor of the Armenian genocide. In 1915, his parents took him and his brother to their mother’s hometown of Bitlis in Southeastern Anatolia. Karsh returned with his family to Canada in July of 1921. Yousuf Karsh can be said to be the father of modern portrait photography.
World Famous Photographers: Masked Wrestler Photography With Lourdes Grobet
Lourdes Grobet was born on July 25, 1940, and she spent her childhood living with her parents in Mexico City. She studied plastic arts at the Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico and pursued a formal painting study at the Academy of San Carlos. Grobet’s work ranged from still photographs to video in both colored and black and white.
These are just a few of the many famous photographers who have had a profound impact on the world. Their stories show that anyone can be a great photographer, no matter where they come from or their background. So grab your camera and head out into the world to capture your own piece of art. Don’t forget to click the links above to download the project outlines and view the full articles on each.
Click below to receive the FREE lesson plan that goes with this blog series and be added to my email list so that you surely won’t miss a thing! (And if you really want to do what is right, check out this link to get information about the full unit!)