Authenticity refers to something being genuine and original – so therefore, not a copy. In relation to my practice, a piece of art and design could be considered authentic if it is ‘real’ and consequently genuine in that sense.

Paul Strand was a modernist photographer who “changed the face of photography in the early years of the 20th century” (Victoria and Albert Museum, 2016) Opposing the current trend of using photography as a form to imitate art, Strand instead took pictures which were hard hitting and true to life – largely due to the fact the people in the portraits weren’t consciously aware of their involvement.

Strand, 1916.

His work can therefore be labelled authentic as he accurately captured “the poignant evidence of poverty among the cultures that crowded the metropolis” (The Met, 2004). Additionally, Strand was an authentic artist as he took art in an original and exciting direction which strayed from the norm of creating photographs that looked like impressionist paintings.

I believe it is difficult to be a truly authentic practitioner, as whilst it is relatively easy to create something that is genuine, it is much harder to create something that is completely original which doesn’t imitate another artist’s work in some way – this is especially true in modern day as graphic artists are largely influenced by previous art movement’s. Despite this, I believe many principles of modernism are relevant to contemporary practice. I think it is especially important to build upon traditional methods of photography and graphic design etc. and that we should all possess a desire to work towards something new.

Victoria and Albert Museum (2016) Introduction to the paul strand exhibition. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pm7CEt2okuc (Accessed 28 October 2017).

The Met (2004) Paul Strand 1890-1976. Available at: https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/pstd/hd_pstd.htm (Accessed 28 October 2017).

PHOTO: Strand, P. (1916) Blind woman. Available at: https://timedotcom.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/image-3.jpg?quality=85&w=431 (Accessed 28 October 2017).