The Impact of the Fotoform avant-garde group (1949-1958) in Germany, On the Concepts of Modern Photography art

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INTRODUCTION.
Fotoform is one of the most
important art movements, developed
from Bauhaus with its forms of
photographic production in the period
between World War I and II in
Germany, it is also the evolution of the
movement of the new objectivism, led
by Otto Steinert.
German photographers realized
that photography has been misused
under Nazi rule, as was geared to serve
the purposes ideology of them, which
directed photography artists to
maximize specific concepts such as
home, family, race, labor, armed
struggle, and started taking topics like
romantic nature, flowers and views of
forests with trees tangled branches.
When they realized that, they bean to
work against this ideology.
Fotoform and subjective
photography movements respond to
pictures taken in the Nazi era, by
providing new models and effects, and
moved with the group toward Modern
Art, and surrealistic trends and other
modern artistic movements.
Common points between
Fotoform group, contemporary
abstraction, non-objectivism, and
surrealism became clearer. However,
the images Fotoform created retain its
photographic characteristics as they
The Impact of the Fotoform avant-garde
group (1949-1958) in Germany, On the
Concepts of Modern Photography art
Summary:
Fotoform group is one of the most important art groups developed from
Bauhaus with its forms of photographic production in the period between World
War I and II in Germany. It is also the evolution of the movement of the new
objectivism, led by Otto Steinert. The research problem is to study the changes
brought by Fotoform movement in Germany in the form of photographic image, by
analyzing the vocabulary of those pictures, and study how to be addressed, with the
study of the most important pioneers of this photographic group, like Peter
Keetman , Siegfried Lauterwasser, Toni Schneiders, Ludwig
Windstosser, and Otto Steinert. And studied how they tackle their
photogrpahic subjects,depending on cameras possibleties spically shutter speed and
diffrend chemical treatments for various photographic materials,
lithography and films produced distinct and diverse images technique
like, photogram , tone line , tone separation , douple-multiple exposures, using
more than negative (panorama and photomontage) . The research aims to find out
the impact of Fotoform on photographic art movement, and its role in the evolution
of photography light concepts on movements and trends of modern art.
Keywords: Fotoform, modern photography art, Photogram, Tone line,
Tone illumination, Photomontage, Multi-exposure, Panorama, Otto
Steinert, Peter Keetman, Siegfried Lauterwasser, Toni Schneiders,
Ludwig Windstosser,

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register a special scene in a particular
moment. All the visual adjustments
that Fotoform photographer added to
the picture were based upon the
available photographic techniques.
They used photographic equipment,
and some chemical processing
operations to create different visual
effects picture.
The problem of the research is
to study the changes brought by
Fotoform avant-garde group in
Germany, in the form of photographic
image at that time, and what is the
impact of those changes on the artistc
vision to the contmperary
photography?, to ansewer this question
, the researcher studied the analize of
Fotoform movement photographs, and
its elements and components, and how
it was addressed through the works of
its pionners and also the innovative
and ways to use camers techniques and
useage of the photographic materials
and the ways of chmical processes to
these materials in order to present a
new vision of the realety and the
relationship between all of this and the
new ways of photography they
presented in different modern art
movements at that time, and this
relationship well get us to know the
impact of their photographs on
contemporary artistc vision.
The research aims at knowing
the impact of Fotoform movent on the
artistic photography and its role in
develobing photographic concepts
through out different modern art
moventts and tendencies in Germany.
Researcher used descriptive
analytical method to describe, analyze
and document design vocabulary of
Fotoform group movement to highlight
the most important outputs of that
movement which led to artistic
photography vision concepts evolution
in Germany.
That led us to research questions:
1- what are the characteristics of the
Fotoform Movement?
2- who are the Fotoform pioneers?
3- what was the impact of this group
on the photographic form and
technical concepts in Germany?
4- What are the innovative techniqual
resones that was presened by Fotoform
movement pioneers?
5- what was the impact of Fotoform
group on the concepts of contemporary
photography?
RESULTS.
Fotoform group changed the
shape of tranditional photographic
form by using shutter speeds spcially
the low shutter speed and that
technique led to a new photographic
vision based on analysing subject
movements , and the visual visions
caused by tracing the movent in the
space. This tendnce can be linked to
futrurism art movent style.
Fotoforms movement tended to
discover new ways to photographs by
using photogram without the camera.
That was by butting the subjects
directrly onto the the sensteive
material or by using chemeical
soulutions. That their was a grate focus

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on the shape and compostion a way
from the subject details.
One of the most important new visions
presented by fotoform is the high
contrast photographs made by high
contrast photographic materials
specially a lithographic films prepared
originally for mechanical photography
( prining equipment ) with high
contranst developers , so the white and
black were illuminated.
The Fotofrom pioneers produced a
varity of photographs that were out of
more than one negative to produce just
one photo, either through sandwitch
technique or cashes tchqenics , so the
soared up high in the fantacy world
away from realty. They presented
constructive forms that compared what
surrialism had presended.
Also presented panoramic
photos that were up to 180 degrees , by
using horizontal and veritical
movments of the camera head, and that
was one of the kind vision.
One of the contripution of
Fotoform movement is developing
photomontage techniques it became
more prices and element more deeper
and had more impact on the viewer.
The photograph is nolonger
copy of the realty it became a creation
tool in the hand of photographic artist ,
it also overestimated the valuses of
visual calture of the viewer , this
visions led to the existence of this
teqchnis uptel now with all the
techniqual and digital revolosion.
Digital cameras and graphic programs
implement though tech with more
specephic and faster to produce
creative photographs
DISCUSSION.
The Fotoform group was establish in
1948 when its pioneers realsied that
photography was miss used during the
Nazi rule as it was to the benfet of
ideological reasons . it only presented
limited conceps such as home family
race labor and armed struggle.
The different tech of Fotofrom had an
impact on producing artistic
photographs in the later tendncies,
because it manged to use all possible
techniques in all camers and using
shutter speed and chmemical process
to different photographic material and
lithographic films. It was creative in
photogram tech and illiminating tones
, line tone , douple exupser and
multiple exposure and also using more
than one negative to make
photomontage and panorams .
All this tech made huage visual
changes and creative expressional
compinations, and made the
photography gose along with
contmprary plastic arts, thoghth tech
are being used ubtill now but with
modern digital techniques.
The research recommend making more
studies and researches in the artistic
photography which was noticed that
was minized in the departemtn of
photography ,Cineman and television ,
Faculty of applied arts , helwan
university , as its concederd the

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biggest institution for stutuding the
siecen of photography in Egypt.
This institution and all the Educational
instisutions in Egypt should make
syllabuses that include studies and
researches about the evoulation of
photographyic art in Egypt and in the
World and also study the intellectual
and pholosophocal and artistic
evelostion of the photograph, along
with teching techniques and caring for
its talented studends