Who Is Edvard Munch?

The subject of this critique is on Edvard Munch, the Norwegian painter and printmaker. Dorothy Kolinsky’s article is not just a critique on Munch, but more so an analysis of his work and the vital role that photography played in the process. Even though at first he didn’t care much about the medium, it is clear that photography helped him in his search for a reality beneath what the human eye could see. Dispite his mixed feelings toward photography he did use photography to further his art. Munch experimented with his own techniques using photos as a means of capturing the invisible aspects of reality. Even though he wanted to dismiss photography, it became an important medium for enhancing his own art. His relationship to the camera began
when he purchased a small Kodak. He learned that photographs could be manipulated. Munch was inspired by Strindberg in his spontaneous exploration of accidents. His photos were characterized by distortions that carry an intense psychological force. Double exposure technique or blurred accidents that he was willing to accept. He became intensely involved in this medium, producing his own self-portraits and those of his colleagues. Experimentation with optical distortions accepting accidents caused by movement, atmosphere and ambiguity into the image. He was especially fascinated with lighting effects and shadows. The theme of emotional anxiety. The impact the photo made on his work. (manipulation). An interior psychological state more than they describe a place. Redefine what constitutes the nature of vision. It was discovered that vision and optics were no longer viewed as predictable. Munch found refuge in photography when his faculties were impaired. The new notion of optics coincided with dysfunction, just as it embraced the traces of supernatural or the accidental. Powerful manipulation of shapes inspired by photography.