Kari H1
gutmann_gymnasts
Czechoslovakian Gymnasts, San Francisco
Photographed by John Gutmann (1905-1998)
John Gutmann published this photograph in 1939. It was taken of four Czechoslovakian Gymnasts in San Francisco as described in the title. It was copyrighted in 1998 by the Center for Creative Photography, Arizona Board of Regents. The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art acquired it in 2000 by the bequest of the artist. It is a gelatin silver print with the medium of 9 ½ in x 7 ½ in (24.13 cm x 19.05 cm).
John Gutmann was born in Breslau, Germany in 1905. Between 1914 and 1923 Gutmann attended the Johannes Gymnasium in Breslau. He was Jewish and fled Nazi Germany in 1933 for America. Before leaving Germany he signed a contract as a photojournalist with Presse-Foto, a German magazine. He was interested in the American way of life and wanted to photograph it. He was especially interested in the Jazz music scene. Gutmann is recognized for his unique “worm’s-eye view” camera angle. He loved to photograph ordinary things, and make them appear special. He died June 12, 1998 in San Francisco, California. The Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona in Tucson has his full archive of photographs, and manages the copyright of his work.
This photograph was taken of four Czechoslovakian gymnasts at the World Fair in San Francisco in 1939. The theme of the fair was, “Pageant of the Pacific” and the countries were invited to showcase their goods. This photograph is interesting because of the way the photographer was able to capture the gymnast in this exact position. Gymnasts move around quite a bit, and he had to take the picture at the perfect time to photograph the girl at this angle. The legs of the other three gymnasts are cut off, so that the girl and the bars are in the middle of the photograph. The bars draw a line separating the top of the photograph from the bottom. The majority of the active gymnast’s body is in the top of the photograph, but her head and the three other girls are in the bottom. Her body is off to the left, and her toes are aligned almost perfectly with the center of the photograph. If you drew a line down from the tips of her toes you would almost perfectly dissect the middle observing gymnast. The alignment of this photograph is fantastic. The outfits these girls are wearing are also interesting because they date the photograph. They are wearing high-wasted skirts with tucked in blouses, and those aren’t the types of outfits that are generally associated with gymnasts. The visible shoes look similar to ballet slippers, but her white ankle length socks make them look like Mary Janes. The way the girls are hiding their faces suggests that it is probably very sunny. The sky in the top of the photograph looks really dark, and so perhaps the photographer put some sort of filter over his lens.
gutmann_gymnasts
Czechoslovakian Gymnasts, San Francisco
Photographed by John Gutmann (1905-1998)
John Gutmann published this photograph in 1939. It was taken of four Czechoslovakian Gymnasts in San Francisco as described in the title. It was copyrighted in 1998 by the Center for Creative Photography, Arizona Board of Regents. The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art acquired it in 2000 by the bequest of the artist. It is a gelatin silver print with the medium of 9 ½ in x 7 ½ in (24.13 cm x 19.05 cm).
John Gutmann was born in Breslau, Germany in 1905. Between 1914 and 1923 Gutmann attended the Johannes Gymnasium in Breslau. He was Jewish and fled Nazi Germany in 1933 for America. Before leaving Germany he signed a contract as a photojournalist with Presse-Foto, a German magazine. He was interested in the American way of life and wanted to photograph it. He was especially interested in the Jazz music scene. Gutmann is recognized for his unique “worm’s-eye view” camera angle. He loved to photograph ordinary things, and make them appear special. He died June 12, 1998 in San Francisco, California. The Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona in Tucson has his full archive of photographs, and manages the copyright of his work.
This photograph was taken of four Czechoslovakian gymnasts at the World Fair in San Francisco in 1939. The theme of the fair was, “Pageant of the Pacific” and the countries were invited to showcase their goods. This photograph is interesting because of the way the photographer was able to capture the gymnast in this exact position. Gymnasts move around quite a bit, and he had to take the picture at the perfect time to photograph the girl at this angle. The legs of the other three gymnasts are cut off, so that the girl and the bars are in the middle of the photograph. The bars draw a line separating the top of the photograph from the bottom. The majority of the active gymnast’s body is in the top of the photograph, but her head and the three other girls are in the bottom. Her body is off to the left, and her toes are aligned almost perfectly with the center of the photograph. If you drew a line down from the tips of her toes you would almost perfectly dissect the middle observing gymnast. The alignment of this photograph is fantastic. The outfits these girls are wearing are also interesting because they date the photograph. They are wearing high-wasted skirts with tucked in blouses, and those aren’t the types of outfits that are generally associated with gymnasts. The visible shoes look similar to ballet slippers, but her white ankle length socks make them look like Mary Janes. The way the girls are hiding their faces suggests that it is probably very sunny. The sky in the top of the photograph looks really dark, and so perhaps the photographer put some sort of filter over his lens.