“Life” Magazine and the Power of Photography, edited by Katherine A. Bussard and Kristen Gresh

2021 ◽  
Vol 103 (4) ◽  
pp. 144-147
Author(s):  
Martin A. Berger
Keyword(s):  
2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 301-324
Author(s):  
Joshua S. Schwartz

AbstractIn the early years of the twentieth century, Life magazine had only approximately one hundred thousand subscribers, yet its illustrated images (like the Gibson Girl) significantly influenced fashion trends and social behaviors nationally. Its outsized influence can be explained by examining the magazine’s business practices, particularly the novel ways in which it treated and conceptualized its images as intellectual property. While other magazines relied on their circulation and advertising revenue to attain profitability, Life used its page space to sell not only ads, but also its own creative components—principally illustrations—to manufacturers of consumer goods, advertisers, and consumers themselves. In so doing, Life’s publishers relied on a developing legal conception of intellectual property and copyright, one that was not always amenable to their designs. By looking at a quasi-litigious disagreement in which a candy manufacturing company attempted to copy one of the magazine’s images, this article explores the mechanisms behind the commodification and distribution of mass-circulated images.


2014 ◽  
Vol 54 (4) ◽  
pp. 429-464
Author(s):  
Matthew Delmont

In the Fall of 1962, high school seniors Leon Zachery and Deitra Caul submitted applications for the Philadelphia City Scholarship competition. Both students excelled in high school, but both Zachery, whose mother worked in childcare, and Caul, whose mother did clerical work for the Presbyterian Life Magazine, feared that without outside assistance they would not be able to afford college tuition. In the letter supporting his application, Zachery's biology teacher at West Philadelphia high school described him as a “serious young man” who “knows a great deal about various subjects that is not required study… [and] seems to have become well-read from his intensive study.” “He is an exceptional boy [who] I feel should go to college or it would be a dreadful waste,” the teacher concluded. Caul's guidance counselor, William Cannady, offered a similar appraisal. Cannady, one of the first black high school teachers in Philadelphia, noted that Deitra Caul graduated first in her class at Gratz high school and “participated extensively in extra-curricular activities without any loss in academic status.” “It would be tragic,” Cannady wrote, “if Miss Caul had to forgo college because of a lack of finances.” With stellar academic records and demonstrated financial need, Zachery and Caul were among the forty-nine City Scholarship winners in 1962–1963, and the only two African-American students so selected.


1960 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 402-403 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Ascher

AbstractThe archaeological content of ten years of Life magazine is analyzed in an attempt to identify what may go into formulating the public's images of the archaeologist and his goals. The four themes which appear in the 34 Life articles are: chance nature of archaeological discovery, role of the archaeologist as an expert, emphasis on technical knowledge and skills, and heavy use of superlatives. Analysis of other mass media, including fiction and cartoons, might lead to the identification of other themes. The image of archaeology presented by mass communication is considered important in a science so dependent upon public cooperation.


2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 84-109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan M. Alexander ◽  
Kelsey Collins

Hegemonic masculinity is a fluid concept that varies according to historical period and social and cultural location. While much has been written about hegemonic masculinity as experienced by adult men, research is lacking on hegemonic masculinity in boyhood from an historical perspective. Using a quantitative content analysis of images on the covers of Boy’s Life magazine, this study finds three distinct historically specific images of hegemonic American boyhood masculinity: boys who serve their country as patriotic scouts in uniform; boys who admire celebrities, particularly professional athletes; and a branded boyhood in which boys wear brand name products while engaging in sports activities.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Lobo

In order to consider what the photography used within Rolling Stone magazine contributes to the history of photojournalism, Between Life and the Underground analyzes the aesthetic of the photography and conceptual layouts produced within the magazine. This study looks specifically at the period of 1967 to 1972, a time when mainstream publications like Life magazine ceased production and when over 500 underground publications were piloted. A comparative analysis of the design, economics, and production of both Rolling Stone and the underground publication the Berkeley Barb traces the influence that the underground had on the aesthetic of Rolling Stone’s photography and layout. The role that cover photography played in perpetuating the identity that Rolling Stone wanted to embody is also investigated. The influence that New Journalism had on the production of photojournalism at Life and Rolling Stone is also considered—framed around a comparison of the photographic coverage of the Woodstock Festival of 1969 and the police riots at the Democratic National Convention of 1968. This study concludes that the underground press cultivated a new photographic aesthetic and conceptual technique for laying out photographs which adhered to the ideals of the 1960s—namely informality, which Rolling Stone then adapted to create a profitable magazine.


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