Born in 1911, Olive Edith Cotton developed a love of nature and the arts at a young age. This was a reflection of her parents’ interests which were music and photography (Ennis, Cotton and McInerny, 1995). Cotton grew up in Hornsby on Sydney’s North Shore on around 20 acres of land. She worked in a time of much gender inequality but her career still scanned over more than 60 years (Annear, 2004). Later in life, Cotton opened her own studio in Cowra and it was then that she had her own dark room and was able to develop what she considered were some of her best works from new and old negatives (Annear, 2004).
Her first camera was a Kodak No. 0 Box Brownie Camera (Ennis, Cotton and McInerny, 1995) and she worked in black and white, as there was no colour until the 1940’s. The process of developing photos in a darkroom was slow as there was no hypo clearing agent. Photos had to be observed for long periods and water had to be changed every hour depending on how much it needed to be washed (Ennis, Cotton and McInerny, 1995). Her photography was of landscapes and portraits and was informed by youthful experiments and exposure to ideas from her immediate family and friends (Annear, 2004) She was said to be influenced by pictorialism but was later quoted saying “I want to feel free to photograph anything that interests me in whatever way I like” (Annear, 2004, p. 554), either way all of her photographs were captured with “sensitivity and sensuousness” (Annear, 2004, p. 554).
Cotton’s first exhibited photograph was Dusk which was shown at NSW Photographic Society’s Interstate Exhibition in 1932 (Ennis, Cotton and McInerny, 1995) and her most famous piece was Teacup ballet 1935. Publications such as “Australia National Journal and Bank Notes played a vital role in disseminating Cotton’s work to a broad audience” (Ennis, Cotton and McInerny, 1995, P.7).
In the classroom, photography is an important tool which can be utilised through a range of subjects. It is important as a teacher to use photography in the classroom to capture important moments during the day and to document children’s work. It is also important from a creative arts perspective to teach the students about photography, the many advantages it has across all subjects and how analysing a picture can give an insight into someone else’s life.
References:
Annear, J. (2004). Olive Cotton. Art and Australia, 41(4), 554.
Cotton, O., Ennis, H., & McInerny, S. (1995). Olive Cotton: Photographer. NSW, Australia: National Library of Australia.
Her first camera was a Kodak No. 0 Box Brownie Camera (Ennis, Cotton and McInerny, 1995) and she worked in black and white, as there was no colour until the 1940’s. The process of developing photos in a darkroom was slow as there was no hypo clearing agent. Photos had to be observed for long periods and water had to be changed every hour depending on how much it needed to be washed (Ennis, Cotton and McInerny, 1995). Her photography was of landscapes and portraits and was informed by youthful experiments and exposure to ideas from her immediate family and friends (Annear, 2004) She was said to be influenced by pictorialism but was later quoted saying “I want to feel free to photograph anything that interests me in whatever way I like” (Annear, 2004, p. 554), either way all of her photographs were captured with “sensitivity and sensuousness” (Annear, 2004, p. 554).
Cotton’s first exhibited photograph was Dusk which was shown at NSW Photographic Society’s Interstate Exhibition in 1932 (Ennis, Cotton and McInerny, 1995) and her most famous piece was Teacup ballet 1935. Publications such as “Australia National Journal and Bank Notes played a vital role in disseminating Cotton’s work to a broad audience” (Ennis, Cotton and McInerny, 1995, P.7).
In the classroom, photography is an important tool which can be utilised through a range of subjects. It is important as a teacher to use photography in the classroom to capture important moments during the day and to document children’s work. It is also important from a creative arts perspective to teach the students about photography, the many advantages it has across all subjects and how analysing a picture can give an insight into someone else’s life.
References:
Annear, J. (2004). Olive Cotton. Art and Australia, 41(4), 554.
Cotton, O., Ennis, H., & McInerny, S. (1995). Olive Cotton: Photographer. NSW, Australia: National Library of Australia.