Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2006/07/08
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Scott and Jeffery, If you mean photogaphy in the context of contemporary art, I would check out David Campany's "Art and Photography", Phaidon Press, 2003 (ISBN 0714842869). It can be a challenging read, depending on your taste for postmodern critical theory, but it's a very comprehensive survey of the ways photography has been used to make art from about 1970 to the present. The text is really excellent, the presentation is handsome, and best of all (to me) is that Campany includes a huge number of the seminal essays by others that have defined photographic critical theory, from Walter Benjamin in 1936, to the present. Examples of the artists included are Lewis Baltz, Berndt and Hilla Becher, Chuck Close, Gregory Crewdson, Eggleston, Friedlander, Gursky, Heinecken, Canida Hofer, Barbara Kruger, Sally Mann, Mapplethorpe, Bill Owens, Gerhard Richter, Ed Ruscha, Cindy Sherman, Stephen Shore, J-P Witkin, etc., etc. But try to look at a copy somewhere before you buy. It may not be your cup of tea. My daughter gave it to me after using it as a textbook for a photo history course when she was getting her BFA. It's absolutely one of my favorite books. -- Phil Swango 307 Aliso Dr SE Albuquerque, NM 87108 505-262-4085