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How to Read a History of Photography
I’ve discovered a secret about reading histories and criticisms of photography. It’s the internet. Almost every book on photography contains a disclaimer from the author that he or she regrets that the practical limits of publication means the book cannot possibly include enough images to give the reader a complete picture of the photographers and […]
A Narrative of Paradigms
American Photography by Miles Orvell, Oxford History of Art Series. In his introduction, Miles Orvell sets out a challenge for himself: to tell the history of photography in America as “a narrative of successive paradigms, rather than a string of masterpieces.” Presumably, by doing so, Orvell – Professor of English and American Studies at Temple […]
Oxford History’s thought-provoking review of photography
The Photograph by Graham Clarke The Photograph by Graham Clarke is the first of three planned books on photography in the Oxford History of Art series. The second is American Photography by Miles Orvell. Sadly, the third volume, Contemporary Photography, has never been published. I was immediately disarmed when I started this book and read […]
An accessible and entertaining history
A World History of Photography by Naomi Rosenblum. Don’t be intimidated by Naomi Rosenblum’s 640-page history of photography. It’s surprisingly accessible and unpretentious. It’s a long, but easy, read for anyone who wants to understand photography and photographers in context. In fact, it’s the context that I appreciate about this work. Rosenblum’s 12 chapters, three […]
Buy this book and then read it again and again
The Nature of Photographs by Stephen Shore It’s hard to find good books that explore the nature of photography that are actually written by photographers. Stephen Shore is a modern master of photography. His book, The Nature of Photographs, proves that he’s a masterful writer on photography as well. It’s a brief volume. The actual […]
A Great, but Spectacularily Misnamed Book
How to Read a Photograph by Ian Jeffrey Ian Jeffrey’s survey of master photographers is thorough and thoughtful, even if the contents have little to do with the title. The book, published by Harry N. Abrams in 2008 (A new edition is now available), is actually a series of biographical sketches of great photographers, coupled […]
A Varied Collection
Photo:Box edited by Roberto Koch I’m not exactly sure what to say about Photo: Box (Abrams, 2009). Certainly it is an interesting and eclectic collection, well-printed and nicely designed. It is laid out with an image on the right side of each two page spread and on the other side, a brief description/discussion of the […]