Photography: History and Theory

Photography: Theory and Historyintroduces students to both the history of photography and critical theory. From its inception in the nineteenth century, photography has instigated a series of theoretical debates. In this new text, Jae Emerling therefore argues that the most insightful way to approach the histories of photography is to address simultaneously the key events of photographic history alongside the theoretical discourse that accompanied them. While the nineteenth century is discussed, the central focus of the text is on modern and contemporary photographic theory. Particular attention is paid to key thinkers, such as Baudelaire, Barthes and Sontag. In addition, the centrality of photography to contemporary art practice is addressed through the theoretical work of Victor Burgin, Allan Sekula, John Tagg, Rosalind Krauss, and Vil m Flusser. The text also includes readings of many canonical photographers including: Daguerre, Julia Margaret Cameron, Alfred Stieglitz, Brassai, August Sander, Walker Evans, Robert Frank, Lee Friedlander, Cindy Sherman, Thomas Struth, Nan Goldin, and others. Chapters include: The Art of Techne: The Inventions of Photography Spectacle, or a Theory of Distraction The Straits of Straight Photography The Modernist/Avant-Garde: Photo-Faktura Automatic Writing: Surrealism as an Uncanny Primal Scene of Photography The Archive as Producer Sites: Canyons, Streets and Discourse Conceptual Art, or Contemporary Art as Photography "Beautiful Suffering": The Return of Aesthetics Individual chapters include shaded boxes with basic biographical and other key information about the major photographers addressed, which along with a glossary of terms and suggestions for further reading, make this the ideal textbook for courses on the history and theory of photography.