Photography Theory in Historical Perspective - by Hilde Van Gelder & Helen Westgeest (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Photography Theory in Historical Perspective: Case Studies from Contemporary Art aims to contribute to the understanding of the multifaceted and complex character of the photographic medium by dealing with various case studies selected from photographic practices in contemporary art, discussed in the context of views and theories of photography from its inception.

• uses case studies to explain photographic practices in contemporary art and place them in the context of theory
• presents current debates on theory of photography through comparisons to research of other visual media
• applicable to vernacular and documentary photography as well as art photography

From the Back Cover

Photography Theory in Historical Perspective: Case Studies from Contemporary Art aims to contribute to the understanding of the multifaceted and complex character of the photographic medium by dealing with various case studies selected from photographic practices in contemporary art, discussed in the context of views and theories of photography from its inception.

Five thematic fields are covered: photography compared to painting; photography as time-based art (compared to film and performance); photography's relation to virtual places and spatial art; photography as visual tool for social critique; and photography as self-reflective medium. These fields are connected to issues of representation, time, place, function, and metapicture.

Review Quotes

"Van Gelder and Westgeest offer an important, dense, and advanced study of the complex character of the photographic medium as it has been understood over time...Using what the authors call case studies, this volume examines specific pictures by carefully selected photographic artists...various analyses quote numerous authors and establish their theoretical positions...This book challenges or elaborates upon accepted notions of what constitutes a photography, and discusses photography's role in the practice of contemporary art...Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-level undergraduates through researchers/faculty." P.C. Bunnell, emeritus, Princeton University (Choice, November 2011)

About the Author

Hilde Van Gelder is editor of the Lieven Gevaert Series. She has co-edited several books inthe series, including Photography Between Poetry and Politics: The Critical Position of the Photographic Medium in Contemporary Art (2008).

Helen Westgeest is editor and one of the authors of Take Place: Photography and Place from Multiple Perspectives (2009).