Product Description

From the beginning, abstraction has been intrinsic to photography, and its persistent popularity reveals much about the medium. The Edge of Vision: The Rise of Abstraction in Photography is the first book in English to document this phenomenon and to put it into historical context, while also examining the diverse approaches thriving within contemporary photography. Author Lyle Rexer examines abstraction at pivotal moments, starting with the inception of photography, when many of the pioneers believed the camera might reveal other aspects of reality. The Edge of Vision traces subsequent explorations--from the Photo Secessionists, who emphasized process and emotional expression over observed reality, to Modernist and Surrealist experiments. In the decades to follow, in particular from the 1940s through the 1980s, a multitude of photographers--Edward Weston, Aaron Siskind and Barbara Kasten among them--took up abstraction from a variety of positions. Finally, Rexer explores the influence the history of abstraction exerts on contemporary thinking about the medium. Many contemporary artists--most prominently Ilan Wolff, Marco Breuer and Ellen Carey--reject photography's documentary dimension in favor of other possibilities, somewhere between painting and sculpture, that include the manipulation of process and printing. In addition to Rexer's engagingly written and richly illustrated history, this volume includes a selection of primary texts from and interviews with key practitioners and critics such as Edward Steichen, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy and James Welling.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #62403 in Books
• Published on: 2009-06-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 292 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9781597111003
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
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Customer Reviews

What is art? What is photography?
In photography blogs you will find endless debates about the nature of photography. Should the goal be perfection of technique in representation of "reality", should it be communication of emotion, should it be considered an art form? Here is a book that navigates through the history of photography with an emphasis on abstraction, both as a necessary component of all photo images and as a specific topic in the realm of art. The chapters each examine a period of photographic history, setting forth details of work by prominent photographers and how they grapple with and change the nature of photography. Bits of art history and social history provide context. Small images and brief quotations enhance the text pages. Best of all, each section is followed by a set of large color plates (excellent reproductions in keeping the Aperture's publishing history). We have the chance to enjoy multiple prints from each of more than 40 photographers. These images alone are well worth the price of the book, while the rest of the content rivals what you can learn from many college courses. Much to think about, and a fair amount of indirect inspiration. Highly recommended.