Photography after Photography: Gender, Genre, History
by Abigail Solomon-Godeau edited by Sarah Parsons
Duke University Press, 2017 eISBN: 978-0-8223-7362-9 | Cloth: 978-0-8223-6251-7 | Paper: 978-0-8223-6266-1 Library of Congress Classification TR642.S64 2017
ABOUT THIS BOOK | AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY | REVIEWS | TOC | REQUEST ACCESSIBLE FILE
ABOUT THIS BOOK
Presenting two decades of work by Abigail Solomon-Godeau, Photography after Photography is an inquiry into the circuits of power that shape photographic practice, criticism, and historiography. As the boundaries that separate photography from other forms of artistic production are increasingly fluid, Solomon-Godeau, a pioneering feminist and politically engaged critic, argues that the relationships between photography, culture, gender, and power demand renewed attention. In her analyses of the photographic production of Cindy Sherman, Robert Mapplethorpe, Susan Meiselas, Francesca Woodman, and others, Solomon-Godeau refigures the disciplinary object of photography by considering these practices through an examination of the determinations of genre and gender as these shape the relations between photographers, their images, and their viewers. Among her subjects are the 2006 Abu Ghraib prison photographs and the Cold War-era exhibition The Family of Man, insofar as these illustrate photography's embeddedness in social relations, viewing relations, and ideological formations.
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
Abigail Solomon-Godeau is Professor Emerita of the Department of History of Art and Architecture at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and the author of several books, including Photography at the Dock: Essays on Photographic History, Institutions, and Practices; Male Trouble: A Crisis in Representation; Rosemary Laing; Chair à canons: Photographie, discours, féminisme; and coauthor of Birgit Jürgenssen.
Sarah Parsons is Associate Professor of Art History at York University.
REVIEWS
"Solomon-Godeau shines when applying deconstructive feminist analysis to broader questions of representation in visual culture, and the market forces that collude to elevate an artist’s reputation to master status."
-- Wendy Vogel Camera Austria
"With its refusal to separate photography from power and patronage, Abigail Solomon-Godeau's Photography After Photography arrives at an auspicious moment.. . . Bringing a wealth of information to bear on photographic meaning, Solomon-Godeau explores her topics in historical context. In doing so, she demonstrates that the way many photographs are understood today has little to do with the circumstance of their creation, or the manner in which they were originally distributed and viewed."
-- Dore Bowen Art in America
"While Solomon-Godeau’s overarching goal is to offer a feminist critique of the art world — particularly of critical discourse around art — in some of her essays she also discusses topics that fall outside this lens, such as the role of desire in photography and images of torture. In this sense, the anthology reflects the range of Solomon-Godeau’s practice and interest as an art critic and scholar."
-- Ela Bittencourt Hyperallergic
"Solomon-Godeau’s essays are lucid and make for captivating reading. . . . It is fitting for Solomon-Godeau to present a collection that spans such a broad range of topics in a manner that is cohesive, challenging, and attentive to photography’s complex formal and cultural history."
-- Will Carroll ASAP/Journal
TABLE OF CONTENTS
List of Illustrations vii Preface. May the Bridges We Burn Light the Way / Sarah Parsons ix Introduction 1 1. Inside/Out (1995) 10 2. Written on the Body (1997) 27 3. The Family of Man: Refurbishing Humanism for a Postmodern Age (2004) 43 4. Torture at Abu Ghraib: In and Out of the Media (2007) 61 5. Harry Callahan: Gender, Genre, and Street Photography (2007) 77 6. Caught Looking: Susan Meiselas's Carnival Strippers (2008) 94 7. Framing Landscape Photography (2010) 107 8. The Ghosts of Documentary (2012) 123 9. Inventing Vivian Maier: Categories, Careers, and Commerce (2013) 141 10. Robert Mapplethorpe: Whitewashed and Polished (2014) 156 11. Body Double (2014) 171 12. The Coming of Age: Cindy Sherman, Feminism, and Art History (2014) 189 Notes 207 Bibliography 237 Index 249
REQUEST ACCESSIBLE FILE
If you are a student who cannot use this book in printed form, BiblioVault may be able to supply you
with an electronic file for alternative access.
Please have the accessibility coordinator at your school fill out this form.
Photography after Photography: Gender, Genre, History
by Abigail Solomon-Godeau edited by Sarah Parsons
Duke University Press, 2017 eISBN: 978-0-8223-7362-9 Cloth: 978-0-8223-6251-7 Paper: 978-0-8223-6266-1
Presenting two decades of work by Abigail Solomon-Godeau, Photography after Photography is an inquiry into the circuits of power that shape photographic practice, criticism, and historiography. As the boundaries that separate photography from other forms of artistic production are increasingly fluid, Solomon-Godeau, a pioneering feminist and politically engaged critic, argues that the relationships between photography, culture, gender, and power demand renewed attention. In her analyses of the photographic production of Cindy Sherman, Robert Mapplethorpe, Susan Meiselas, Francesca Woodman, and others, Solomon-Godeau refigures the disciplinary object of photography by considering these practices through an examination of the determinations of genre and gender as these shape the relations between photographers, their images, and their viewers. Among her subjects are the 2006 Abu Ghraib prison photographs and the Cold War-era exhibition The Family of Man, insofar as these illustrate photography's embeddedness in social relations, viewing relations, and ideological formations.
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
Abigail Solomon-Godeau is Professor Emerita of the Department of History of Art and Architecture at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and the author of several books, including Photography at the Dock: Essays on Photographic History, Institutions, and Practices; Male Trouble: A Crisis in Representation; Rosemary Laing; Chair à canons: Photographie, discours, féminisme; and coauthor of Birgit Jürgenssen.
Sarah Parsons is Associate Professor of Art History at York University.
REVIEWS
"Solomon-Godeau shines when applying deconstructive feminist analysis to broader questions of representation in visual culture, and the market forces that collude to elevate an artist’s reputation to master status."
-- Wendy Vogel Camera Austria
"With its refusal to separate photography from power and patronage, Abigail Solomon-Godeau's Photography After Photography arrives at an auspicious moment.. . . Bringing a wealth of information to bear on photographic meaning, Solomon-Godeau explores her topics in historical context. In doing so, she demonstrates that the way many photographs are understood today has little to do with the circumstance of their creation, or the manner in which they were originally distributed and viewed."
-- Dore Bowen Art in America
"While Solomon-Godeau’s overarching goal is to offer a feminist critique of the art world — particularly of critical discourse around art — in some of her essays she also discusses topics that fall outside this lens, such as the role of desire in photography and images of torture. In this sense, the anthology reflects the range of Solomon-Godeau’s practice and interest as an art critic and scholar."
-- Ela Bittencourt Hyperallergic
"Solomon-Godeau’s essays are lucid and make for captivating reading. . . . It is fitting for Solomon-Godeau to present a collection that spans such a broad range of topics in a manner that is cohesive, challenging, and attentive to photography’s complex formal and cultural history."
-- Will Carroll ASAP/Journal
TABLE OF CONTENTS
List of Illustrations vii Preface. May the Bridges We Burn Light the Way / Sarah Parsons ix Introduction 1 1. Inside/Out (1995) 10 2. Written on the Body (1997) 27 3. The Family of Man: Refurbishing Humanism for a Postmodern Age (2004) 43 4. Torture at Abu Ghraib: In and Out of the Media (2007) 61 5. Harry Callahan: Gender, Genre, and Street Photography (2007) 77 6. Caught Looking: Susan Meiselas's Carnival Strippers (2008) 94 7. Framing Landscape Photography (2010) 107 8. The Ghosts of Documentary (2012) 123 9. Inventing Vivian Maier: Categories, Careers, and Commerce (2013) 141 10. Robert Mapplethorpe: Whitewashed and Polished (2014) 156 11. Body Double (2014) 171 12. The Coming of Age: Cindy Sherman, Feminism, and Art History (2014) 189 Notes 207 Bibliography 237 Index 249
REQUEST ACCESSIBLE FILE
If you are a student who cannot use this book in printed form, BiblioVault may be able to supply you
with an electronic file for alternative access.
Please have the accessibility coordinator at your school fill out this form.
It can take 2-3 weeks for requests to be filled.
ABOUT THIS BOOK | AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY | REVIEWS | TOC | REQUEST ACCESSIBLE FILE