Thanks for the review and critique of this book. I tried to read it in the 90s and couldn't wrap my head around the idea on photography.

@ArtTheoriez

Жыл бұрын

Very welcome, honestly I struggled to wrap my head around it, its a complicated book!

nice job ! The "addiction" point spot on. This is a book you can read throughout your life and have a new understanding of it

@ArtTheoriez

6 ай бұрын

Thanks! Yes I agree I might actually read it again soon!

It would be interesting to compare this text to Silverman's "Miracle of Analogy"

Great

@ArtTheoriez

Жыл бұрын

Thank you!!

brilliant !

Football analogy - genius!

The meandering prose could be because prior to the book, she wrote a series of essays on the subject before being encouraged to write a book about it!

I smashed the like, now i need a new keyboard!!

I have to agree with the photographer Lisette Model who wrote of On Photography that “this is a book by a woman who knows everything and understands nothing.”

Also, her insight on the impact of social media is not unique in the sense that she somehow possessed some genius foresight, or was able to glean insight before anyone else, it shows that we humans have been doing the same shit back then as we are doing now, except now we can do it exponentially faster due to technological advances.

I am a professional photographer & when studying theory at university the theory aspect was so boring. I simply couldn’t get into it. I rather go out & shoot. I have this book on my shelf but am yet to read it even though I first came across this book in the late 1990’s. Some of what you describe here is just underlying universal themes of photography such as the surrealist aspect of photography or how there are so many more photographs in the world. I will listen to the audiobook on this book first than finally read it. Listen combined with reading as a deeper impact for me.

@ArtTheoriez

Жыл бұрын

happy you are going to read it! its a hard book but totally worth it in my opinion!

@NoName-jq7tj

Жыл бұрын

@@ArtTheoriez I actually started reading it after writing my original comment. The first chapter about Platos’ Cave is very interesting. I just read the first several sentences. She uses an allergy to describe an allergy. I’ve got book of Plato’s Cave & how these people shackled see these shadows on the wall & I think interpret this as reality. Reading a book like this deepens your understanding of the world through the medium because Sontag herself was probably a deep individual in her own right. The one theoretical book I found interesting during my study days was Graham Clarkes’ The Photograph.

@ArtTheoriez

Жыл бұрын

@@NoName-jq7tj Oh cool, I will check Graham Clarke out! Its been a little while since I read On Photography but I remember finding it hard, something I struggled with was connecting the ideas together. Anyway I hope you enjoy reading it!

@NoName-jq7tj

Жыл бұрын

@@ArtTheoriez The other book that is very influential is “Ways of Seeing” by John Berger. A BBC TV series was made on this. I think texts like this can obviously deepen your understanding & possibly producing bodies of work that have a deeper meaning.

Do Roland Barthes next! he's an exemplar poststructuralist photography commentator too

@ArtTheoriez

2 жыл бұрын

I have been planing to do Barthes for ages! hope to get round to it this summer! thanks!

@user-cp7lx7vs1y

2 жыл бұрын

@@ArtTheoriez great looking forward!

@ArtTheoriez

Жыл бұрын

Hello, Just so you know I made a video about Camera Lucida by Roland Barthes. You can find it on my channel. Im gonna do more Barthes videos when I have time. Thanks again for the suggestion!

Artists create and those that can't critique. John Szarkowski was a successful photographer prior to providing art/photography criticism. Do laymen critique the art of surgery, the art of Indy Car racing, the art of archeology?

@ArtTheoriez

Жыл бұрын

I Agree, but to be a great critique one must master the craft they critique in my opinion...