Photospeak: A Guide to the Ideas, Movements, and Techniques of Photography, 1839 to the Present (Post-Reformation Thought) - Softcover

Gilles Mora has written several photographic books and monographs, including those on Walker Evans and Edward Weston. Previously the editor-in-chief of Cahiers de Photographie, a preeminent journal of photography, he now oversees the photographic program for the book publisher Editions de Seuil. In his spare time, he performs with his rockabilly band, the Frantic Rollers.

INTRODUCTION: A USER’S MANUAL

Photography has become a familiar part of daily life, yet many of us remain unfamiliar with numerous aspects of its complex history, aesthetics, and processes. The primary purpose of this compact guide is to distill into user-friendly entries the most essential information about photography while at the same time revealing new facets of its richly eclectic history.

Some entries offer precise descriptions of techniques both old and new, from daguerreotype and platinum print to digital imaging; these will be of particular usefulness to collectors. Some entries are devoted to the diverse styles and movements that have punctuated the history of photography, including Photo-Secession, New York Schoo, and Nueva Lente. Some entries investigate the role that certain subjects, applications, and approaches have played in photography, such as advertising, fashion, metaphor, photojournalism, and war. And, finally, several entries—collections, gallery, photo agencies, semiology, and so on—address issues related to the interpretation, acquisition, and display of photography.

The entries dealing with movements are divided into the journalistic categories of WHO, WHEN, WHERE, and WHAT.

WHO is a list of the principal photographers involved with a movement of style. Capitalized names indicate the pioneers or virtuosos of that approach. Certain individuals appear in multiple entries; this is the case for the powerful Alfred Stieglitz, for example, who loomed large in the Photo-Secession, Pictorialism, and straight photography. Dates and nationalities for the photographers are provided in the index.

WHEN signifies the moment of greatest vitality for a particular attitude toward, or method of, photography. Straight photography, for example, did not disappear at the end of the 1960s, but by then its significance had greatly diminished.

WHERE identifies the cities, countries, or continents in which a movement was centered.

WHAT defines the nature, origins, and implications of the movement, style, and technique. Cross-references to other entires are CAPITALIZED.

PhotoSpeak is addressed to a broad audience: students, collectors, curators, scholars, and those simply curious to know more about photography. The best way to use this volume will vary with the user. The expert can employ it to find specific facts&mdsah;say, the year that the Clarence H. White School of Photography was founded or who patented the ambrotype process. The more casual user will find it helpful to read the book from beginning to end and then consult it as needed, when confronted with unfamiliar terms, concepts, or images in photography.