The Art of the American Snapshot, 1888-1978

by Sarah Greenough, Diane Waggoner, Sarah Kennel (Contributor)

The impact of the humble American snapshot has been anything but humble. Any American who takes a snapshot contributes to a compelling and influential genre. Since 1888, when George Eastman introduced the Kodak camera and roll film, the snapshot has not only changed everyday American life and memory; it has also changed the history of fine art photography. The distinctive subject matter and visual vocabulary of the American snapshot--its poses, facial expressions, viewpoints, framing, and themes--influenced modernist photographers as they explored spontaneity, objectivity, and new topics and perspectives. A richly illustrated chronicle of the first century of snapshot photography in America, "The Art of the American Snapshot" is the first book to examine the evolution of this most common form of American photography. The book shows that among the countless snapshots taken by American amateurs, some works, through intention or accident, continue to resonate long after their intimate context and original meaning have been lost.
The catalogue of a fall 2007 exhibition at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, "The Art of the American Snapshot" reproduces some 250 snapshots drawn from Robert Jackson's outstanding collection and from a recent gift Jackson made to the museum. Organized decade by decade, the book traces the evolution of American snapshot imagery and describes how technical, social, and cultural factors affected the look of snapshots at different periods.

Genres: Photography, Art, Nonfiction

294 pages, Hardcover

First published August 27, 2007

Reviews

[Maureen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was equally haunting and touching. For me, the best part of visiting elderly relatives was staying up late after everyone else had gone to sleep and taking down the sturdy shoe boxes from the closet to look at old snapshots from the 1940s through the 1960s. The great thing about photographs of this time is that if the film was developed, a print of each exposure almost certainly existed. So many prints in this book were what my Grandmother would call "mistakes"- but because most modern consumers use digital cameras, these types of images are dated and beautiful in an entirely different way. I'm really glad they exist.

Today, the majority of photographs taken are dismissed to the corners of our hard drives instead of closets, and are rarely viewed outside of the internet. Even then, the attention span of the viewer is short and selfish- if it isn't of our own faces, most people don't truly want to see it. These photographs exist as unique objects and memorials to the people and places they are of. They were cherished- because they were fewer.

What I loved about this book was that this time period was before the age of excessive self portraits and excessive posing- you couldn't look at the image you just took until much later, so this sort of indulgence was far less common. It seems people took photographs of what moved them, what they personally wanted to remember, as an image was more about a memory than the establishment of a personal brand.

Don't get me wrong, I use Instagram. It has a time and a place, but I don't think anyone could disagree that it doesn't come close to the world created by George Eastman and the Kodak Company.

[Lee Barry · Rating 4 out of 5]

A must-read for all photographers--which is now everyone. One main thing that I realized when reading the book, is that the sheer popularity of photography has not changed. The fact that there are an exponentially larger number of images captured, the spirit (and oftentimes the banality of photography) is the same.

To wit:

“Far more than in previous decades, amateurs in the 1940s and 1950s did indeed take their cameras everywhere and photographed everything, creating an almost visual stream of consciousness record of their lives. Nothing was off-limits. As life imitated art and moviegoers saw the intense physical intimacy, their own snapshots begin to reveal far more personal moments, even one showing great passion, then they had in previous decades.”

“As the consumer culture racist forward in the 1950s, propelled by television and the advertising media eager to encourage Americans to want evermore possessions, amateurs made many more photographs of their hard-won trophies, showing off, for example, their new car or new refrigerator."

[Enrique Valdivia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice history of film photography. The text frequently referred to photographs on some other page. Would have been better to organize things so the reader doesn't have to flip back and forth through the book while reading it. After a while I just read the words and looked at the pictures later. More bettah.

I didn't know the word "snapshot" originally referred to a hunter getting off a quick shot at his quarry before it scurried away. I have sometimes felt like a gunman carrying my camera in a bag. Once I was hassled by people at a club thinking I might actually have a gun.

I like the "no rules" message of this book. When taking pictures, it's all good. Random misfires always teach you something, about the camera, the setting or yourself. But when snapshots work they have a beauty all their own, like John Cage's chance operations.

[Hamilton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremely well written without being heavy handed on the history/evolution of snapshot photography in America. Fascinating as hell and made even more so with the excellent example images.

This reads as more of an overview and not an extreme in depth analysis, so if that's what you're looking for check elsewhere.

Highly recommended, even just got the pictures themselves.

[Megan]

I got this for Christmas from Maeve! Awesome. We saw the exhibit at the National Gallery of Art, and it was fantastic. I mentioned to Maeve that every snapshot was its own writing prompt.

I'm looking forward to reading it and to maybe cranking out some short stories...

[Avis Black · Rating 1 out of 5]

Haven't come across a collection this banal in a long time.

[Hapzydeco · Rating 4 out of 5]

This snapshots show what an extraordinary thing photography is. Keep snapping!