A clear and concise survey of some of the most significant writers on photography who have played a major part in defining and influencing our understanding of the medium. It provides a succinct overview of writing on photography from a diverse range of disciplines and perspectives and examines the shifting perception of the medium over the course of its 170 year history. Key writers discussed include:
Roland Barthes Susan Sontag Jacques Derrida Henri Cartier-Bresson Geoffrey Batchen Fully cross-referenced and in an A-Z format, this is an accessible and engaging introductory guide.
For anyone interested in photo-criticism, this reader spans a diverse terrain: proponents for modernism, (Szarkowski and Agee), post modernists like Burgin, Tagg and Sekula, as well as philosophers (Barthes, Derrida, Baudrillard) essayists (Benjamin, Jeffrey, Fried and Chevrier), writers (Proust) and last but not least, photographer-writers like Walker Evans and Moriyama.
Some of it is dry and academic but perseverance pays off.