American Photography

Description

This lively new survey offers fresh insights into 150 years of American photography, placing it in its cultural context for the first time. Orvell examinines this fascinating subject through portraiture and landscape photography, eamily albums and memory, and analyses the particularly 'American' way in which American photographers have viewed the world around them. Combining a clear overview of the changing nature of photographic thinking and practice in this period, with an exploration of key concepts, the result is the first coherent history of American photography, which examines issues such as the nature of photographic exploitation, experimental techniques, the power of the photograph to shock, and whether we should subscribe to the notion of a visual history.

Reviews

"A fine introduction, and stimulating to readers already familiar with the riches of American camera work."--Mick Gidley, University of Leeds
"What a terrific book!...Rich references to literature, history, art, and popular culture make this story come alive."--Mary Panzer, Author of Matthew Brady and the Image of History, and former curator of photographs for the Smithsonian Institution's National Portrait Gallery

Table of contents

1. Introduction; 2. Presenting the Self; 3. Viewing the Landscape; 4. Seeing and Believing; 5. A Photographic Art; 6. Photography and Society; 7. Versions of the Self; 8. Photographing Fictions; 9. Photography and the Image World; 10. Conclusion: Post Photography; Timeline; Further Reading; Museums and Websites; Index