July 7

Photography: A critical introduction

I am completely engrossed in Liz Wells’ (2009) ‘Photography: a Critical Introduction’, it is densely packed with a wide array of photographic influences and thinking. It is not an easy skim read, and I do find myself re-reading quite regularly to check my own understanding.

Open book
Thought provoking

It is also a fabulous source of signposting and I have found myself spinning off to follow a variety of leads to other authors and writings. I think that is partly why I am enjoying it, it is stretching but still feels manageable.

I also found it helpful in that it does exactly what it says  on the tin – it is a really clear introduction to some of the core theories and figures that have influenced the development of critical thinking around photography. I am not reading it chronologically, I think I would find  that too much of a slog. I am currently looking at ‘Photography within the Institution’ and will return to earlier chapters at some point in the future.

It feels like a book that is well worth sticking with to really grasp the basics of much of what has shaped photographic theory.

References:

Wells, L. (2009). Photography: A critical introduction (4th ed.). Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.

 



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Posted July 7, 2012 by Dawn Langley in category "AoP Reading