all photos ~ (embiggenable)
LATELY I’VE BEEN PULLING OUT PHOTO BOOKS–SPECIFICALLY INDIVIDUAL PHOTOGRAPHER monographs–from my photo books collection. The primary reason for doing so is to get a comparative feel for my book, re: does it have the look and feel–design and content–of other-like photo books? Does it have a book store presence?
I believe that it does. That feeling is backed up by the response of a large regional book store manager who, when viewing my proof book, asked not only how soon could he get it on the shelves but also would I do an in-store book signing event. He even suggested that I should raise my suggested price for the book cuz, in his opinion, it is a very “high quality product”.
Be all of that as it may, my perusing of some photo books from my collection instigated some thoughts on the current state of photography arts; most of the books in my collection were published in the first decade of this century. Many were retrospectives of work created well before that time–1970>late1980s. In fact, many of my most recent purchases of photo books showcase work created in that early era ….
… all of which leads me to wonder if my interest in “fine art” photography is locked into work from the past. Have I reached a stage in life where I have lost touch with “what’s happenin’ now”, photography wise. Or, is it that there ain’t all that much happenin’ that’s opening up new frontiers in the picture making world?
In defense of my idea that I ain’t dead yet, photography wise, there can be no denying that 70s>80s was a time of ground breaking photography revolution; the New Color Photography and the New Topographics movements were the prime instigators of a radically new picture making paradigm–goodbye Ansel Adams, hello Robert Adams / Stephen Shore and company. And, not only did the picture making world change–any-thing / every-thing became legitimate subject matter–but so did what could be hung on gallery walls–goodbye camera club walls, hello MOMA.
That written, am I in the wrong to write that there ain’t much goin’ on that generates a lot of excitement in the photo world? I mean, where/what’s the next big thing, where/who’s the next big name?
I am willing to admit that perhaps I am asking too much of the photo world cuz it is quite arguable that the medium has matured to a point where a truly radical transformation is not possible. Perhaps I should just relax and appreciate the fact that I experienced and came of age, picture making wise, during an exciting period of artistic evolution.
After all, that transformation made possible a recent experience where, when a complete stranger (a 60ish aged woman)–sitting at a bar eating lunch–was handed my an Adirondack Guide photo book by the bartender, she spent a considerable length of time–20-25 minutes–viewing it. After which she turned to me and said, “A great book with really beautiful photographs.”
That encounter was rather amazing inasmuch as her reaction to a book full of straight, somewhat deadpan, pictures of the mundane, commonplace life–places, things, people–in the Adirondacks might not have been possible a couple decades ago. It might have be viewed as amateur, snapshot junk. Apparently, times have changed.