Product Description

A short illustrated survey of the use of photography in contemporary art since the mid-1980s. The work of approximately 150 of the best-known artist-photographers are featured: Andreas Gursky, Nan Goldin, Philip-Lorca diCorcia, Richard Billingham, Juergen Teller, Thomas Demand, Yinka Shonibare, Thomas Ruff, JeffWall, Wolfgang Tillmans, and many more. Themed chapters consider subjects such as narrative and storytelling in art photography, photographing the everyday and the insignificant, the use of photography in conceptual art, and the cool, detached, objective aesthetic prevalent in current art photography.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #231988 in Books
• Published on: 2004-11-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

About the Author
Charlotte Cotton was formerly Curator of Photography at the Victoria and Albert Museum. She is now Head of Programming at the Photographer's Gallery in London. Among her previous books are Guy Bourdin and Imperfect Beauty.

Customer Reviews

An excellent introduction to the subject.
This book gives an excellent introduction to photography as a contemporary art form. Arranged in clear sections dealing with aspects of art photography, such as the deadpan approach, or photography of, and as, an artistic act, the book gives a brief description of each approach discussing its key photographers in turn. The pictures, though small, are well chosen and fascinating. If you've ever felt there is more to photography read this book.

Excellent introduction
This book is an excellent introduction to contemporary photographic themes and practitioners, it's well-written, up-to-date and great value for money.

Unfortunately, because so much ground is covered in such a small space, it's hard to get a true appreciation of some photographers' work when it is summarised down to one or two sentences. Similarly, virtually all photographers are represented by a single image which, due to the format of the book, is often too small for practical purposes. Many of the phographers work demands to be seen as a series if it is to be understood.

These failings are unfortunate but, given the size and price of the book, inevitable. After reading this you will certainly find yourself seeking out more detailed information on many of the artists featured, but you will at least have a clear overall picture of the contemporary art-photographic scene.

superb
This is a truly brilliant introduction to the themes and issues in contemporary art photography; very well-written and accessible, it touches on the work of an interesting and truly international selection of current photographers and artists who use this medium. Using a collection of broad and interlocking themes, it provides an indispensible scaffolding upon which those unfamiliar with current "art-think" can make sense of this demanding and constantly changing discipline. This book is amazingly unpretentious, with language which is engaging, clear and concise. It is impressively up to date, and (especially for the price) the choice, number and quality of reproductions is remarkable; a must for all students of art and design. Charlotte Cotton should be congratulated and commissioned to re-write this book every five years.