theory: literary sources

In this folder here you can find texts to read in relation to a number of subjects and themes below. Some of these files are too large to upload to the blog here so go to the folder below.

M:DepartmentsPhotographyStudentsLOVE & REBELLIONContextual Studiesreading

Photography
Histories > Identities > Codes > Meaning

Barthes, R. (1984) Camera Lucida. London: Flamingo

Benjamin, W. (1936) ‘The Work of Art in an Age of Mechanical Reproduction’ in Hannah Arendt (ed) (1973) Illuminations. London: Fontana

Documentary
Realism > Representation > Ethics > Truth

A short PPT on Documentary Photography

Sontag, Susan (1977) ‘In Plato’s cave’ in On Photography. London: Penguin Books

Sontag, Susan (1977) ‘Through a Glass Darkly’ in On Photography. London: Penguin Books ch 2

Here some helpful resources on Sontag: On Photography from PhotoPedagogy

Rosler, Martha (1981) ‘In, around, and afterthoughts (on documentary photography)’ in Stallabras Julian (2013) Documentary. Cambridge (MA): The MIT Press.

Here is an introduction to John Tagg: A Burden of Representation (1998). Minnesota: University of Minnesota Press from PhotoPedagogy

Bate, David (2016) ‘The Art of the Document’ in Art Photography. London: Tate Gallerie
How documentary photography now is considered within a fine-art context

Max Pinckers Interview: On Speculative Documentary
How fact and fiction today in documentary photography is blurred

Solomon-Godeau, Abigail (1994), ‘Inside/ Out’ in Photography At The Dock: Essays on Photographic History, Institutions, and Practices. Minnesota: University of Minnesota Press

Here some helpful resources on ethical questions regarding the photographer’s position of being inside or outside from PhotoPedagogy

Photography and truth

Photography and Truth – see blog post with many resources.

Bright, Susan (2019) Is it Real? in Photography Decoded.

See more short essays here in Photography Decoded

Photography & Truth

Issues in Photojournalism

Photojournalism: Truth, Representation, Propaganda, Aesthetics

Richard Billingham

Richard Billingham: Ray’s A Laugh – a photographer who worked on the inside documenting his parents life and relationship.

Interview Richard Billingham

Documentary film: Fish Tank based on his book and parents relationship

Feature film: Ray & Liz

Interview in The Guardian and The Observer by Tim Adams (2019)

Larry Sultan

a Review in the Guardian Newspaper.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/may/02/larry-sultan-pictures-from-home-review

Tableaux Photography
Pictorialism > Narrative > Cinema

A short PPT on Tableaux Photography

Bate, David (2016) ‘Pictorual Turn’ in Art Photography. London: Tate Galleries.
How Tableaux has been influenced by Pictorialism

Aesthetic Theory
Beauty > Sublimity > Judgement

The Concept of the Aesthetic

Read Greek philosopher Plato’s thesis on Beauty

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/beauty/

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/plato-aesthetics/

Snapshot Photography
Vernacular photography

Photography and Feminism
Gender Studies > Male/Female Gaze > Self-portraiture

Mulvey, Laura (1973) ‘Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema’ in Screen (1975)

Judith Butler is an academic and writer who is an authority on feminism and gender studies, incl queer theory. Her seminal book is: Gender Trouble which we do have a copy of in the Library LRC and in Media. Here is a good overview of her work – make sure you read it all and watch video as well.

Kotz, L. (1998) ‘”Aesthetics” of Intimacy’ in Bright, D. (1998) The Passionate Camera: Photography and bodies of desire. London: Routledge

Photography and Portraiture

Robert Mapplethorpe: The Male Gaze – in pictures. The Guardian

Amelia Jones The “Eternal Return”: Self-Portrait Photography as Technology of Embodiment

Cindy Sherman:

Paoli, J. Deconstruction Woman: The works of Cindy Sherman

Cain, Abigail, A Brief History of Cindy Sherman and Feminism

Owen, Samantha Rosemary (2014) Gender and Vision Through the Lens of Cindy Sherman and the Pictures Generation. University of Vermont

Lots of interviews and video and with Cindy Sherman on MOMA

Have a look at Shannon’s O’Donnells work here and when she was an A-level student?

Francesca Woodman:

Towsend, C. (2006) Francesca Woodman: Scattered in Space and Time. London: Phaidon Press Limited.

> Go to folder with pdf Francesca Woodman essays here: M:DepartmentsPhotographyStudentsLOVE & REBELLIONContextual Studiesreading

Online texts

https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/an-hourglass-figure-on-photographer-francesca-woodman/

Thematic Essay about Francesca Woodman

Have a look at an essay and research by previous student, Francesca Hogan

Jo Spence and Photo-therapy

Jo Spence Memorial Library

Dennett, Terry (2008): Jo Spence’s camera therapy: personal therapeutic photography as a response to adversity

Heath, Charlene (2017). Work, Politics, Survival, British Journal of Photography

Weiser, Judy (2005) Remembering Jo Spence: A Brief Personal and Professional Memoir… PhotoTherapy Centre

Jansen, Charlotte (2020) Is Photography An Effective Form of Therapy? Elephant

Bull, S. (2009) Photography. London: Routledge

Photography and Memory

Kuhn, A. Remembrance: The Child I Never Was in Wells, L. (ed) (2003) The Photography Reader. London: Routledge

Here are a few articles and photobooks on Photography and its relationship with memory. You should read them and references them in your essay.

Colberg, J (May 28, 2012) Photography and Memory
blogger on Conscientious

Frames of Mind: Photography, Memory and Identity
by Anwandter, Patricia Marcella
In Frames of Mind, I have sought to explore the themes concerning the dynamic construction of memory. What do we choose to remember and how do we reinforce it? Who are we in relationship to who we were? Working with a collection of over five hundred images accumulated throughout my life, I have reinvestigated the images and their interrelationship with one another

A Matter of Memory: Photographs as Objects in the Digital Age 
An exhibition at George Eastman House

A review on British Journal of Photography

Barthes, R (1982) Camera Lucida, London: Jonathan Cape

Overview of Barthes book Camera Lucida in Photo Pedagogy
The first half of this article talks about Barthes theory of a studium and punctum. The latter part about a photograph of his dead mother which allows him to think about memory.
Commentary on Barthes book

Rereading: Camera Lucida by Roland Barthes
Article by Brian Dillon in the Guardian, 26 March 2011
Grieving for his mother, Roland Barthes looked for her in old photos – and wrote a curious, moving book that became one of the most influential studies of photography

DEATH IN THE PHOTOGRAPH – critical article in response to Roland Barthes seminal book ‘Camera Lucida’ reflecting on photography.

Photography and Narrative

Family / childhood Photography:

Photography and Archives / Narratives / Memory:

Colin Pantall Landscape, Power and Climate Change

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