Photography, Curation, Criticism: An Anthology

Description

This unique collection brings together the work of photography writer, curator, and lecturer, Liz Wells, reflecting on key themes of landscape, place, nationhood, and environmental concerns. A newly written introductory chapter contextualizes the collection. This is followed by an ‘in conversation’ with Martha Langford, Concordia University, Montreal, that brings together two leading figures in the field to respond to Wells’ thought and the themes that emerge in her writings. The essays included in this anthology draw on work from a variety of sources including artists’ photobooks, exhibition catalogues, magazines, academic books, and journals. Seventeen previously published articles, organized thematically in relation to Curation and Residency, Phenomena, Place, and Critical Reflections, demonstrate Wells’ critical and curatorial approach to research through photographic practices, reflecting a core view of art (at its best) operating to convey the implications of what is being explored and to evoke responses that are simultaneously sensory and intellectual. This collection will be essential reading for students and scholars of photography, visual culture, and art history, especially those examining landscape and environmental photography. Cover Half Title Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents List of Illustrations Chapter Credits Prologue Acknowledgements Part I: Critical Reflections Chapter 1: Photography, Curation, Criticism Reflections Interventions The Image that Disturbs Sublime as Disturbance The Seduction of Beauty Thinking Critically Anthology Notes References Chapter 2: Speaking of this Collection: A Conversation Between Martha Langford and Liz Wells References Part II: On Curation and Residency Chapter 3: Curatorial Strategy as Critical Intervention: The Genesis of Facing East Curating as Research Process Facing East Considerations Landscape Photography from Baltic Areas Conclusion Notes References Chapter 4: Landscapes of Exploration Notes References Chapter 5: On Being Out of Place References Part III: Phenomena Chapter 6: Icy Prospects Wilderness Wilderness Journeys Lapland – Arctic Wilderness Refusing Appropriation In the Land of Make-Believe Icy Prospects Dreaming with Open Eyes References Chapter 7: Light Touch Notes Chapter 8: No Man’s Land: Antarctica and the Contemporary Sublime The Antarctic as No Man’s Land Sublime Sublime as a Concept Historically Contemporary Art and the Sublime Notes References Part IV: Place Chapter 9: Points of Departure: Currencies of the Post-Industrial Sublime Sublime as Concept Currencies of the Post-Industrial Sublime Thinking Through Art Notes References Chapter 10: Questions of Distance Notes References Chapter 11: Photography, Nation, Nature Introduction Europe and Place Landscape Photography: Themes and Aesthetics European Places Notes References Chapter 12: A Man of the North Notes References Chapter 13: Hidden Histories and Landscape Enigmas Notes References Chapter 14: Histories and Imagination: Narrative and Metaphor in the Work of John Kippin References Chapter 15: Silent Witness Notes References Part V: Critical Spaces Chapter 16: Seeing Beyond Belief: Cultural Studies as an Approach to Analysing the Visual Introduction Cultural Studies Media Studies The Study of Visual Culture Cultural Studies: Methodologies Analysis Context of Viewing Context of Production Looking: Form and Meaning Conventions Pictorial Conventions Semiotics and Codes Photographic Conventions Social Conventions Power and Photographic Conventions Looking: Recognition and Identity Conclusion Notes References Chapter 17: The Critical Forum Problematising the Theory-Practice Relation MA Independent Film and Video Film Theory for Film Practice A Few Final Points Notes Chapter 18: Then and Now: Some Notes on Photography and Theory Framing Moments Document Institutions Signification Then and Now Note References Chapter 19: Modes of Investigation: On Photography and Environment Notes References About the Author Index