The Materiality of Exhibition Photography in the Modernist Era: Form, Content, Consequence

Description

This book challenges the status quo of the materiality of exhibited photographs, by considering examples from the early to mid-twentieth century, when photography’s place in the museum was not only continually questioned but also continually redefined. By taking this historical approach, Laurie Taylor demonstrates the ways in which materiality (as opposed to image) was used to privilege the exhibited photograph as either an artwork or as non-art information. Consequently, the exhibited photograph is revealed, like its vernacular cousins, to be a social object whose material form, far from being supplemental, is instead integral and essential to the generation of meaning. The book will be of interest to scholars working in art history, history of photography, theory of photography, curatorial studies and museum studies. Cover Half Title Series Page Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Page Contents List of Illustrations Acknowledgements Introduction: Materiality Matters 1 This ‘Thing’ Called Photography The Image as Object: Suitable for Human Consumption Early Photography: Metal Versus Paper, Commerce Versus Artistry Closing the Gap: The Standardisation of Materials 2 On the Surface The ‘Fuzzy School’: Texture and Matte The ‘Sharp and Shiny Contingent’: Smooth and Glossy The Transparent Surface 3 The Size of It Photographic Size: A Contemporary Issue? Enlargement: A Material and Technological Evolution One Work, One Maker: The Portfolio-Sized Print ‘Disposable Monumentality’: The Large-Format Print 4 Mounting Concerns Borders, Reinforcements and Accessibility The Visible Mount The Hidden Mount Conclusion: Not Just Window Dressing . . . Action, Causation, Effect Putting It All Into Practice: The Wider Implications Index