- Hardcover: 292 pages
- Publisher: Aperture; 1 edition (25 May 2009)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1597111007
- ISBN-13: 978-1597111003
- Product Dimensions: 26.2 x 21.1 x 2.5 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 321,833 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Product Description
From the beginning, abstraction has been intrinsic to photography, and its persistent popularity reveals much about the medium. The Edge of Vision: The Rise of Abstraction in Photography is the first book in English to document this phenomenon and to put it into historical context, while also examining the diverse approaches thriving within contemporary photography. Author Lyle Rexer examines abstraction at pivotal moments, starting with the inception of photography, when many of its pioneers believed the camera might reveal other aspects of reality. The Edge of Vision traces subsequent explorations from the Photo Secessionists who emphasized process and emotional expression over observed reality, to Modernist and Surrealist experiments. In the decades to follow, in particular from the 1940s through the 1980s, a multitude of photographers Edward Weston, Aaron Siskind, and Barbara Kasten, among themtook up abstraction from a variety of positions. Finally, Rexer explores the influence the history of abstraction exerts on contemporary thinking about the medium. Many contemporary artistsmost prominently Silvio Wolf, Marco Breuer, and Ellen Careyreject photographys documentary dimension in favor of other possibilities, somewhere between painting and sculpture, that include the manipulation of process and printing. In addition to Rexers engagingly written and richly illustrated history, this volume includes a selection of primary texts from key practitioners and critics, such as Edward Steichen, László Moholy-Nagy, and James Welling.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I bought this for a dissertation about abstract photography and it really helped me. Its like an alternative history of photography from and abstract point of view and includes the work of loads of different artists. It has some really beautiful images in it and it really inspired me to be more abstract with my work. If your interested in abstract photography then this book is a must have, I love it!
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
A brilliant book. Just get it! It will be an invaluable addition to your book collection. Visually and intellectually engaging!
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
6 reviews
20 of 20 people found the following review helpful
What is art? What is photography?
5 July 2009
Format:Hardcover
In photography blogs you will find endless debates about the nature of photography. Should the goal be perfection of technique in representation of "reality", should it be communication of emotion, should it be considered an art form? Here is a book that navigates through the history of photography with an emphasis on abstraction, both as a necessary component of all photo images and as a specific topic in the realm of art. The chapters each examine a period of photographic history, setting forth details of work by prominent photographers and how they grapple with and change the nature of photography. Bits of art history and social history provide context. Small images and brief quotations enhance the text pages. Best of all, each section is followed by a set of large color plates (excellent reproductions in keeping the Aperture's publishing history). We have the chance to enjoy multiple prints from each of more than 40 photographers. These images alone are well worth the price of the book, while the rest of the content rivals what you can learn from many college courses. Much to think about, and a fair amount of indirect inspiration. Highly recommended.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Inspirational
24 Mar 2010
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
It is a little heavy on the "art critic speak" as some other reviewers have said.
But the choice of pix is great and the text was enough to get me going.
Overall it inspired my own photography in the direction of adding abstraction to the mix when the spirit is right.
This book succeeds because it avoids using art critic bull to try to sell you a load of crap art.
I'm not saying I liked every print in here but it avoids being one endless stream of Andy Warhol-esque "here I pissed on the canvas now you explain how it is art."
But the choice of pix is great and the text was enough to get me going.
Overall it inspired my own photography in the direction of adding abstraction to the mix when the spirit is right.
This book succeeds because it avoids using art critic bull to try to sell you a load of crap art.
I'm not saying I liked every print in here but it avoids being one endless stream of Andy Warhol-esque "here I pissed on the canvas now you explain how it is art."
The Edge of Vision
4 Oct 2010
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I found the text and illustrations extremely interesting, although the text may sometimes be abstruse. Having to use one's brain, or a dictionary, from time to time is not a bad thing. An interest in the subject of abstract photography, or in the author's words, "undisclosed photography", "a vision of things that have not yet been seen", certainly makes the effort worthwhile. Could the same points have been made more simply? Yes. That would not have been a bad thing either.
Writing this review, I find that I want to read the book again and spend more time with its images. The book offers a fresh approach to the history of photography, one that I think is important as art photography meets the digital age.
Writing this review, I find that I want to read the book again and spend more time with its images. The book offers a fresh approach to the history of photography, one that I think is important as art photography meets the digital age.
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