Book Review of A Brief History of Photography

It is difficult to write an overview of the history of photography. World-recognized photography classics do exist, such as Alfred Gerriets, Paul Srtand and Walker Evans in the United States.

Evans), German august sander, French Athot and British Brandt. But no one can confidently say that we have known all the important photographers or that we can do it. When photo agencies, archives and newspapers optimize their organizations or change their addresses, the whole professional experience will be written off. Sometimes photos are relocated or evaluated, but the whole process of photography is always lost.

Photography collectors and historians don't like this either. For example, architectural photography has only begun to gain a respected position in recent years. 1978 The Rhine Museum in Bonn exhibited Werner Mantz's photographs in the 1920s and 1930s. He was just one of many outstanding architectural photographers in that period.

Photojournalists are also ignored, especially if they work for local newspapers or media with large circulation. Few of them have the time or interest to care about their reputation as artists. They continue to work under the pressure of deadlines, and their negatives disappear into the database and are often never seen again. He is busy with some excellent artists: for example, James Archie, one of the most resourceful photographers in Britain in the 1930s.

Other difficulties have also surfaced. Here is a question about the basic unit of measurement of photography. Historians and critics usually understand this unit as a photo-as if the history of photography is a history of painting. However, not all photographers have such views on their works. The photos they took were edited into a theme, series or group.

So a "photographic work" can be a photo, a book or a painting in a branch library. Among them, an important achievement is Walker Evans' book Photography in America (1938). Evans's photos are beautiful and interesting when viewed separately; When viewed together in the order compiled by Evans and his advisers, they form first-class works of art. However, it is quite difficult to re-recognize the original appearance of things, because photos are often republished in new formats or new contexts. Using unpublished materials, beautifully printed; Through careful editing, some boring experiences have been given a stunning new look.

In Europe and America, photographic archives provide us with rich original materials, from which we constantly create new pictures about the past, which are often regarded as an idyllic era to educate the imperfect present.

Photography has never been the mainstream, just some short-term trends. During about 1900, there was a "healthy" international movement in which Europeans and Americans participated. Photographers communicate with each other through exhibitions and publications with pictures. There was also a stage of internationalism in the late 1920s, during which Germans, French, Soviets and Americans shared the same style and interest in architecture and design. There are also colorful local sports, such as the project initiated by the American Farm Safety Administration in the 1930s. But photography has never advanced to a broad front. Some excellent exhibits are the works of independent artists who are willing to stick to the style they learned in their early years.