Seizing the Light: A Social History of Photography - Softcover

Hirsch, Robert

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0073379212 ISBN 13: 9780073379210

Publisher: McGraw-Hill Education, 2009

Synopsis

Seizing the Light: A Social History of Photography provides a thought-provoking, accurate, and accessible introduction to the photographic arts for all readers. With stunning images and commentary by hundreds of international artists, the text clearly and concisely provides the building blocks necessary to critically explore photographic history from the photographers' eye, an aesthetic point of view.

About this title

From the Publisher:

Seizing the Light is the first new photo history to be published in English since the early `80s.
New images: The author, an image-maker, educator, and curator, has done exhaustive archival research to include rare and seldom seen prints.
High production quality: The photographs in Seizing the Light are reproduced on heavy paper, at large sizes, and with careful attention to subtle variation in tints and shading.
Incorporates professionals into the artistic narrative: From Weegee, the original paparazzo, to three generations of war correspondents covering the American Civil War, two World Wars, and Vietnam, Seizing the Light shows how front-page cameramen and women have influenced the development of the art of photography.
Traces the relationship between the art and the science of photography: Beginning with pinhole cameras and progressing to digitalization, Seizing the Light relates artistic developments to the technical advances that made them possible.
Addresses the social influence of photography: The book shows how, from the Dust Bowl to the Vietnam War, photographs have had a profound affect on Western society and culture.
Excellent coverage of photography since 1945: Virtually unexamined by previous survey texts, post-war photography and the influence of digital technologies are thoroughly covered.

Book Description:

"Its chief virtues are a succinct, mostly lucid style, a wide intellectual scope, a flood of ideas and insights at every turn, sensitivity to the technology and culture of photography, and a willingness to attend to images . . . In the end, perhaps the best measure of a text is whether or not one would choose it from among all the offerings to use in class. I have chosen to use this book." - Photo Review, Spring 2000

"An excellent introductory history book." - Afterimage: The Journal of Media Arts and Cultural Criticism

In this wonderful and entertaining book, Hirsch has produced the most useful, readable, and practical successor to Newhall. Seizing the Light is written in a friendly, accessible way -- dense with information, but more hip and lively than other offerings, especially those aimed at college students." - exposure: The research journal of the Society for Photographic Education. Vol. 32.2 (Fall, 1999)

Hirsch's prose is very digestible. He writes in a clear, lively style with a minimum of jargon." - Views: the newsletter of the Visual Material Section of the Society of American Archivists

Science, culture, and art come together in this comprehensive history of photography. With superlative production values, rare and unusual prints, and a fresh perspective, Robert Hirsch has written the ideal companion to the first 200 years of photography.

About this edition

• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Education
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0073379212
• ISBN 13: 9780073379210
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 496