Contemporary Photography and Theory: Concepts and Debates

252 Pages·2020·6.088 MB·English

by  Sally Miller

Contemporary
Photography
and Theory
Contemporary Photography and Theory.indb 1 12-09-2019 13:29:14

Contemporary
Photography
and Theory
Concepts and Debates
Sally Miller
Contemporary Photography and Theory.indb 3 12-09-2019 13:29:14
First published 2020 by Bloomsbury Academic
Published 2020 by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
Copyright © Sally Miller, 2020
Sally Miller has asserted her right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988,
to be identified as Author of this work.
For legal purposes the Acknowledgements on p. x constitute an extension
of this copyright page.
Cover design by Eleanor Rose | Cover photograph: Dark Pacific Sun , 2014. © Mohini Chandra
and Christopher Stewart. Courtesy of the artists
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by
any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information
storage or retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publishers.
Notice:
Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for
identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.
Typeset by Deanta Global Publishing Services, Chennai, India
ISBN 13: 978-1-350-00332-3 (hbk)
ISBN 13: 978-1-350-00331-6 (pbk)
BLO_00_CPT_PRELIMS_INFO_docbook_new_indd.indd 4 03-10-2019 17:51:14
Contents
Figures vii
Acknowledgements x
Introduction
1
Part One Photography and identity
1 The honorifc and the subjugated portrait
9
2 The blank portrait and the intimate record
21
3 The portrait and the contemporary self
31
Part Two Photography, landscape and place
4 The politics of place
45
5 Non-place and new topologies
57
6 Ruins and the Anthropocene
67
Part Three Photography, performance and the
politics of representation
7 Gender and the selfe
79
8 Race, history and time
87
9 Performativity and disability
97
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vi Contents
Part Four Photography and psychoanalysis
10 Psychoanalysis, representation and desire
109
11 Psychoanalysis, spectatorship and the gaze
117
12 The politics of enjoyment
127
Part Five Photography and the event
13 Photography, memory, history
139
14 Post-photojournalism and contemporary
images of confict
149
15 Photography, empathy and responsibility
159
Notes 171
Select Bibliography 208
Index 234
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Figures
1.1 Eileen Perrier, Grace, 2000. © Eileen Perrier. Courtesy of
Eileen Perrier 8
1.2 Bertilllon card of Francis Galton created upon Galton’s visit to
Bertillon’s laboratory in 1893 16
1.3a,b,c,d Eileen Perrier, Grace, 2000. © Eileen Perrier. Courtesy of
Eileen Perrier 18–19
2.1 Bettina von Zwehl, Untitled I, 1998, #1 (series of 7). © Bettina
von Zwehl. Courtesy of Bettina von Zwehl 22
3.1 Zach Blas, Facial Weaponization Suite: Fag Face Mask – 20
October 2012, Los Angeles, CA. Photo by Christopher O’Leary.
Courtesy of the artist 34
3.2a,b,c Vivian Fu, ‘Mirror Self Portrait in Los Angeles, 2015’, ‘Self
Portrait in Bed with Tim, San Francisco, 2014’, ‘Self Portrait in
Grocery Store, San Francisco, 2013’. © Vivian Fu. Courtesy
of the artist 40
4.1a,b Mohini Chandra and Christopher Stewart, Untitled from
the series Dark Pacifc Sun, 2014. © Mohini Chandra and
Christopher Stewart. Courtesy of the artists 47
4.2 Sally Mann, Deep South, Untitled (Emmett Till River Bank), 1998.
Gelatin silver print, 40 × 50 inches (101.6 × 127 cm). © Sally
Mann. Courtesy of Gagosian 50
4.3 Justin James King, Untitled from And Still We Gather With
Infnite Momentum, 2009. © Justin James King. Courtesy of the artist 53
4.4 Tomas Albdorf, ‘Dad and Me made Some “Art Installation”
LOL while Taking a Break from Hiking (Nice View To)’ from
the series General View, 2017. © Tomas Albdorf and Webber.
Courtesy of the artist 55
5.1a,b Roger Eberhard, ‘Panama City, Room 1704’, from Standard,
2015. © Roger Eberhard. Courtesy of the artist 60
5.2 Andreas Gefeller, ‘Soma 006’ from the series Soma, 2000.
Courtesy of Atlas Gallery, London 62
5.3 Trevor Paglen, ‘Open Hangar, Cactus Flats, NV, Distance ~ 18
miles, 10:04 a.m’, 2007. C-Print 30 × 36 inches, 76.2 × 91.4 cm. ©
Trevor Paglen. Courtesy of the artist and Metro Pictures, New York 65
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viii Figures
6.1 Tong Lam, ‘An outdated and abandoned theme park in
Chengdu, Sichuan Province’, 2013. © Tong Lam. Courtesy of the
artist 73
6.2 Joanna Zylinska, still from iEarth, 2013. © Joanna Zylinska.
Courtesy of the artist 74
6.3a,b Matthew Buckingham, Te Six Grandfathers, Paha Sapa, in
the Year 502,002 C.E., 2002, black and white digital c-print,
31.7 × 23 cm | 12½ × 9 in, Edition 7. Te Six Grandfathers, Paha
Sapa, in the Year 502,002 C.E., 2002, black and white digital
c-print, wall text, 152.5 × 110.75 cm | 60 × 43 2/3 in, Edition 5.
Courtesy of the artist and Daniel Marzona, Berlin 75
7.1 Amalia Ulman, Excellences & Perfections (Instagram Update, 8
July 2014) (#itsjustdiferent), 2015. Image Courtesy of the artist
and Arcadia Missa 80
8.1 Shadi Ghadirian, Qajar #1, 1998. © Shadi Ghadirian. Courtesy
of the artist 89
8.2 Omar Victor Diop, Jean-Baptiste Belley (1746–1805), from
Project Diaspora, 2014. © Omar Victor Diop. Courtesy of
MAGNIN-A gallery, Paris 91
9.1 David Horvitz, Mood Disorder, 2012–ongoing. Openly
circulating high resolution image fle. Courtesy of the artist &
ChertLüdde, Berlin 98
9.2 Sam Taylor-Johnson, ‘Self Portrait in a Single Breasted Suit with
Hare’, 2001. © Sam Taylor-Johnson. All rights reserved, DACS
2019 103
9.3 Hannah Laycock, Untitled 01 (Forced to Gasp [Blue]). © Hannah
Laycock, www.hannahlaycock.com. Courtesy of the artist 106
10.1 Lucas Blalock, Two Lettuces, 2014. Courtesy of the artist 110
11.1 Laurel Nakadate, Lucky Tiger #63, 2009. Type-C print and
fngerprinting ink, 4 × 6 inches. © Laurel Nakadate. Courtesy of
Leslie Tonkonow Artworks + Projects, New York 119
13.1 David Levinthal, Untitled from Mein Kamf, 1994. © ARS, NY
and DACS, London 2019 142
13.2 Alan Schechner, Self Portrait at Buchenwald: It’s the Real Ting,
1991–3. © Alan Schechner. Courtesy of the artist 144
14.1 Christoph Bangert, from hello camel, 2016. © Christoph
Bangert. Courtesy of the artist 152
14.2 Richard Mosse, Better the Devil You Know, 2010. © Richard
Mosse. Courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York 154
15.1 Simon Norfolk, ‘Crni Vrh, Untitled No.4’, from the series Bleed,
2005. © Simon Norfolk. Courtesy of the artist 162
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Figures ix
15.2 Rosemary Laing, ‘welcome to Australia’ from the series to walk
on a sea of salt, 2004. C-Type photograph, 110 × 224 cm. ©
Rosemary Laing. Courtesy of Tolarno Galleries, Melbourne 164
15.3 Ahlam Shibli, ‘Untitled’ (Occupation no. 18), al-Khalil/Hebron,
Palestine, 2016–17, chromogenic print, 40 × 60 cm. © Ahlam
Shibli. Courtesy of the artist 168
15.4 Rineke Dijkstra, ‘Almerisa, Asylum Center Leiden, Leiden, the
Netherlands, March 14, 1994’. Courtesy of the artist and Galerie
Max Hetzler, Berlin | Paris | London 169
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