Customer Reviews

Contacts, Vol. 3: Conceptual Photography

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

In contrast to a lot of American productions on art/artists, this stands out for being tasteful, informational, and interesting. For relying on the strength of the actual photographs, instead of irritating editing or distractions related to the process or a heavy biography on the creator's personal life.

It's also willing to rely on the artist's narration of their own work, so you'll get to hear them explain their thoughts in-depth and you'll view their work entirely differently than if you'd just seen it in a book or a gallery. The first few minutes will be boring if you make quick judgements about their work, soon after though, you'll see the depth of their interests and the way their mind operates. Plenty of reason to pay attention!

You'll be turned out to a lot of new photographers, this is way better than any modern photography book you can get your hands on.

I teach at the college level, and find this series of DVD's to be helpful in introducing the students to a wide range of photographer-artists. This third DVD in the series is a strong introduction to the photography of several of the most important contemporary conceptual photographers.

Is this a guide to photography (how-to book)--most definitely not. Is it an introduction to contemporary fine-art photographers--most definitely. Also, one reviewer thinks these photographers are all French--yikes!--there are actually many contemporary photographers from several nationalities...

Covers the following photographers: John Baldessari, Bernd & Hilla Becher, Christian Boltanski, Alain Fleischer, John Hilliard, Roni Horn, Martin Parr, Georges Rousse, Thomas Struth, Wolfgang Tillmans.

Contacts, Vol. 3: Conceptual Photography consists of carefully edited interviews with the artists in which the interviewer's questions are removed so that what is left for us is the record of the photographers' voices. There are few talking head shots. Most of the footage is rostrum-camera repro of original photographic imagery by the individuals, some of which is rarely seen elsewhere.

In every way this is an excellent reference very close to the source, which is unusual and very valuable to the student of photography.

The emphasis is not on personalities but on the photography and for that reason each title in the series has been thoroughly enjoyed by my university second- and third-year Visual Arts/Photography degree students, but this, Vol. 3, has prompted most discussion, despite the by now quite venerable age of the production!

Alain Fleischer (France) and John Hilliard (UK), both of whom produce work with a perceptual as well as conceptual interest, stand out as voices rarely heard.

It is refreshing to find arts/photography documentary material that is a European production with universal appeal, aside from the more widely disseminated dross with the usual US bias!

The quality is good though the DVDs are NTSC and are not (**!??) issued in PAL, despite my requests directly to distributor! For those in front of a class the DVD menu navigation is efficient.

In terms of quality and value as a contribution to scholarship and teaching, I'd place 'Contacts' up with the TATE MODERN's extraordinarily pithy and insightful, tightly edited (5 min.) vodcast series 'Tate Shots'.

John Baldessari, Bernd & Hilla Becher, Christian Boltanski, Alain Fleischer, John Hilliard, Roni Horn, Martin Parr, Georges Rousse, Thomas Struth, Wolfgang Tillmans are a provocative combination - and value for money!

I just watched the entire Contacts series. A must for teachers of photography.
I'm a huge fan of the Series #1 which gives us another look at the origins of
classic photojournalism. But I watched the entire series...an in the end, talent
is talent...using the ability to organize light and composition and a point of
view. I was surprised to find a few photographers in the #3 series that are as inspiring as their historic pioneers.

This DVD is reviews the works of several photographers. As a commercial photographer, I'm too deeply aware of the limitations of trying to show photographs on a TV screen to be able to complement the effort. However, the voice-over narrations are interesting to listen to. You'd be better off reading a photography book for the same amount of time, but if you're looking for a DVD on photography, you could do worse than this one.

I purchase a lot of educational videos on photography and Photoshop, but this one was not at all what I expected. It has little, if any, educational value. Instead, the video shows photos taken by French photographers with commentary (in French). Don't buy this as an educational video.