The Edge of Vision: The Rise of Abstraction in Photography [Hardcover]

Lyle Rexer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 30, 2009

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 the 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 them--took 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 artists--most prominently Ilan Wolff, Marco Breuer and Ellen Carey--reject photography's documentary dimension in favor of other possibilities, somewhere between painting and sculpture, that include the manipulation of process and printing. In addition to Rexer's engagingly written and richly illustrated history, this volume includes a selection of primary texts from and interviews with key practitioners and critics such as Edward Steichen, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy and James Welling.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"It is a handsome volume, well in keeping with the reputation of the press, and timely in its effort to broadly rethink the history of photography." -- Nancy Roth --Source: A Photographic Review

"[the works are] not photography, not in the familiar sense--they're pure expression." -- Robert Shuster --The Village Voice

"...the artists use unusual and deliberately accident-prone processes to turn out unique prints." --The New Yorker

"Photographer friends will enjoy this book on the history of abstract photography for its artistic merit and watershed images. Nonphotographer friends will enjoy this book because they will think it is a very hard Magic Eye. Hey, as long as everyone's happy." --Tokion Magazine

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Aperture; 1 edition (June 30, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1597111007
• ISBN-13: 978-1597111003
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 8.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #252,848 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #74 in Books > Arts & Photography > Photography > Criticism & Essays

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What is art? What is photography?, July 5, 2009

By 

Bob350 (Eugene, OR USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Edge of Vision: The Rise of Abstraction in Photography (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:

4.0 out of 5 stars Inspirational, March 24, 2010

By 

HWJ3 (New Jersey) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Edge of Vision: The Rise of Abstraction in Photography (Hardcover)

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."

5.0 out of 5 stars The Edge of Vision, October 4, 2010

By 

Janet Weaver - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Edge of Vision: The Rise of Abstraction in Photography (Hardcover)

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.