The Great Wide Open: Panoramic Photographs of the American West [Hardcover]

Claudia Bohn-Spector (Author), Jennifer A. Watts (Author), Henry E. Huntington Library and Art Gallery (Compiler)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2003

Focuses on concepts of the 'panoramic', or the wide-angle view, tracing how this specific form of visual representation amplified the idea of the American West as a supposedly virgin and sparely populated land of endless resources, and an ideal landscape for American enterprise.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

No region is better suited to the long, seemingly recumbent format of panoramic photographs than the sprawling prairies, mountains, and deserts of the American West. The format not only emphasizes the strength of the horizon but also encompasses what might otherwise be considered minor parts of a landscape trees, rocks, and other natural features at the margins of the frame. This book draws on a major exhibition held recently at the Huntington Library, San Marino, CA, offering a fine sampling of panoramic photographs of place and people in the West. It includes exquisitely reproduced works in both color and black and white from the 1850s to the present, embracing an impressive array of photographers, among them Eadweard Muybridge, E.O. Goldbeck, and Catherine Opie. This beautifully designed book provides an excellent critique of the panoramic photograph as an art form within its appropriate historical context. Highly recommended. Raymond Bial, Parkland Coll. Lib., Champaign, IL
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Merrell Publishers; 1St Edition edition (January 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1858941326
• ISBN-13: 978-1858941325
• Product Dimensions: 11.8 x 7.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,201,886 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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