Innovation Imagination: 50 Years of Polaroid Photography [Hardcover]

Barbara Hitchcock (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1999

Published to accompany a traveling exhibition, this book brings together 82 superb works from the Polaroid collection that present an overview of the past 50 years of photography. 90 color photos.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

When Edwin Land invented instant photography more than 50 years ago, he offered this thought on his scientific breakthrough: "The purpose of inventing instant photography was essentially aesthetic--to make available a new medium of expression to numerous individuals who have artistic interest in the world around them." Having hired Ansel Adams in 1948 to test the limits of this new medium, Land was clearly committed to his science as a tool of the visual arts. This volume gives us a selective look at the Polaroid Collection, established in the 1960s to honor the works of artists using instant photography. There are remarkable images here that don't just stretch notions of Polaroid photography but of photography in general. The bizarre, the ordinary, and the multiple image all coexist in this book to demonstrate how imagination can work within the parameters of the Polaroid film, with its limited control of color and generally the small, square format. It is all to the good--a reminder of the power of a less-appreciated medium in the hands of a roster of 20th-century photographers. Recommended for public and academic libraries.
-David Bryant, New Canaan P.L., CT
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 120 pages
• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams; 1st Ed. edition (May 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810943581
• ISBN-13: 978-0810943582
• Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 10.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #488,831 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful presentation of an old favorite, November 25, 1999

By 

"virtual_amber" (California, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Innovation Imagination: 50 Years of Polaroid Photography (Hardcover)

This book is a beautiful addition to any art book collection. It is great to see all the things that have been done with polaroid, and has inspired me to do more with it. From polaroid transfers to Hockney.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great images by some of the greatest photographers alive, August 27, 2000

By 

F. Orion Pozo "Orion Pozo" (Raleigh, NC USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Innovation Imagination: 50 Years of Polaroid Photography (Hardcover)

This book publishes the works of an exhibit held to celebrate the first 50 years of Polaroid photography. The works are from the Polaroid Collection that was started by Edwin Land to involve professional photographers in the development of his technology. Eventually this collaboration developed into a formal collection. This book gives us a wonderful glimpse of the great works that have been created using this medium. The photographs are arranged by decade which allows the reader to see the development in technique and technology. Each picture is accompanied by the name of the photographer, their country, the title of the work,the date, and the type of film used. The only thing I felt was missing was a some description of the works by either the photographers or the editors.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Everybody Loves Polaroid ("Stuff" honoring a book), July 8, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Innovation Imagination: 50 Years of Polaroid Photography (Hardcover)

Innovation/Imagination: 50 Years of Polaroid Photography. "...From Warhol to Robert Frank, these visual pioneers have turned "press here, stupid" into art.