Customer Reviews

Occam's Razor: An Outside-In View of Contemporary Photography

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

 

 

Bill Jay cuts through the academic elitism of "photography education" and reveals the myths about museums, galleries, directors and critics. This is a MUST READ for those interested in serious photography, and particularly for young photographers. As a professional photographer, I wish I could have read Occam's Razor twenty years ago when I began. What Jay writes is applicable to all creative arts and particularly to the design professions of architecture and landscape architecture.

An uneven and loosely connected collection of essays on photography ranging from very instructive (the insight on the cultural context surrounding "The Family of Man" exhibit) to absolutely uninformative (the interview with Diane Arbus where much is made of her reluctance to speak but what is actually discussed after she relaxes & actually gets to talk remains a mystery. Likewise the interview with Bill Brandt where nothing is discussed).

The text is written in a very readable fashion but the style is patronizing and dominated by cliches and commonplace arguments.

In my view, many of the discussions address the concerns of teen-agers interested in becoming photographers. This is perfectly legitimate but it may put off readers who do not fall in this category.

3 stars for the truly informative discussion on Steichen's exhibit and for the lovely illustrations which together justify the purchase.

This book is a companion volume to Bill Jay's book entitled "Cyanide & Spirits: An Inside View of Early Photography" which focuses on 19th century photography. Occam's Razor discusses 20th Century photography in a series of expertly crafted essays on a wide variety of subjects. One essay discusses disturbing images and is especially worthwhile in the aftermath of September 11th. Jay concludes that the "most disturbing subjects threaten our survival as a species." It took a lot of thought to reach this conclusion, which is well supported. I also enjoyed the essays on Diane Arbus, W. Eugene Smith and the explosion of the Hindenberg.

Even if all the essays don't interest you this book is a must read because Jay writes so well and thoughtfully about photography. He is one of a rare breed.

For forty years I thought there was something wrong with me. I never understood the writing about the subject which is my life's blood. Bill Jay has given me a photographic rebirth. I now know the problem is not my understanding, but the esoteric babble of academic writers. I can not thank Bill Jay in the proper terms. --- Yes I may be able to. I will also pass the word.

Bill Jay gives everyone permission to think broadly about photography and less about little boxes of categories such as Commercial and Fine Art. He does this with humor and a true love of photography that is contagious. Underscoring his message about clear thinking, his straightforward writing is a model for anyone trying to communicate about art.

I bought this collection of essays for the title and its implications in connecting one of the core intellectual principles of science to photography. Bill Jay succeeds quite will in this endeavor through positive assertions of the value of the artisan and photojournalistic aspects of photography over "Fine Art" photography. However, the criticisms of "criticism" and other pseudo-intellectual posturing, including some very funny send-ups, dominated my reading and enjoyment of the book. A particulary acerbic example from a section of the essay "Madonna Made Me Do It" entitled "Get a Rap" goes as follows:

"Copy down a paragraph (any one will do) from a current critical theorist. Memorize it. Then, in front of the mirror, practice a halting, stumbling delivery with screwed-up face until you can recite it as if ther words were being laboriously dredged up from deep in your psyche with gut-wrenching sincerity."

The book was a joy to read and I recommend it to anyone who likes photography but isn't very fond of the blather that surrounds so much of it. The "woodcut" illustrations were a nice bonus.

The next time you go to a gallery or museum to see a photography exhibit and can't make heads or tails of the artist's statement or the curator's description about the work (and you also speak the same language that it is written in) then read this book to feel better. Occam's Razor is a serious and well written critique of certain aspects of the world of Fine Art Photography, certain types of academic programs in photography and other related areas. An unusually entertaining and fairly quick read for a book on a subject like this.