Photography's Antiquarian Avant-Garde: The New Wave in Old Processes [Hardcover]

Lyle Rexer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2002

Photography's Antiquarian Avant-Garde charts the full-blown rebellion of contemporary photographers against the advent of digital photography and their reversion to photographic methods used in the nineteenth century. These photographers seek to reengage the physical facts of photography, its material and processes, by turning to the history of photography for metaphors, technical information, and visual inspiration. The artists in this volume are from all over the world and use a wide array of photographic processes. Among the artists and processes featured are Chuck Close's daguerreotypes, Sally Mann's collodion prints, Jayne Hinds Bidaut's photogram tintypes, Shirine Sharif's photograms, Gabor Kerekes's carbon dichromates, and Laurent Millet's toned silver prints. For these artists, these steps into the past are a way to reimagine and redirect not only the photographic object, but also the act of photography itself.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Some fear that the photographic community's widespread and controversial adoption of digital processes will lead to technical standardization and numbing artistic uniformity. Fortunately, whatever the future of photography, we can all be grateful for the artists, such as those covered in this book, who are investigating and exploiting its past. This is a stunning survey of current work by inventive artists employing pre-20th century means to address postmodern and contemporary issues and aesthetics. The 60 artists, including Sally Mann and Chuck Close, utilize an array of processes (e.g., wet-plate photography) and applications (e.g., emulsion on steel) to create images that are dependent on light and time and that, as Mann states, "cost you dearly in time and energy." The 120 images include luscious cyanotype prints on various materials, enduring daguerreotypes, dreamy ambrotype prints, and eerie tintypes. An informative and accessible text by photography writer Rexer gives historic and theoretical perspective, and the brief technical glossary serves as a primer for the novice. Highly recommended for large academic and public collections, this is also an affordable resource for smaller libraries.
Debora Miller, Minneapolis
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams; First edition (May 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810904020
• ISBN-13: 978-0810904026
• Product Dimensions: 11.8 x 9.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,011,282 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Important subject, narrow approach September 17, 2005

By James C. Steward

Format:Hardcover

Lyle's focus on the recent upsurge of interest in historic and alternative printing techniques in photography focuses on a fascinating area of work in contemporary art, but is flawed by the writer's tendency to use obfuscating language, deployed in a tone that suggests you're "in the loop" if you get it and not if you don't. The subject awaits its definitive treatment but this volume is useful in the meantime.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful images, disappointing text July 25, 2006

By Reader 1024

Format:Hardcover

I agree with the previous poster that the definitive book on this subject has yet to be written. The printing is first-rate, so the images are gorgeously presented, although I wish some of them were larger.

The down side is that the text does not go into nearly enough depth on the subject. The introductory essay is just that, a good introduction to the topic, but each chapter (chapters are each devoted to an alternative process) has a short essay which only devotes a paragraph or two to each artist, followed by pages and pages of images which left me wanting to know more.

The essay by Chuck Close and the interview with Sally Mann are fascinating, but only serve to illustrate the potential this subject has to offer, but the book doesn't quite live up to.

Four stars on the strength of the images.

5 of 19 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Coffee Table Book February 22, 2003

By J. Hancock

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Beautifuly constructed book with alot of really nice images. Certainly anyone could appreciate this book. My only complaint is that in the opening/introductory chapters, there is alot of unused space and few images until you get past that.