Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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34 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This is the One Great Book on the History of Photography!, May 9, 2005
Seizing the Light: A History of Photography. is a wonderfully broad, contemporary, eclectic and entertaining book. Robert Hirsch has produced the most useful, readable, and practical successor to Beaumont Newhall's classic, The History of Photography, first published in 1937. Seizing the Light is written in a friendly, accessible way -- dense with information, but more hip and lively than other offerings, especially those aimed at college students. Hirsch includes the "canon" of standard western photographic history (represented by Stieglitz, Weston, Adams, White, et. al.) first set forth by Newhall and other researchers, but updates the information with special emphasis on the last five decades of photographic practice, including digital imaging.
Many teachers and interested readers will greatly appreciate Hirsch's conscious effort throughout the book, to include numerous women and photographers from other cultures. (Chapter Two opens with an image of an American Indian, and includes a portrait of an African-American, affording students the realization that marginalized groups actually did appear as subjects before the camera in addition to working behind them.)
Students will also appreciate Hirsch's habit of opening new chapters with a description of cultural and political events occurring during the period under discussion: Chapter Twelve starts with a harrowing description of life for immigrants in New York City in the late Nineteenth Century during the time of Jacob Riis, and Chapter Seventeen has a helpful summary of the ending of the Vietnam War, connecting it smoothly to such diverse influences as Richard Nixon and the BeeGees! There are also wonderful endnotes following each chapter that are absolutely addictive, giving curious readers further information and surprising tidbits of information.
Hirsch's knowledge gained as a Director of CEPA Gallery in Buffalo (a contemporary non-profit Artist's space) provides him with exceptional insight into contemporary photography. This is especially evident in his last Chapter, Eighteen, "Thinking About Photography," which abounds with infrequently seen and challenging images by Arnulf Rainer, Nam June Paik, John Baldessari, Anselm Keifer, Gilbert and George, William Wegman and the Bechers. There is a clear and helpful section on Postmodernism, including the usual suspects: Cindy Sherman, Richard Prince, Barbara Kruger, Sherrie Levine, and Victor Burgin. There are sections on "Gender Issues" with Judith Golden, as well as one on "Fabrications" with Sandy Skoglund, Olivia Parker, Joel Peter Witkin and others. "Altering Time and Space" includes David Hockney, the Starn Twins, and the delicious hand-colored work of Holly Roberts. Other sections include "Investigating the Body" (Andres Serrrano, Robert Mapplethorpe, Nan Goldin, Sally Mann) and "Multiculturalism" (Clarissa Sligh, Carrie Mae Weems, Lorna Simpson, and the Guerilla Girls). Hirsch closes this bulging chapter with a discussion of digital imaging, including images by Pedro Meyer, Nancy Burson and several rising young artists in new media. He concludes with an extensive bibliography of related books and resources, a helpful list of monographs by the major artists presented throughout the text, and a section on sources for artists' books.
Robert Hirsch has produced a most impressive and useful book that readers will find engaging and relevant. The currency and eclectic nature of Hirsch's thought is fascinating and his book serves as a much-needed supplement to existing texts in the history of photography.
(Submitted by Brian Taylor, Professor of Art and Design at San Jose State University, where he has taught the History of Photography for 25 years. Prior to that, he studied with Beaumont Newhall for three years during graduate school at the University of New Mexico.)
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19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Persistence of Fine Books, December 29, 2005
For everyone with an interest in photography, either as an artist of the medium, a beginner looking for direction, or a collector who wants informed background to enhance appreciation of fine photographs both from the past and from the present obsession, SEIZING THE LIGHT: A History of Photography is essential reading.
Robert Hirsch knows his subject and in one hefty book manages to share the beginnings of photography some 200 years ago with the evolution of the camera and the discipline of photographing. Well illustrated with both photographs and drawings, Hirsch chronicles the famous and not so famous practitioners of the art in succinct but richly colorful biographical abstracts to accompany examples of each artist. The phases through which this art form has passed makes for fascinating reading even beyond the scope of the title: the use of the camera in documenting the history of our globe at celebration, at war, at discovery, and at the side of the people of the day is a journey well lead by a writer well skilled.
Though this book is now six years old it remains one of the more important textbooks for the art school classroom. But more important it is so richly written that it remains a fascinating survey of life since the camera. From the beginnings of the pinhole box to the present day digital images on the cell phone etc, the invention of the camera has inextricably changed our perception of the world. Learn the how and why of it! Highly recommended. Grady Harp, December 05
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Seizing the Photographic Light, March 23, 2006
Overall a great book on the history of photography. VERY comprehensive overview of the evolution of photography. It ties movements in art and social events into photography trends and developments. It also provides insight into how photographers and artists used the medium to express themselves and how experimentation lead to improvements over the years. My only negative comment would be that some of the earlly forms of cameras were not pictured. There were diagrams of early cameras, but after the first hundred years, there is little to no documentation on how they evolved cosmetically/ functionally. It'd be nice to see an example of the various "groundbreaking" cameras as they were discussed. Otherwise, a great book.
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