On Photography

Paperback, 224 pages

English language

Published Aug. 25, 2001 by Picador.

ISBN:
978-0-312-42009-3
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On Photography is a 1977 collection of essays by Susan Sontag. It originally appeared as a series of essays in the New York Review of Books between 1973 and 1977. In the book, Sontag expresses her views on the history and present-day role of photography in capitalist societies as of the 1970s. Sontag discusses many examples of modern photography, among these, she contrasts Diane Arbus's work with that of Depression-era documentary photography commissioned by the Farm Security Administration. ([Wikipedia][1])

[1]: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_Photography

13 editions

A spooky, sad, but ultimately optimistic view of humans struggle with adversity

Listened to the audiobook, narrated by Finty Williams, over the course of a couple of long summer road trips.

An interesting and engaging book! It applies the setting of a women's prison in England to a meditation on death, injustice, and our obligations to ourselves and each other. It has a strong supernatural element, but most of the characters and plot points are grounded in the 'real world'.

The only thing criticism that I have is that the main character undergoes a very dramatic change of perspective at the beginning of the book. She starts out as an unfocused and disengaged woman with serious drug addictions. Her transformation to a highly-principled protagonist feels like it warrants a bit more interrogation that it received here.

Still, recommended, particularly for fans of Carey's other works.

Subjects

  • Photography As An Art
  • Photography
  • Photo Essays
  • Criticism
  • Photography / General
  • General
  • Artistic photography
  • Photography, Artistic