On Photography is regarded as a classic of photography and even literary criticism. Sontag analyzed the photographic works and photography itself from different angles such as philosophy, art and history, and explained the essence and influence of photography, although she herself "opposed interpretation".
At the beginning of this book, Plato's cave metaphor in the Republic is used to discuss the philosophical challenge of photography to traditional epistemology. Philosophers since Plato have always refused to describe the world graphically, but the appearance of photography and other means of reproduction has raised objections to this philosophical tradition. Photographic works are different from other "images". They provide a true fragment of the world. Sontag said, "Collecting photos is collecting the world."
"Ugly or strange themes are touching because the photographer's intention makes them noble."
"Photography has an insurmountable power, which determines what we recall from events!"
The way of viewing is a rare photo collection.
Author: (English) Berg, translated by Dai Hangshuo
Pricing: 18 yuan
Press: Guangxi Normal University Press
In terms of stimulation and influence on art, John? Few people can match Berg's The Way of Watching. This book includes seven articles, four of which are illustrated. The other three articles are purely pictures. Each article discusses a theme, such as: art and politics, women as the object of viewing, the contradiction of oil painting itself, and advertising and capitalist daydream. For more than 30 years, the controversy caused by this book has lasted for a long time, and its views have become common sense in the photography industry.
In the book, the author points out that "seeing" is not just a simple visual touch, but full of rich and complex meanings. "Seeing" is related to our background, "influenced by knowledge and belief" and "depends on the individual's unique way of watching". When people view a painting as a work of art, they are also influenced by beauty, truth, genius and taste. The author's exposition on the influence of the invention of cameras and video cameras on existing paintings is particularly incisive. He believes that such reproduction separates the details from the whole, and the reproduced picture makes the photographer rather than the painter become the role of explaining the picture to the viewer. Just like the last sentence of this book, "Let the reader continue", more doorways of "seeing" need to be experienced and explored by ourselves, and there is no need to insist on consistency. As long as we can find something from the painting that makes us laugh or have endless aftertaste, then we may have touched some doorways to "see".
Shi Ming is a reference book on how to "watch photography"
Author: (France) Roland? Yubat
Pricing: 18 yuan
Publishing House: Culture and Art Publishing House
Why do so many great works sometimes seem so ordinary, so careless and without any skills? Isn't this a book that teaches you how to take pictures, how to grab pictures and how to use the shutter aperture, symbologist Roland? Bart told us that a good photo is an eternal moment. This is not just a moment. It makes people see the past of that moment and think about its future.
"For me, the body organ of photography is not the eyes (eyes scare me), but the fingers, which connect the lens shutter and the metal groove of the glass photosensitive film (there was such a thing on the camera at that time). I like this kind of mechanical noise, which almost makes me happy, as if the sound of photography itself-and only this sound-seized my desire and completed the exposure with a short sound. I don't think the voice of' time' is sad; I like big clocks, clocks and watches ―― I remember that at first, photographic equipment belonged to advanced woodworking technology and precision machinery. After all, the camera is the clock to study. Maybe an old-school figure like me can still hear the vivid sound of wood in the camera. "
"Research photos have a proof that this proof is not for objects, but for time. According to the phenomenological point of view, the probative power of photos is stronger than expressive power. "
Broken Dreams is the first photo album assembled overseas.
(Selected Contemporary Foreign Documentary Photography)
Translator: Deng Xinyu
Pricing: 80 yuan
Publishing House: Shanghai People's Fine Arts Publishing House
m？ Abraham, g? Mendel, h? Logan and other famous documentary photographers who are active in the photography field in Europe and America have recorded the observation and thinking of contemporary western photographers on the world with more than 100 works on ten themes. From the conflict in the Middle East to the spread of AIDS in Africa, from the vent of revelers to the devout worship of religious believers, all kinds of human living conditions are deeply and powerfully displayed by photographers' unique perspectives. Readers in China can appreciate the various styles and development trends of documentary photography.
The topic of this book not only embodies the tradition of reporting photography and paying attention to major social issues and hot issues, but also covers a wide range of life. Some topics reflect the deep imprint of culture (such as religion) in spiritual growth. This imprint may come from a baptism in childhood or a mysterious ceremony, while photographers explore childhood memories that have been lingering for decades through adult images. Another point that this book is particularly resistant to reading is the cross-cultural perspective of photography. The work "The Incarnation of Brazil" has become a model image of cross-cultural research, and this kind of cross-cultural perspective with academic research flavor is exactly what China photographers lack.
(China Mobile Weekly)