The Ongoing Moment

rbarker

Member
Joined
Oct 31, 2004
Messages
2,218
Location
Rio Rancho,
Format
Multi Format
Ongoing moment? Sounds rather indecisive to me.

Or, perhaps the author prefers video?
 

df cardwell

Subscriber
Joined
Jul 16, 2005
Messages
3,357
Location
Dearborn,Mic
Format
Multi Format

Jorge

Member
Joined
Sep 6, 2002
Messages
4,515
Format
Large Format
From the article I dont know that I need a book and a self professed critic of all things to tell me there is nothing new under the sun. If this is the gist of the book I find it rather shallow and simplistic.

If we are to adopt this point of view we might as well close up all the museums and galleries and go home. While there have been many "style" movements in all the arts, they all do the same thing. A landscape painting is a landscape, no matter if it is done impressionistic, pointilistic, etc. A sculpture is a sculpture, it can be modern or not, it can be of a weird thing or not...but it is all the same and most likely something similar has been done before.

Photo journalism is different than fine art and the photographs should not be considered in isolation, they should considered in the context of the times. A photograph of a sailor kissing a woman 55 years ago is an exceptional thing, public displays of affection were not common then and the fact that it was done in such an exuberant manner shows the sailor's happiness, today it would be a nothing picture. I think Dyer misses this completely and goes for the easy shot....typical of self professed experts on everything.
 

rbarker

Member
Joined
Oct 31, 2004
Messages
2,218
Location
Rio Rancho,
Format
Multi Format
Jorge - while I mostly agree with your comments, you have to admire the guy for being able to convice a publisher to put the thing in print.
 

Jorge

Member
Joined
Sep 6, 2002
Messages
4,515
Format
Large Format
rbarker said:
Jorge - while I mostly agree with your comments, you have to admire the guy for being able to convice a publisher to put the thing in print.
Click to expand...

Yep, sometimes self promotion is more valuable than the product...
 

Gary892

Subscriber
Joined
Jun 14, 2004
Messages
262
Location
North Orange County, CA
Format
4x5 Format
It seems to me Mr. Dyer (sp) is making a contradiction. He implies that everything has already been photographed and photographers are just repeating the same shots. Then the author quotes Mr. Dyer(sp) talking about how men's hats represents the changing times by referring to photographs of men's hats before, during, and after the Great Depression. Well, if photographers did make images of the same thing then there would be no reference to men's hats during the period mentioned.

In my opinion, even if every photographer photographed the same object each one would interpret the same item different and bring something unique to the image.
 

celluloidpropaganda

Subscriber
Joined
Jan 12, 2005
Messages
361
Location
N. Texas
Format
Multi Format
I just added The Ongoing Moment to my Amazon cart and thought I'd revive this. The conclusions reached by Jorge and Gary here seem odd, as nothing I've read about the book or in the article they're referring to point that way.

Writing about a continual dialogue between photography of different generations is hardly "the same thing over and over."
 

livemoa

Member
Joined
Aug 12, 2003
Messages
434
Location
Was New Zeal
Format
Multi Format
rbarker said:
Ongoing moment? Sounds rather indecisive to me.

Or, perhaps the author prefers video?
Click to expand...

Sugimoto has joked that he will call his autobiography "The Indecisive Moment".

Looks like an interesting book from the review, and with a background in history I like his links and threads. Might just get a copy.

I also get the feeling he knows what he is talking about and loves the subject. No bad thing.
 

firecracker

Member
Joined
Jan 22, 2005
Messages
1,950
Location
Japan
Format
35mm
The book review reminds me of John Berger's "Ways of Seeing", which is (or was, at least) a deconstructionist theory book.

Meanwhile, I've just found out about the exhibit of Cartier-Bresson's work (over 400 prints) in Osaka, Japan, which will end this weekend. So, that's my top priority right now.
 

André E.C.

Member
Joined
Dec 21, 2004
Messages
1,518
Location
Finland
Format
Medium Format
I have the book, it`s a different aproach to photography!
Not bad for a non-photographer.

Cheers

André
 
OP
OP

SuzanneR

Moderator
Moderator
Joined
Sep 14, 2004
Messages
5,977
Location
Massachusetts
Format
Multi Format
André E.C. said:
I have the book, it`s a different aproach to photography!
Not bad for a non-photographer.

Cheers

André
Click to expand...

This is true Andre, and I finally read the book. As you say, it has some interesting ideas, and I think for folks who don't know the history of photography, they might well find it an enlightening read. It is a unique approach to the history of the medium.

But I have to say, when I finished the book, the ideas felt, well, obvious.

YMMV.

Best,
Suzanne
 

b1ltr1te

Member
Joined
Dec 23, 2005
Messages
39
Location
Clinton, IL
Format
Multi Format
Never read the review, but am half-way through the book. It's not bad, in fact, it's kind of interesting and somewhat enjoyable, though I find parts of it trite and I disagree with other parts.

I suggest picking it up and reading it; when I'm finished you can have my copy.
 

tim atherton

Member
Joined
Sep 19, 2002
Messages
551
It is quite Bergeresque (which isn't a surprise as he has written on Berger). Also, like Berger, it does in a way seem slightly obvious once you have read it, but that being said, the chances are that you hadn't actually thought about a particular photograph or photographer in that way before... So it probably isn't quite as self evident as you perhaps first thought

In addition, I must say some of the most amusing an intriguing parts were things like Steiglitz's sexual proclivities and his obsession with "kneading", his seduction of Strands wife, the missing porno/clinical shots of O'Keeffe, the size of W. Evan's penis ('enormous") and Weston's letter to the Board of MoMA in praise of pubic hair...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Menu
Log in
Register
Cookies are required to use this site. You must accept them to continue using the site. Learn more…