The Photographer's Eye
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- Create Date：2021-05-06 11:57:08
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：John Szarkowski
- ISBN：087070527X
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Summary
The Photographer's Eye by John Szarkowski is a twentieth-century classic--an indispensable introduction to the visual language of photography。 Based on a landmark exhibition at The Museum of Modern Art in 1964， and originally published in 1966， the book has long been out of print。 It is now available again to a new generation of photographers and lovers of photography in this duotone printing that closely follows the original。 Szarkowski's compact text eloquently complements skillfully selected and sequenced groupings of 172 photographs drawn from the entire history and range of the medium。 Celebrated works by such masters as Cartier-Bresson， Evans， Steichen， Strand， and Weston are juxtaposed with vernacular documents and even amateur snapshots to analyze the fundamental challenges and opportunities that all photographers have faced。 Szarkowski， the legendary curator who worked at the Museum from 1962 to 1991， has published many influential books。 But none more radically and succinctly demonstrates why--as U。S。 News & World Report put it in 1990--"whether Americans know it or not，" his thinking about photography "has become our thinking about photography。"
Reviews
Jan Kjellin
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Jorå。 Visst ger den här boken en del tankar och inspiration på meta-planet。 Jag fångas av ett par formuleringar - till exempel om tid och "the decisive moment" - som， om inte annat， redan fått mig att börja gräva i mitt fotoarkiv。 Samtidigt lider den något av sin ålder。 Mycket har hänt inom exempelvis digital bildbehandling som fått gränserna mellan de två världarna "konst" och "fotografi" att blandas ihop och gör att vissa påpekanden i boken inte längre är helt giltiga。Men å andra sidan knyter Jorå。 Visst ger den här boken en del tankar och inspiration på meta-planet。 Jag fångas av ett par formuleringar - till exempel om tid och "the decisive moment" - som， om inte annat， redan fått mig att börja gräva i mitt fotoarkiv。 Samtidigt lider den något av sin ålder。 Mycket har hänt inom exempelvis digital bildbehandling som fått gränserna mellan de två världarna "konst" och "fotografi" att blandas ihop och gör att vissa påpekanden i boken inte längre är helt giltiga。Men å andra sidan knyter det an till det boken inleder med att slå fast om fotograferingens demokratisering av bildskapande och synen på fotografen som en skala från bildskapare till fotograf till kameraburen allmänhet。 Kanske existerar idag även en vertikal skala， där förhållandet till bildbehandling blir en faktor i denna alltmer komplicerade syn？（Jag fascinerades även av fotografierna från amerikanska inbördeskriget。 Jag visste att det fanns/finns fotografier från den tiden， men det hade inte slagit mig att det kunde innebära mer än bara suddiga bilder från olika strider。。。） 。。。more
Andreas Bodemer
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I was hoping for more writing by Szarkowski。 Turns out this book is mostly pictures。 The little writing he did is good， however。
Atraveller
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A great collection of old photography， but the philosophy and creative process teased by the introduction are not seen by the rest of the book。
Cleeo
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Not a lot of text but what text there is sparks some decent reflection on the photographic process
Jeffrey
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Since the pandemic began， I have taken to walking several miles a day in my neighborhood。 The walks are very pleasing。 I don’t live in the wealthy part of town but it is very liberal and middle class， and I say this in a way I never would have appreciated as a young man。 The Biden/Harris signs far outnumber the Trump ones，there are lovely gardens flowering and elevated vegetable beds， though the early September weather dried roses till their dried petals turned to fragments and powder in my hand Since the pandemic began， I have taken to walking several miles a day in my neighborhood。 The walks are very pleasing。 I don’t live in the wealthy part of town but it is very liberal and middle class， and I say this in a way I never would have appreciated as a young man。 The Biden/Harris signs far outnumber the Trump ones，there are lovely gardens flowering and elevated vegetable beds， though the early September weather dried roses till their dried petals turned to fragments and powder in my hands， and October has wilted the all the remaining vegetables except cabbage and pumpkins—and their brethren squash。 There are many little free libraries in the front yards。 The almost all look like bird houses and I treat them like roadside shrines and stop to pray at each one。 Sometimes I take a book。Recently I found this one。 First published by the Museum of Modern Art， many of the photos take me back to my childhood as we had these sort of books around the house。 Of course it’s a bit shocking how little I understood about someone， say Minor White， was trying to do。 I’m old enough to forget a great deal， but at least now I can articulate why the photos were chosen by the curator and what they intended to illustrate。And also why it is that only white （and Jewish） photographers are shown。 We have the great Edward Weston but not the great Imogen Cunningham。 We have the disturbing but exquisite Lee Friedlander but not Diane Arbus。 And of course there’s no work by Gordon Parks or anyone in Asia: It is male and Eurocentric， and no one would curate like this anymore。 Nevertheless， there are some of the most iconic shots in the art form and it’s worth the modicum of time this slim volume needs。 Just don’t forget when perusing these stills that photography—as every other art—has invited more people of color to the party and now takes a much more inclusive approach to culture。 。。。more
Inês
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"The photographer’s vision convinces us to the degree that the photographer hides his hand。""To quote out of context is the essence of the photographer’s craft。" "The photographer’s vision convinces us to the degree that the photographer hides his hand。""To quote out of context is the essence of the photographer’s craft。" 。。。more
Vikas Singh
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The best thing about the book is the five tenets it lays at the very beginning which can help any layman to understand and appreciate photography。 If one completely absorbs these tenets it becomes easy to understand and critique all the photographs in the book。 An excellent companion for all lovers of photography
Mr。 Chris Martin
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This is the standard！ Also have a 1st Edition！！！
Marco
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Just read the introduction， and it was amazing。
Amitava Das
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One of the all time classic texts on photography。
Affad Shaikh
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this is a wonderful framing of considering photographs from certain vantage points。 To understand the aesthetic of a photograph Szarkowski presents five frames that can help decipher and further discussion of a photograph- Time， Vantage， Frame， Detail， and the Thing Itself （the subject of the photograph， is it actual or does it challenge the observers concern with realistic presentation of a thing）。
Scott Drake
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Scholastically and historically interesting， but not for a casual camera （or smart phone） user。
Zioluc
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insegna a leggere le immagini， quasi senza testo。 Ha un sacco di bellissime foto dal 1850 al 1960。 Sorprendente la qualità di quelle più vecchie。
dv
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A great book and a great historical document， which basically changed - thanks to Szarskowski open mind - the perception of photography in the second half of XX century。 Very good edition with superb duotone printed images。
andy
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If you have an interest in photography， or are an amateur photographer I really recommend the book。
Trevor
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changes the way you think about making pictures
Joe
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Great collection of photos organized to exemplify Szarkowski's "issues" with photography; or， rather， the "characteristics and problems that have seemed inherent in the medium。" Was hoping to get more insight and criticism from Szarkowski， though。 I read his introduction in William Eggleston's Guide and was blown away。 I wanted more of that。 This book actually only contains a few pages of Szarkowski's writing - the bulk of the book is photos。 Great collection of photos organized to exemplify Szarkowski's "issues" with photography; or， rather， the "characteristics and problems that have seemed inherent in the medium。" Was hoping to get more insight and criticism from Szarkowski， though。 I read his introduction in William Eggleston's Guide and was blown away。 I wanted more of that。 This book actually only contains a few pages of Szarkowski's writing - the bulk of the book is photos。 。。。more
Patrick
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An incredible collection of photographs， curated to get at the grammar and possibilities of photography
Holden Richards
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Beautiful bit of writing at the beginning of this。 A well curated exhibition。
Davy
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What's here is great， but I was hoping for more text。 John Szarkowski's introduction to William Eggleston's Guide is a brilliant piece of writing， and was partially responsible for inspiring me to learn more about the art of photography。 I guess I figured this book was his opportunity to really flesh out those ideas and add depth to the concepts he'd discussed previously。 But really， it's a lot of the same concepts， and a whole bunch of black and white photos to back them up。 Which is great， and What's here is great， but I was hoping for more text。 John Szarkowski's introduction to William Eggleston's Guide is a brilliant piece of writing， and was partially responsible for inspiring me to learn more about the art of photography。 I guess I figured this book was his opportunity to really flesh out those ideas and add depth to the concepts he'd discussed previously。 But really， it's a lot of the same concepts， and a whole bunch of black and white photos to back them up。 Which is great， and still valuable， but not exactly what I'd had in mind。 。。。more
Ray Dunsmore
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A beautiful exploration of the first hundred-or-so years of photography， from the early tin-types of Matthew Brady and countless others whose names are forgotten to history， to the modern masters: Robert Frank， André Kertész， Edward Weston， et al。 A wonderful collection of photography akin to Edward Steichen's famous Family of Man。 Excellent for those who want to understand early photography。 A beautiful exploration of the first hundred-or-so years of photography， from the early tin-types of Matthew Brady and countless others whose names are forgotten to history， to the modern masters: Robert Frank， André Kertész， Edward Weston， et al。 A wonderful collection of photography akin to Edward Steichen's famous Family of Man。 Excellent for those who want to understand early photography。 。。。more
Barb Swanner
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If you are just starting out， or have lost your way taking photographs this is a book that you should read and absorb。
Tony
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A book to savour; to come back to time and time again。"Robert Capa expressed both the narrative poverty and the symbolic power of photography when he said。。'if your pictures aren't good enough， you're not close enough'"。 With these words， Szarkowski set out the challenge that he further developed elsewhere: Is photography capable of narrative？It's difficult to over-estimate the effect that Szarkowski's six page introduction had on me。 All thinking photographers tussle with the twin-headed monste A book to savour; to come back to time and time again。"Robert Capa expressed both the narrative poverty and the symbolic power of photography when he said。。'if your pictures aren't good enough， you're not close enough'"。 With these words， Szarkowski set out the challenge that he further developed elsewhere: Is photography capable of narrative？It's difficult to over-estimate the effect that Szarkowski's six page introduction had on me。 All thinking photographers tussle with the twin-headed monster， "Orthos"， that is photography: pictures that "take" reality vs pictures that go beyond their apparent intention to "enlarge one's sense of possibility… like organisms， reproducing and evolving"。And in dealing with this Orthos， we become aware of our own progressive discovery， of increasing awareness of characteristics inherent in the medium。 Szarkowski was probably wrong in suggesting the narrative poverty of photographs。 But he was right in emphasising their symbolic potency。 This book examines this potency through five lenses: the thing itself; the detail; the frame; time and vantage point。 His choice of photographs depicting these is exquisite。 。。。more
Dave Hood
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Basic forbeginners
Donald
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Oh， you are a photographer？？？？？！！！ Have you studied this book？。 。。。。 NO？？？？！！！！！ 。。。。 Well go f*ck yourself for a while， read this， and then get back to me。
Swati Bhatnagar
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Wonderful book。 Pretty insightful！
Steve
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Great compilation of photos from masters of the 19th & 20th Century。 Separated into chapters such as the frame ， the subject， etc。
Michael Scott
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An art book about photography， based on one of the first major exhibitions， The Photographer's Eye， held at the Museum of Modern Art。 （MOMA）， New York， in 1964。 Overall， useful pics but 。。。 perhaps the debate about the role of photography was useful in mid-1960s， but now this book seems outdated。The key contribution of this work is the rather outdated theory of the elements of expression in photography: composition （focusing on realism and displacing/replacing painting）， detail （instead of a whi An art book about photography， based on one of the first major exhibitions， The Photographer's Eye， held at the Museum of Modern Art。 （MOMA）， New York， in 1964。 Overall， useful pics but 。。。 perhaps the debate about the role of photography was useful in mid-1960s， but now this book seems outdated。The key contribution of this work is the rather outdated theory of the elements of expression in photography: composition （focusing on realism and displacing/replacing painting）， detail （instead of a while narrative）， frame （synthesis）， time （from short-exposure stills to long-running ghosts）， and vantage point （which enables new angles to view the "real" world）。As a possibly timeless contribution， this book depicts well over 100 photographs， among others of Atget， Matthew Brady （secession war pics）， Bill Brand， Peter Buckley， Henri Cartier-Bresson， Walker Evans， Robert Frank， Lee Friedlander， Andre Kertesz， Jacques Henri Lartigue， Paul Strand， and Edward Weston。 。。。more
Mark Petrick
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This is one of the best books on photography I've read。 This is one of the best books on photography I've read。 。。。more
Martin Pepe
，
A must read for photographers。 It's a bench mark book on the examination of photographic composition。 A must read for photographers。 It's a bench mark book on the examination of photographic composition。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Photographer's Eye
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Photographer's Eye&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft