Summer is the time for mindless beach reading, but schools back in session and it’s time to hit the hard stuff. Book lists seem to be in the air, seeing one at Pop Photo and another at A Photo Student, while A Photo Editor published a list back in 2007. Sometimes I delude myself into thinking I’ve read a lot, but these lists show I’ve only scratched the surface.
The Pop Photo list, 26 Books Every Photographer Should Own, reflects the audience of the magazine: a few how-tos by high profile photographers (Ansel Adams is front and center) and collections of photographers firmly ensconced in the canon, such as Avedon, Cartier-Bresson, Salgado, Capa, etc.
A Photo Editor posted a list of 32 books. There is some overlap with Pop Photo’s list, but not much. Ansel Adams appears here again, but there is more theory represented. Happy to see Robert Adams’ excellent writing make the list. Still, geared towards an outward looking viewpoint for photography. APE always elicits interesting, sometimes combative commentary. This post has some additional good recommendations in the comments.
James Pomerantz has just entered the MFA program at SVA and is blogging about his experience at aphotostudent.com. He’s posted SVA’s summer reading list for entering students. There are five required books and nineteen optional, but recommended, books. The list is heavily skewed to the theoretical, and what I’d describe as an inward looking viewpoint. The required books are:
- The Contest of Meaning: Critical Histories of Photography, Richard Bolton, editor
- A New History of Photography, Michel Frizot, editor
- Illuminating Video: An Essential Guide to Video Art, Doug Hall and Sally Jo Fifer, editors
- Modern Art and the Object: A Century of Changing Attitudes, Ellen Johnson, editor
- Video Art, Michael Rush