Description
The before-and-after trope in photography has long paired images to represent change: whether affirmatively, as in the results of makeovers, social reforms or medical interventions, or negatively, in the destruction of the environment by the impacts of war or natural disasters. This interdisciplinary, multi-authored volume examines the central but almost unspoken position of before-and-after photography found in a wide range of contexts from the 19th century through to the present. Packed with case studies that explore the conceptual implications of these images, the book's rich language of evidence, documentation and persuasion present both historical material and the work of practicing photographers who have deployed - and challenged - the conventions of the before-and-after pairing. Touching on issues including sexuality, race, environmental change and criminality, Before-and-After Photography examines major topics of current debate in the critique of photography in an accessible way to allow students and scholars to explore the rich conceptual issues around photography's relationship with time andimagination.
This interdisciplinary collection of essays examines the relationship between photography, time, and evidence across a broad range of historical, contemporary, geographical and cultural settings.
About the Author
Jordan Bear is Assistant Professor of Art History at the University of Toronto, Canada. Kate Palmer Albers is Assistant Professor in the Art History Division at the University of Arizona, USA.
Reviews
This exciting collection of historically astute essays recognizes the interval between serially taken photographs as far more than the intervention of time, but as the space where the power of photography is revealed. The book shows how the medium of photography has irrevocably shaped our modern perceptions of identity and time. * Ulrich Baer, New York University, USA *
The authors of these essays follow the trail of a familiar and, in their hands, uncanny photographic strategy. They show the complexities and unravel the potency of 'before' and 'after' pictures, addressing such things as the transformation of bodies in medical photos, the changes in glacial and man-made landscapes, the traumas of disasters and wars, the workings of ethnic and racial stereotype, and much more. This is a thought-provoking, timely, very helpful book. * Anthony Lee, Mount Holyoke College, USA *
This highly original collection takes as its subject matter an enduring trope of photographic practice that has - curiously - never previously been examined in depth. Through its broad-ranging case studies, across the history of the medium, the book explores the phenomenon through the representation of bodies in medicine and the penal system, landscape and architectural photography, and depictions of war and natural disasters, to name but a few. Along the way a rich seam of new thinking emerges about photography and temporality, imagination and expectation, which contributes to core concerns in history, philosophy, art and the social sciences. * Annebella Pollen, University of Brighton, UK *
Book Information
ISBN 9781474253116
Author Jordan Bear
Format Hardback
Page Count 236
Imprint Bloomsbury Academic
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Weight(grams) 453g
This interdisciplinary collection of essays examines the relationship between photography, time, and evidence across a broad range of historical, contemporary, geographical and cultural settings.
About the Author
Jordan Bear is Assistant Professor of Art History at the University of Toronto, Canada. Kate Palmer Albers is Assistant Professor in the Art History Division at the University of Arizona, USA.
Reviews
This exciting collection of historically astute essays recognizes the interval between serially taken photographs as far more than the intervention of time, but as the space where the power of photography is revealed. The book shows how the medium of photography has irrevocably shaped our modern perceptions of identity and time. * Ulrich Baer, New York University, USA *
The authors of these essays follow the trail of a familiar and, in their hands, uncanny photographic strategy. They show the complexities and unravel the potency of 'before' and 'after' pictures, addressing such things as the transformation of bodies in medical photos, the changes in glacial and man-made landscapes, the traumas of disasters and wars, the workings of ethnic and racial stereotype, and much more. This is a thought-provoking, timely, very helpful book. * Anthony Lee, Mount Holyoke College, USA *
This highly original collection takes as its subject matter an enduring trope of photographic practice that has - curiously - never previously been examined in depth. Through its broad-ranging case studies, across the history of the medium, the book explores the phenomenon through the representation of bodies in medicine and the penal system, landscape and architectural photography, and depictions of war and natural disasters, to name but a few. Along the way a rich seam of new thinking emerges about photography and temporality, imagination and expectation, which contributes to core concerns in history, philosophy, art and the social sciences. * Annebella Pollen, University of Brighton, UK *
Book Information
ISBN 9781474253116
Author Jordan Bear
Format Hardback
Page Count 236
Imprint Bloomsbury Academic
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Weight(grams) 453g
