Presenting two decades of work by Abigail Solomon-Godeau, Photography after Photography is an inquiry into the circuits of power that shape photographic practice, criticism, and historiography. As the boundaries that separate photography from other forms of artistic production are increasingly fluid, Solomon-Godeau, a pioneering feminist and politically engaged critic, argues that the relationships between photography, culture, gender, and power demand renewed attention. In her analyses of the photographic production of Cindy Sherman, Robert Mapplethorpe, Susan Meiselas, Francesca Woodman, and others, Solomon-Godeau refigures the disciplinary object of photography by considering these practices through an examination of the determinations of genre and gender as these shape the relations between photographers, their images, and their viewers. Among her subjects are the 2006 Abu Ghraib prison photographs and the Cold War-era exhibition The Family of Man, insofar as these illustrate photography's embeddedness in social relations, viewing relations, and ideological formations.

About the Author
Abigail Solomon-Godeau is Professor Emerita of the Department of History of Art and Architecture at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and the author of several books, including Photography at the Dock: Essays on Photographic History, Institutions, and Practices; Male Trouble: A Crisis in Representation; Rosemary Laing; Chair a canons: Photographie, discours, feminisme; and coauthor of Birgit Jurgenssen. Sarah Parsons is Associate Professor of Art History at York University.

Reviews
"Solomon-Godeau shines when applying deconstructive feminist analysis to broader questions of representation in visual culture, and the market forces that collude to elevate an artist's reputation to master status." -- Wendy Vogel * Camera Austria *
"With its refusal to separate photography from power and patronage, Abigail Solomon-Godeau's Photography After Photography arrives at an auspicious moment.. . . Bringing a wealth of information to bear on photographic meaning, Solomon-Godeau explores her topics in historical context. In doing so, she demonstrates that the way many photographs are understood today has little to do with the circumstance of their creation, or the manner in which they were originally distributed and viewed." -- Dore Bowen * Art in America *
"While Solomon-Godeau's overarching goal is to offer a feminist critique of the art world - particularly of critical discourse around art - in some of her essays she also discusses topics that fall outside this lens, such as the role of desire in photography and images of torture. In this sense, the anthology reflects the range of Solomon-Godeau's practice and interest as an art critic and scholar." -- Ela Bittencourt * Hyperallergic *
"Solomon-Godeau's essays are lucid and make for captivating reading. . . . It is fitting for Solomon-Godeau to present a collection that spans such a broad range of topics in a manner that is cohesive, challenging, and attentive to photography's complex formal and cultural history." -- Will Carroll * ASAP/Journal *



Book Information
ISBN 9780822362661
Author Abigail Solomon-Godeau
Format Paperback
Page Count 288
Imprint Duke University Press
Publisher Duke University Press
Weight(grams) 635g