Lectures on Contemporary Art: 5

Photography

from Daguerre to Gursky

Photography has come a long way since Fox Talbot and Daguerre made their first print. Ironically, given our technology, a number of artists today have reverted to pin-hole cameras and early processing media, albeit with a contemporary slant. Many, however, use all the facilities our technology offers.

We look at the development of the art through the work of major photographers such as Julia Margaret Cameron, Ansel Adams, Alfred Stieglitz through to our contemporary artists such as Serrano, Sherman, Gursky, and Tillmans. Thanks to these artists, photography is now considered on a par with the other 'fine' arts.