Investigations of Lens and Screen Arts – serie

Based on the highly successful course at the School of Visual Arts developed by the author, this book provides a comprehensive approach to the critical understanding of photography through an in-depth discussion of fifteen photographs and their contexts – historical, generic, biographical and aesthetic. This book presents an intensive course in looking at photographs, open to undergraduates and general audiences alike. Rexer argues that by concentrating on fifteen carefully chosen works it is possible to understand the history, development and contemporary situation of photography.Looking to images by photographers such as Roland Fischer, Nancy Rexroth and Ernest Cole, The Critical Eye is the only book to address the totality of issues involved in photography, from authorial self-consciousness to the role of the audience. Its subjects are not limited to art photography but include vernacular images, commercial genres and anthropology. With every chapter it seeks to link the history of photography to current practice. This highly illustrated and beautiful book provides a much-needed introduction to image production.

This transdisciplinary study offers a fresh perspective on the intersections of photography, cinema, and visual perception, making it an essential addition to collections in art history, film studies, and photography.Robert L. Bowen delves into the complex relationship between art, binocular vision, space, and time across both early and modern histories of photography. Central to Bowen’s analysis is the concept of "the human shutter," a metaphor for binocular rivalry, which he interprets as a form of proto-cinema—linking early photographic processes with the evolution of cinematic temporality.The book provides a rich examination of the near-simultaneous emergence of still, moving, and stereoscopic depth media, while challenging the gradualist view of visual technologies. Through a preliminary taxonomy of rare stereoviews, Bowen draws connections between experimental film, painting, philosophy, and perception theory, opening new avenues for understanding the history of visual media.Additionally, Bowen traces the fascinating journey of early pioneers like Antoine Claudet and Giorgio Sommer, whose work in motion and binocular vision plays a pivotal role in rethinking the origins of photographic cinema. Bowen bridges this history with contemporary innovations, including the dissolution of time in photography with the advent of generative AI.The volume also highlights the work of modern and contemporary artists and filmmakers such as Marcel Duchamp, Robert Smithson, Lucy Raven, Ken Jacobs, and OpenEndedGroup, who have explored stereoscopic spaces and perceptions in innovative ways.Key for undergraduate and postgraduate students studying art, art history, film, photography, and new media. It is also relevant to photographers, photo historians, experimental filmmakers, video artists, digital media artists, painters, and sculptors seeking fresh insights into their respective fields. Will resonate with readers interested in the history of 19th-century photography and the development of stereoscopic media.

Photo Obscura: The Photographic in Post-Photography discusses the profound transformation of post-photography. It argues post-photography is not merely a trend but a significant movement that redefines photography by integrating it with emerging technologies and creative practices, resulting in works that may not even resemble photographs but still retain a photographic influence. It is structured around various themes, including AI-generated images, the intersection of digital and physical art forms, and the changing relationship between visual representation and perception. Drawing on photo history, media studies, visual studies, art history, and the digital humanities and through discussions of specific artworks and artists, it provides insights into how post-photography continues to evolve, offering new ways to understand, define, and engage with the photographic image in the digital age. It highlights the influence of digital culture, where the abundance of images and information has led to novel approaches in art that question the very nature of photography, truth, and reality. Still, it maintains that despite this radical shift, photography's influence remains central, even when hidden or abstracted in the final work.