Each Wild Idea Writing, Photography, History

by Batchen, Geoffrey

• ISBN13: 9780262523240
• ISBN10: 0262523248
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-02-22
• Publisher: The MIT Press

Summary

In Each Wild Idea, Geoffrey Batchen explores a wide range of photographic subjects, from the timing of the medium's invention to the various implications of cyberculture. Along the way, he reflects on contemporary art photography, the role of the vernacular in photography's history, and the Australianness of Australian photography. The essays all focus on a consideration of specific photographs-from a humble combination of baby photos and bronzed booties to a masterwork by Alfred Stieglitz. Although Batchen views each photograph within the context of broader social and political forces, he also engages its own distinctive formal attributes. In short, he sees photography as something that is simultaneously material and cultural. In an effort to evoke the lived experience of history, he frequently relies on sheer description as the mode of analysis, insisting that we look right at-rather than beyond-the photograph being discussed. A constant theme throughout the book is the question of photography's past, present, and future identity.

Author Biography

Geoffrey Batchen is Associate Professor, Department of Art and Art History, the University of New Mexico.

Table of Contents

Prelude	viii
Desiring Production	2	(24)
Australian Made	26	(30)
Vernacular Photographies	56	(26)
Taking and Making	82	(26)
Post-Photography	108	(20)
Ectoplasm	128	(18)
Photogenics	146	(18)
Obedient Numbers, Soft Delight	164	(12)
Da[R]Ta	176	(16)
Notes	192	(38)
Index	230