Tate: Photography Decoded

by Susan Bright, Hedy van Erp

Is it real?What do I remember?How can you tell a story?Can lying be OK?What goes where?Why is it famous?What makes it problematic?Who do you think you are?Stealing or borrowing?Public or private?These ten questions launch a thought-provoking investigation into what is really going on when you look at a photograph. Peeling back the layers of everything from the earliest daguerreotypes to your latest selfie, you will discover where to find meaning in an image, and the ways in which the photographer, our current culture, and you yourself all collaborate in the creation of that meaning.

237 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 30, 2019

Reviews

[Phill Lister · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting book suggesting a set of ten questions that can be used as a springboard for examining the world of contemporary photography from social-media selfies to contemporary art photos. The authors/editors raise questions through examining a range of historical and contemporary images and practices. There is no attempt to sum up any general argument or overview and this is of course deliberate, but some readers may find this makes the book feel incomplete. But I don’t think it would have harmed the project to provide something of an overview of the various threads and questions raised. As it is, the book just stops.

[Anisia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great introduction but I wish it included a wider range of photographs