The public image : photography and civic spectatorship / Robert Hariman and John Louis Lucaites.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hariman, Robert, author.

Lucaites, John Louis, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Photography--Social aspects.

Photography.

Visual communication.

Physical Description:

xi, 344 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Chicago : The University of Chicago Press, 2016.

Summary:

Even as the media environment has changed dramatically in recent years, one thing at least remains true: photographs are everywhere. From professional news photos to smartphone selfies, images have become part of the fabric of modern life. And that may be the problem. Even as photography bears witness, it provokes anxieties about fraudulent representation; even as it evokes compassion, it prompts anxieties about excessive exposure. Parents and pundits alike worry about the unprecedented media saturation that transforms society into an image world. And yet a great news photo can still stop us in our tracks, and the ever-expanding photographic archive documents an era of continuous change. By confronting these conflicted reactions to photography, Robert Hariman and John Louis Lucaites make the case for a fundamental shift in understanding photography and public culture. In place of suspicions about the medium's capacity for distraction, deception, and manipulation, they suggest how it can provide resources for democratic communication and thoughtful reflection about contemporary social problems.

Contents:

Climbing out of Plato's cave

For interpretation

Realism and imagination

This modern art

Seeing society

Watching war

The abundant art.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780226342931

022634293X

OCLC:

935495141