A staggering revolution : a cultural history of thirties photography

"During the 1930s, the world of photography was unsettled, exciting, and boisterous. John Raeburn's A Staggering Revolution recreates the energy of the era by surveying photography's rich variety of innovation, exploring the aesthetic and cultural achievements of its leading figures, and mapping the paths their pictures blazed public's imagination. While other studies of thirties photography have concentrated on the documentary work of the Farm Security Administration (FSA), no previous book has considered it alongside so many of the decade's other important photographic projects. A Staggering Revolution includes individual chapters on Edward Steichen's celebrity portraiture; Berenice Abbott's Changing New York project; the Photo League's ethnography of Harlem; and Edward Weston's western landscapes, made under the auspices of the first Guggenheim Fellowship awarded to a photographer. It also examines Margaret Bourke-White's industrial and documentary pictures, the collective undertakings by California's Group f.64, and the fashion magazine specialists, as well as the activities of the FSA and the Photo League. Raeburn's expansive study explains how the democratic atmosphere of thirties photography nourished innovation and encouraged new heights of artistic achievement. It also produced the circumstances that permitted artful photography to become such a thriving public enterprise during the decade. A Staggering Revolution offers an illuminating analysis of the sociology of photography's art world and its galleries and exhibitions, but also demonstrates the importance of the novel venues created by impresarios and others that proved essential to photography's extraordinary dissemination. These new channels, including camera magazines and annuals, volumes of pictures enhanced by text, and omnibus exhibitions in unconventional spaces, greatly expanded photography's cultural visibility. They also made its enthusiastic audience larger and more heterogeneous than ever before - or since."--Providedby publisher During the 1930s, the world of photography was unsettled, exciting, and boisterous. John Raeburn's A Staggering Revolution recreates the energy of the era by surveying photography's rich variety of innovation, exploring the aesthetic and cultural achievements of its leading figures, and mapping the paths their pictures blazed public's imagination. While other studies of thirties photography have concentrated on the documentary work of the Farm Security Administration (FSA), no previous book has considered it alongside so many of the decade's other important photographic projects. A Staggering Revolution includes individual chapters on Edward Steichen's celebrity portraiture; Berenice Abbott's Changing New York project; the Photo League's ethnography of Harlem; and Edward Weston's western landscapes, made under the auspices of the first Guggenheim Fellowship awarded to a photographer. It also examines Margaret Bourke-White's industrial and documentary pictures, the collective undertakings by California's Group f.64, and the fashion magazine specialists, as well as the activities of the FSA and the Photo League. |Preface ix Acknowledgments xv A Calendar of Thirties Photography xvii 1. The Rebirth of Photography in the Thirties 1 2. Disestablishing Stieglitz 19 3. Group f.64 and the Problem of California Photography 30 4. An Eastern Beachhead 48 5. Edward Steichen and Celebrity Photography 61 6. MoMA's "Big Top" Show 80 7. Camera Periodicals and the Popular Audience 93 8. Culture Morphology in Berenice Abbott's New York 114 9. Farm Security Administration Photography and the Dilemmas of Art 143 10. Farm Security Administration Photography in the Aura of Art 162 11. The Nation's Newsstands 194 12. The Photo League, Lewis Hine, and the Harlem Document 219 13. Seeing California with Edward Weston 246 14. Photography at High Tide 276 Afterword: "The Cultural Establishment of Photography" 293 Notes 303 Index 361 Photographs follow page 302|"A brilliant sociological mapping of its subject that is nuanced, far-reaching and exhaustively researched"— The Art Book " A Staggering Revolution will create a renaissance in how scholars and students think about how photography arose as a democratic art form. Raeburn's insights regarding photography's revolution in the 1930s can also shed light on the current revolution in digital media."— H-Net Reviews "Raeburn skillfully treats the role of the FSA photography project in the contexts of art. In the process he offers the most nuanced, perceptive discussion of the much-misunderstood role of FSA project chief Roy Emerson Stryker that I have ever read. Even for those of us well-schooled in the history and practices of the FSA, these chapters offer something new and valuable. . . . Raeburn challenges readers to look beyond received wisdom about the visual culture of the 1930s and explore it anew for themselves."— American Historical Review | John Raeburn is a professor of American studies and English at the University of Iowa. He is the author of Fame Became of Him: Hemingway as Public Writer and the editor (with Richard Glatzer) of Frank Capra: The Man and His Films. During the 1930s, the world of photography was unsettled, exciting, and boisterous. John Raeburn's A Staggering Revolution recreates the energy of the era by surveying photography's rich variety of innovation, exploring the aesthetic and cultural achievements of its leading figures, and mapping the paths their pictures blazed public's imagination. _x000B_While other studies of thirties photography have concentrated on the documentary work of the Farm Security Administration (FSA), no previous book has considered it alongside so many of the decade's other important photographic projects. A Staggering Revolution includes individual chapters on Edward Steichen's celebrity portraiture; Berenice Abbott's Changing New York project; the Photo League's ethnography of Harlem; and Edward Weston's western landscapes, made under the auspices of the first Guggenheim Fellowship awarded to a photographer. It also examines Margaret Bourke_White's industrial and documentary pictures, the collective undertakings by California's Group f.64, and the fashion magazine specialists, as well as the activities of the FSA and the Photo League. _x000B_Raeburn's expansive study explains how the democratic atmosphere of thirties photography nourished innovation and encouraged new heights of artistic achievement. It also produced the circumstances that permitted artful photography to become such a thriving public enterprise during the decade. A Staggering Revolution offers an illuminating analysis of the sociology of photography's art world and its galleries and exhibitions, but also demonstrates the importance of the novel venues created by impresarios and others that proved essential to photography's extraordinary dissemination. These new channels, including camera magazines and annuals, volumes of pictures enhanced by text, and omnibus exhibitions in unconventional spaces, greatly expanded photography's cultural visibility. They also made its enthusiastic audience larger and more heterogeneous than ever before - or since The Rebirth Of Photography In The Thirties -- Disestablishing Stieglitz -- Group F.64 And The Problem Of California Photography -- An Eastern Beachhead -- Edward Steichen And Celebrity Photography -- Moma's Big Top Show -- Camera Periodicals And The Popular Audience -- Culture Morphology In Berenice Abbott's New York -- Farm Security Administration Photography And The Dilemmas Of Art -- Farm Security Administration Photography In The Aura Of Art -- The Nation's Newsstands -- The Photo League, Lewis Hine, And The Harlem Document -- Seeing California With Edward Weston -- Photography At High Tide -- Afterword: The Cultural Establisment Of Photography John Raeburn. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [303]-359) And Index. The rebirth of photography in the thirties Disestablishing stieglitz Group f.64 and the problem of California photography An eastern beachhead Edward Steichen and celebrity photography Moma's big top show The camera periodicals and the popular audience Culture morphology in Berenice Abbott's New York Fsa photography and the dilemmas of art Fsa photography in the aura of art The nation's newsstands The photo league, Lewis Hine, and the Harlem document Seeing California with Edward Weston Photography at high tide. During the 1930s, the world of photography was unsettled, exciting, and boisterous. John Raeburn's A Staggering Revolution re-creates the era's energy by surveying photography's extraordinary ferment, revealing the esthetic and cultural achievements of its leading figures and mapping the paths their pictures blazed into the public's imagination During the 1930s, the world of photography was unsettled, exciting, and boisterous. This title recreates the energy of the era by surveying photography's variety of innovation, exploring the aesthetic and cultural achievements of its leading figures, and mapping the paths their pictures blazed public's imagination. A comprehensive look at photography's most dynamic era, this book surveys the rich variety of innovation that characterised the 1930s, exploring the aesthetic and cultural achievements of leading photographers and mapping the impact on the public imagination