But being educated by photographs is not like being educated by older, more artisanal images. Read moreĮ9781429957113_i0002.jpg Humankind lingers unregenerately in Plato’s cave, still reveling, its age-old habit, in mere images of the truth. I look forward to reading her follow-up from this one, Regarding the Pain of Others, where I might find some reflection on how she thinks it stood up. In spite of being rather a critical observer myself, I found myself starting to stick up for photography and its value and promise. (My answer would be yes, its art, but let's not make a big deal of it.)But, it presented some great starting points for thinking about how cameras and photos have and are changing our lives.

And given that I have a problem with the way art is discussed already- some pretty far fetched things are assumed by the reviewers and the art crowd- I found the musings on whether or not photography should/could be art, rather.well, pointless. It does go on and on and felt at times like a rant, however intellectually presented. The higher and higher ownership of cameras, the way cameras dictate the scene and become the focus of an event, the way photography has become art, the voyeuristic nature of it, the removed and passive way images can be 'taken' of people with or without their knowledge. Sontag takes a critical view of the proliferation of photography. It was written 40 years ago, and for that reason I could not help but wonder the entire time I was reading it, what on earth would this author think now? With all but the most rudimentary mobile phones having photographic capability, the practice of capturing images (let alone the display of them) is becoming ubiquitous. Photography as a practice, as an art, as a cultural phenomenon.

This is a collection of related essays, on the topic of photography.

Susan sontag on photography essay