John Berger's explorations of the relationships between the individual and society, culture and politics, and experience and expression through the written word, films, photographic collaborations and performances are unmatched in their diversity, ambition and reach. His television series and book Ways of Seeing revolutionized the way that art is understood. Now, Understanding a Photograph gathers the photography writings of one of the most internationally influential authors of the past 50 years. Understanding a Photograph is arranged chronologically, leading the reader on a thought-provoking journey through selected essays from hallmark works such as "About Looking" and "Another Way of Telling," as well as previously uncollected pieces written for exhibitions or catalogues that discuss a wide range of artists—from August Sander to Jitka Hanzlová. This collection of some 25 texts has been carefully selected by novelist and essayist Geoff Dyer, who has also written a critical study of Berger's oeuvre.
John Berger is a novelist, poet, screenwriter, and critic. He is the author of numerous works of fiction and nonfiction, including To the Wedding, About Looking, and G., for which he was awarded the Booker Prize. Among his best-known works is the television series and book Ways of Seeing. He has received prestigious awards for his writing, including the Petrarca-Preis and a Golden PEN Award.
Geoff Dyer is the author of a critical study of John Berger, Ways of Telling, and a critically acclaimed book on photography, The Ongoing Moment. He also has written four novels, and five genre-defying books, which include But Beautiful, awarded the Somerset Maugham Prize.
This is a series of Berger’s essays, arranged chronologically, about photography’s role in the shaping of society.
–American PhotoThis new selection of more than 20 essays, edited by Geoff Dyer and including previously uncollected pieces, is essential reading for anyone interested in understanding the power of this ubiquitous medium. Spanning some 40 years, they include pieces on the 1967 photograph of Che Guevara’s corpse, on the meaning of photographs…on the shock effect of war images… There are also typically insightful pieces on Paul Strand, W. Eugene Smith, André Kertész and Henri Cartier-Bresson… As ever with Berger’s writing, the theoretical is always informed by politics and a deeply felt humanity.
–The Guardian
Hardcover
256 pages
15.8 x 22.2 cm
Published by Aperture 2013