ThedecadebetweentheworldwarswitnessedanastonishingfloweringofphotographyinEurope--markedparticularlybytheunprecedentedworkofsuchfiguresasManRay,LaszloMoholy-Nagy,andAlexanderRodchenko.Alongsidethevisualexperimentsranafascinatingpublicdiscussioninwhichcritics,artists,andthephotographersthemselvesstruggledtodefinethenatureandpossibilitiesofphotographyinthemodernera.Theseventy-oneessaysanddocumentscollectedinthisbookprovideaconcise,provocativeintroductiontotheideasandpersonalitiesthatanimatedavant-gardephotographyduringtheseyearsofartisticfermentandthatcontinuetoinfluencethemediumtoday.Byturnspoetic,analytical,andfiercelyideological,thesediversewritingsgiveexpressiontoaverywiderangeoforiginalideas.Moholy-Nagycallsonphotographerstocreateapowerfulabstractvisionthatwilltransformourabilitytosee.AlbertRenger-Patzscharguesforaquitedifferentgoal,aphotographyofrevelatoryrealismthatlaysbaretheessenceofthesubjectbeforethelens.TheFrenchwriterPierreMacOrlanexplorespsychologicallycompellingnotions:thatphotographyrealizes“allthatiscuriouslyinhuman“and“createsdeathforasecond.“Photographyiswidelycharacterizedasamodernmachine-ageartthatsupersedesthetraditionalfinearts.IntheSovietUnionanextraordinaryinterchangepitstheavant-gardistRodchenkoagainstopponentswhoinsistthatsocialusefulnessisphotography’sprimaryresponsibility.Whilesheddingimportantnewlightonthedirectionstakenbyphotographyduringthetwentiethcentury,theseessaysalsoilluminatesuchmajormovementsasFuturism,Constructivism,Surrealism,andtheNewObjectivity.MostoftheselectionswerenotpreviouslyavailableinEnglishandhavebeentranslatedespeciallyforthisvolume.EachappearswithaninformativeheadnotebyChristopherPhillips,whoinanintroductoryessayprovidesalucidoverviewoftheperiodandthecontextinwhichthewritingsfirstappeared.Withitswealthofnewmaterial,thiscollectionisanessentialresourceforallthosestudyingphotographyorseekingtounderstandthevisualcultureofthiscentury.Thisbookispublishedontheoccasionoftheexhibition“TheNewVision:PhotographyBetweentheWorldWars,FordMotorCompanyCollectionatTheMetropolitanMuseumofArt,“heldatTheMetropolitanMuseumofArt,September23-December31,1989.
