Susan Sontag dies aged 71

[Greg B]

Susan Sontag was an American writer and activist, very much at the serious end of things. She wrote a series of essays which were subsequently published in a slightly changed form as a book, On Photography. Published by Penguin in 1979 when I bought it.

There is no talk of f stops or anything else of a technical nature, it is all about the aesthetic and moral issues of having the omnipresent photographic image in our society. It isn't light reading (no pun intended) but it is very interesting.

It is also interesting given that photography has come so far in the last thirty years, in terms of the technology, the capacity for images to be distributed, and the fact that every single aspect of life is recorded.

There are several pages of quotations at the end of the book. Here are two of the short ones..

If I could tell a story in words, I wouldn't need to lug a camera - Lewis Hine

I photograph to find out what something will look like photographed - Garry Winogrand


Recommended reading if you can be bothered.

[dooda]

So the book is callen On Photography then? This would make a nice change to the hours I spend readling rehashed articles in the periodicals that I used to buy. I really appreciate this Greg, thankyou.

[Greg B]

Yes dooda, "On Photography".

I think you will find it a rewarding experience.

[Matt. K]

Greg B
I have read most of her work on Photography...One just recently on a series of lectures on conflict, (war) and photography. Sontag's "On Photography" is required reading for most academic students studying photography. She was a deep thinker and a talented writer and will be missed. I particularly enjoyed her reasoning on photography, (wedding photography), becoming part of the ritual and not something outside the event simply recording it. I may have to dust off the book and reread.
Thanks for the info.

[Greg B]

Matt, I am going to read it again too.

There were some excerpts from an interview with Susan on Newshour with Jim Lehrer tonight. Apart from her obvious intellect and compassion, she was also a very warm and human person. A loss.