The Disciplinary Frame ─ Photographic Truths and the Capture of Meaning

Where does the power of the photograph come from? How is it that a piece of treated paper can be awarded the force and power of the real? Those are some of the questions Tagg (art history and comparative literature, Binghamton U.) tackles in this book. And to answer them, he says, photography must be taken in a very wide context: the realms of discourse surrounding it and the institutions that generate it and equally broad issues of power and representation. The author utilizes case studies from 19th century European and American photographers, Depression-era photographs, and more contemporary conceptual photography in his explorations. Annotation c2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)