On Photography by Susan Sontag – Book Review

 

Publisher’s write-up:

‘Susan Sontag's groundbreaking critique of photography asks forceful questions about the moral and aesthetic issues surrounding this art form. Photographs are everywhere, and the 'insatiability of the photographing eye' has profoundly altered our relationship with the world. Photographs have the power to shock, idealize or seduce, they create a sense of nostalgia and act as a memorial, and they can be used as evidence against us or to identify us. In these six incisive essays, Sontag examines the ways in which we use these omnipresent images to manufacture a sense of reality and authority in our lives.’

On Photography is a collection of essays by Susan Sontag. Most of these essays were published in the New York Times between 1973 and 1977 – back when photography was still a specialised field and not like in the 21^st century, where everyone virtually has a camera on their smartphone.

The author discussed the evolution of photography over the years in detail, and discussed works of famous photographers such as Brassaï, Diane Arbus, etc. But the issue I felt that was in these essays was the author’s assumption that the reader is fully aware of the works of these photographers, which the average reader is not. I know of these photographers mainly because I live in Paris, and those who have worked on taking photos of Paris, such as Brassaï or Diane Arbus, I could relate to their works and understand what the author was discussing. But others, I was completely in the dark, and the publisher of the book could have added the photos for us to relate to, than letting things to our imagination.

Moreover, the author idealised photography as a unique art form where it is the only form of art where anything done ‘today’ would be considered as ‘art’ in the future but this is not exclusive to photography, but most forms of art – those which were considered ordinary or the norm, becoming antiques and a form of art in the future. In fact, several artists, such as Van Gogh, did not have the recognition when they were alive.

To conclude on these essays, I did not enjoy this, as an average reader, and if I had been an enthusiast on photography, and its history and I knew about the works of all the famous photographers that she talked about, I might have had a different opinion. Add to that, a lot of what she discussed in this book is outdated, given photos could be taken by anyone almost instantly. On that note, I award this book a rating of four on ten.

Rating – 4/10

Have a nice day,
Andy