This volume offers a selection of essays by the renowned photography historian Clâement
Châeroux. Châeroux appointed chief curator of photography at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)
in New York in 2020 takes on a variety of topics from the history of vernacular photography
to the influence of documentary photography on Surrealism. The texts published together in one
volume for the first time and newly translated into English reflect the breadth of Châeroux's
thinking the rigor of his approach and his endless curiosity about photographs. In this
strikingly designed and generously illustrated volume Châeroux presents unique case studies
and untold stories. He discusses ways of sharing images from the nineteenth century to the
digital age considers the utopian ideals of early photography and analyzes the duality of
amateur photography. Among other things he describes the appeal of photographs snapped from a
speeding train and explains historical value of first-generation prints of photographs. Through
an analysis of key photographs taken on 9 11 Châeroux shows that the same six images were seen
again and again in the press. Widely ranging erudite and engaging these essays present
Châeroux's innovative investigations of the histories of photography--Ryerson Image Center WWW
site
