Author Archives: Sandra Cheng
Discussion Topic: Walker Evans’ Subway Portraits
Walker Evans photographed people on the New York City subways between 1938-1941. He only published these photographs 25 years later in his book, Many Are Called, which was re-issued in 2004. Read a review about the new edition in the New York Times or listen … Continue reading
Discussion Topic: Can an App be Art?
The photographer Edward Burtynsky is renowned for his photographs of “industrial ugliness.” Recently, he released a version of his artbook Oil as an app. The photographs highlight the production and the use of oil, from the its extraction to the … Continue reading
Discussion Topic: Old Processes, New Advertising
Many photographers today are reviving the photographic processes of the Civil War era. A California news article reports on several photographers in San Francisco who are producing photographs with the wet-plate process. Even Louis Vuitton highlights wet-plate photography in his … Continue reading
Discussion Topic: Pictures of Pictures
In a New York Times article, the art critic Roberta Smith notes the increasingly common use of cameras, especially cellphones by viewers when interacting with art. In particular, she discusses the behavior of visitors to the Venice Biennale, an exhibition … Continue reading
Welcome!
Hello ARTH 1100 students! Welcome to the course website for Professor Sandra Cheng’s course on the History of Photography. The OpenLab is an integral component to our class. I look forward to our reading, writing, discussion, and LOOKING together this … Continue reading
