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Camerawork: A Journal of Photographic Arts Fall/Winter 1999, Volume 26, No.2 Rattling the Frame The Photographic Space 1974-1999 Table of Contents • In This Issue • $8 each (no discount) [Add to Cart] table of contents 1. In This Issue by Reena Jana and Marnie Gillett 4. Constructing Intelligibility by Geoffrey Batchen 8. Rattling the Frame: The Photographic Space 1974-1999 Portfolio 23. 25 Years of Exhibitions at SF Camerawork 38. Gender Engendered by David L. Jacobs 42. Racializing Gender: Women Photographers from the Seventies to the Millennium by Phoebe Farris 46. Toward Convergence: Digital Photography Is Dead! A Conversation with Edward W. Earle by Reena Jana 51. Books Received in this issue The Photographic Space 1974-1999 A quarter of a century ago, San Francisco Camerawork’s birth was heralded with a photocopied newsletter that would help the organization in achieving its mission to catalyze discussion and exploration of contemporary photography. In the years since, that simple flier has transformed into Camerawork: A Journal of Photographic Arts. Its metamorphosis, as well as that of the organization, has reflected photography’s own dynamic evolution. To celebrate the silver anniversary of both Camerawork the organization and the publication, we decided to let this journal do what it does best: present intelligent, thought-provoking essays that not only examine current issues in photography, but provide a wider context for understanding how current issues fit into the histories of art, society, and technology as well. Of course, we wanted to provide a rubric for this issue, so we sat down and tried to agree on a short list of major issues that have surfaced within the last two-and-a-half decades. Could we come to a consensus or would we feel limited by such a tight selection of issues? Luckily, or perhaps logically, we both came up with a list of similar ideas for our contributors to discuss. We agreed that the role of the photography critic has certainly gained importance in the public’s understanding of the medium in the last twenty-five years. As Geoffrey Batchen points out in his essay "Constructing Intelligibility," the last twenty-five years actually marks the entire history of serious critical writing about photography in the United States. We also agreed that "identity" as a theme has resonated within photographic exhibitions in the last twenty-five years. Indeed, identity has been a major focus in cultural theory and in art shows incorporating all media, especially because multiculturalism and gender have gained widespread attention during this time. Effectively exploiting photography’s representational nature, artists have been able to play provocatively with viewers’ perceptions of their subjects’ identities. David L. Jacobs, in his essay "Gender Engendered," writes about a particular phenomenon that has evolved during the past twenty-five years: that gender now is perceived of as a "construct." He examines how those who create images deal with the construction of gender in their work. Phoebe Farris, in her essay "Racializing Gender," also explores the role of gender in contemporary photography, but from a particular angle: she surveys work created within the last quarter century by women photographers of color, some biracial and bicultural, whose work deals specifically with the intersection of race and gender. We all felt it was necessary to present in this anniversary edition of Camerawork an examination of digital photography and related technologies that have emerged and influenced both how artists create and how audiences view photographic images. Five years ago, Edward W. Earle wrote an in-depth piece on artists who use the computer in the creation of their work and addressed the increasing media saturation of our visual culture. Naturally, we wondered what Earle would say today if he had to comment on the same subjects. So we sat down and conducted a candid Q & A; the results appear in "Digital Photography Is Dead." In celebration of our 25th anniversary, we are presenting a selected portfolio of work, Rattling the Frame: The Photographic Space 1974-1999. The show investigates the remarkable changes in photographic image-making in the last quarter of the twentieth century due to photographers who dared to challenge the traditions of photography to generate fresh strategies for artistic expression and communication of ideas via the photographic medium. While this issue of Camerawork is intended to document the many years that have passed, it also is intended as the introductory chapter to at least twenty-five more years to come in the history of photography as well as the Camerawork Journal and San Francisco Camerawork. For any organization to reach a silver anniversary is significant; for an artist-run organization to do so is remarkable. We hope that in this series of articles and imagery, you not only look back at twenty-five dynamic years, but look forward to many more as well. Reena Jana and Marnie Gillett, editors home | about | exhibitions | bookstore | events | membership | journal | mentoring | links Copyright 1999. SF Camerawork. All Rights Reserved.