The literature of photography makes its way into the world -- and thus shapes and enriches our discourse about the medium -- through a variety of channels. Until the digital era, and inevitably for some time into this new period, that means print publications. Most of those that have provided the vehicle for serious writing about this medium fall beneath the radar of mass culture; many of them remain unknown to and unread by even specialists in visual art, media studies, and communication theory.
Because we believe the contribution to the medium of these "little" magazines and larger-circulation demands acknowledgment, we have also organized the material in this Photography Criticism CyberArchive according to the publications in which it appeared originally. Our menu of texts does not pretend to represent either the quantity or the overall quality of the relevant writing commissioned or sponsored by the various editors who birthed them in print. However, the variety and number of these publications suggests that research into the logistics of putting one's work before the public as a writer on photography would help to explain the status of the critical dialogue around the medium at any particular time -- especially in the years prior to 1980, by which date photography (and commentary on it) had enetered the mainstream.
In any case, this list constitutes, by our lights, an honor roll -- our small tribute to those editors and publishers who, for whatever reasons, have elected to provide forums for one or another critic, historian, theorist, or photographer to add his or her voice to the conversation. We've arranged them in alphabetical order, according to the publication's title.
- Artforum
- Camera Notes
- Camera Work
- The New York Times
- The Photo Review
- The Village Voice
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We welcome your suggestions for additions to this category of material in our Photography Criticism CyberArchive. In doing so, you'll expedite our pursuit of that material by citing as completely as possible the bibliographic reference from which you've derived your interest in it, and (if possible) contact information for the editor and/or publisher. You can send recommendations to us at suggestionbox@photocriticism.com.
