Why it Does Not Have to be in Focus : Modern Photography Explained

In Why it Does Not Have to be in Focus, Jackie Higgins offers a lively, informed defence of modern photography. Choosing 100 key photographs - with particular emphasis on the last twenty years – she examines what inspired each photographer in the first place, and traces how the piece was executed. In doing so, she brings to light the layers of meaning and artifice behind these singular works, some of which were initially dismissed out of hand for being blurred, overexposed or ‘badly’ composed:
• Why is Gillian Wearing’s Self-Portrait at 17 Years Old not the straightforward photobooth snap that it first appears to be?
• What lies behind Hiroshi Sugimoto’s decision to use a 19th century large-format camera for his work - an apparently perverse choice, given his intention to throw the images it creates out of focus?
• What prompted Richard Prince to begin photographing existing photographs - an act that saw him pilloried by some critics for lazily profiting from other people’s work?

Featured in the March 2014 Creative Enterprises Newsletter.
To receive this newsletter regularly please email us with your name and contact details.