| Title | : | Darwin's Camera: Art and Photography in the Theory of Evolution |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0195150317 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780195150315 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 320 |
| Publication | : | First published January 1, 2008 |
Darwin's Camera tells the extraordinary story of how Charles Darwin changed the way pictures are seen and made.
In his illustrated masterpiece, Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals (1871), Darwin introduced the idea of using photographs to illustrate a scientific theory--his was the first photographically illustrated science book ever published. Using photographs to depict fleeting expressions of emotion--laughter, crying, anger, and so on--as they flit across a person's face, he managed to produce dramatic images at a time when photography was famously slow and awkward. The book describes how Darwin struggled to get the pictures he needed, scouring the galleries, bookshops, and photographic studios of London, looking for pictures to satisfy his demand for expressive imagery. He finally settled on one the giants of photographic history, the eccentric art photographer Oscar Rejlander, to make his pictures. It was a peculiar choice. Darwin was known for his meticulous science, while Rejlander was notorious for altering and manipulating photographs. Their remarkable collaboration is one
of the astonishing revelations in
In his illustrated masterpiece, Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals (1871), Darwin introduced the idea of using photographs to illustrate a scientific theory--his was the first photographically illustrated science book ever published. Using photographs to depict fleeting expressions of emotion--laughter, crying, anger, and so on--as they flit across a person's face, he managed to produce dramatic images at a time when photography was famously slow and awkward. The book describes how Darwin struggled to get the pictures he needed, scouring the galleries, bookshops, and photographic studios of London, looking for pictures to satisfy his demand for expressive imagery. He finally settled on one the giants of photographic history, the eccentric art photographer Oscar Rejlander, to make his pictures. It was a peculiar choice. Darwin was known for his meticulous science, while Rejlander was notorious for altering and manipulating photographs. Their remarkable collaboration is one
of the astonishing revelations in
Darwin's Camera: Art and Photography in the Theory of Evolution Reviews
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A very insightful study not only of evolution, but of Darwin as a man, and photography as an art form. Written at a level that a general reader can understand, this monograph shows how several important ideas came together about the same time. The pictures are very interesting as well. Read more about it on my blog:
Sects and Violence in the Ancient World. -
Review:
http://bit.ly/tyQiUS
"...Prodger tells the remarkable story of [how] Darwin shaped not only the course of science but also forever changed how images are seen and made."
