In the digital age; photography confronts its future under the competing signs of ubiquity and obsolescence. While technology has allowed amateurs and experts alike to create high-quality photographs in the blink of an eye; new electronic formats have severed the original photochemical link between image and subject. At the same time; recent cinematic photography has stretched the concept of photography and raised questions about its truth value as a documentary medium. Despite this situation; photography remains a stubbornly substantive form of evidence: referenced by artists; filmmakers; and writers as a powerful emblem of truth; photography has found its home in other media at precisely the moment of its own material demise.By examining this idea of photography as articulated in literature; film; and the graphic novel; Daguerreotypes demonstrates how photography secures identity for figures with an otherwise unstable sense of self. Lisa Saltzman argues that in many modern works; the photograph asserts itself as a guarantor of identity; whether genuine or fabricated. From Roland Barthesrsquo;s Camera Lucida to Ridley Scottrsquo;s Blade Runner; W. G. Sebaldrsquo;s Austerlitz to Alison Bechdelrsquo;s Fun Homemdash;we find traces of photographyrsquo;s ldquo;fugitive subjectsrdquo; throughout contemporary culture. Ultimately; Daguerreotypes reveals how the photograph; at once personal memento and material witness; has inspired a range of modern artistic and critical practices.
2015-06-11 2015-06-11File Name: B00ZG95HEY
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. A good read!By CustomerLoved this book; so informative.5 of 7 people found the following review helpful. A New and Interesting PerspectiveBy W. SmithAs a person wanting to write musicals for a living; Ive tried to read as much about musicals from as many different perspectives as possible. Reading Sondheim on Music: Minor Details and Major Decisions and Finishing the Hat: Collected Lyrics (1954-1981) with Attendant Comments; Principles; Heresies; Grudges; Whines and Anecdotes gives the meticulous Sondheimian writers perspective; whereas The Musical Theatre Writers Survival Guide and Strike Up the Band: A New History of Musical Theatre give invaluable history and practical insights. Of course; if you write a musical and expect to have it produced; it will have to have a producer and be booked into a theater. Enter Mr. Schoenfeld with fascinating (and terrifying) tales of the Shuberts; producing shows; and cleaning up Times Square so that shows could continue to be produced and make money there. His thoughts on stars; writers (including Sondheim); directors; city councilmen and lawyers; etc. are very interesting. What a unique man that I knew nothing about until reading this. Enjoyable and necessary!15 of 17 people found the following review helpful. Awkward over-ripe title reflects authors attitude - some inside stories; too many excusesBy John EscheFor the last quarter of the 20th century; after they had forced the last of the actual Shubert family out of control of their famous family theatrical corporation; Gerald Schoenfeld and Bernard B. Jacobs (who Schoenfeld outlived) WERE The Shubert organization - the most successful theatre owners producers ever. If one of them turned out an honest memoir it would be an almost certain "must-have" for any serious student of the American theatre. Imagine all the inside stories of the intrigue and the artistic glory. The artists nurtured and the shows ushered in! There was plenty of material there for a fascinating tale without self justification or aggrandizement.For Mr. Schoenfeld to name two of the Organizations best playhouses after his partner and himself while they were still alive (to hear him tell it HE didnt do it it was an appreciated tribute from his underlings) raised eyebrows - to call his memoir "Mr. Broadway" merely seems hubris. Certainly the subtitle; "The Inside Story of the Shuberts; the Shows and the Stars" is much more promising and the first chapters examining Mr. Schoenfelds fascinating youth and rise to a powerhouse position in a legal community which still blatantly discriminated against those of his faith is essential reading for all in the theatre or out. Theres much there to be justly proud of right up to the self-deprecating story (pages 16 17) of his first major case for the Shuberts main law firm (the famous 1950 Federal anti-trust case) for which he acknowledges he was spectacularly unprepared. "I could move forward in total ignorance; or I could admit that I did not know what I was doing. I chose the former." Its another four solidly interesting (bordering on horrifying) pages and two years before Schoenfeld admits that "In 1952...it became apparent...that they needed more seasoned counsel than I to work on the case." but Schoenfeld was off and running.The next ten short chapters of Schoenfelds working his way up with the original Shuberts holds on to that original almost naive sense of wonder as the author simultaneously loses his innocence and our sympathy.The memoir only runs into serious trouble when it gets into the serious examination of "The Inside Story of the (new) Shuberts..." etc. when it becomes Mr. Schoenfelds side of the story without regard to what may actually be *believable*. If there is ever a question of ethics or facts; we dont get "the inside story" we get the cover story - or Mr. Schoenfelds excuse. HE didnt force the Shuberts out - they self destructed (Chapter 13; aptly titled "All Out War With Lawrence"). Right. Its the same thing for most of the next 177 of 282 pages. If only a real friend of Mr. Schoenfelds had worked with him and been able to persuade him that he didnt HAVE to defend every questionable decision; just tell what HAPPENED and his legacy would come across brighter and more lasting.In the end; when Schoenfeld is shaking his head over a terrible show he was active in producing; PASSING STRANGE; not winning the Tony Award for Best Musical the way all his "yes men" and sycophantic voters assured him it would ("yes; of course we voted for it") one almost feels sorry for the king who cant get an honest opinion of his new robes - but by then the whole book of self justifications has lost the readers affection for the subject he or she had *wanted* to like; and it simply doesnt matter.Schoenfeld; and his also now deceased partner; Jacobs; were by many accounts fascinating gentlemen who were easy to like when business was going well and no harder to deal with than a David Merrick or a Jed Harris when it wasnt. For most of their working lives AS "The Shuberts" business was very good indeed. Its a real shame that Schoenfelds book isnt the honest; probing memoir we had all hoped for. No one was in a better position to write it.
