Singular Images

Spanning 170 years, from William Henry Fox Talbot’s first negative to Jeff Wall’s latest constructed tableau, Singular Images collects thought-provoking essays on individual photographs, one image per writer. The essayists consider, sometimes in highly personal ways, the artist’s intention, their own response, the work’s technical complexities, its historical context or its formal properties. Each text captures a sense of how challenging it is to create a perfect single piece.

Art photography has been increasingly well-surveyed in recent years, but individual works have rarely been written about at length, perhaps because of lingering doubt that a single photograph can command the kind of sustained attention often given to individual paintings or sculptures. Singular Images is a lively inquiry into the value of analyzing individual photographs, and it persuasively encourages the reader to engage at length and in depth with one remarkable piece at a time. With its broad scope and diverse range of issues, it can also be read as an informal—and thoroughly entertaining— introduction to art photography. Featuring essays by some of the most brilliant critical minds in the field, including David Campany on Man Ray and Marcel Duchamp, Darsie Alexander on Nan Goldin and Liz Jobey on Diane Arbus. Additional essays by Geoffrey Batchen, Roger Hargreaves, Sophie Howarth, Sheena Wagstaff, Mary Warner Marien, Val Williams, Nigel Warburton and Dominic Willsdon.