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| © Mark Steinmetz, from the series "South Central" |
The Reading Shortlist is an occasional post with an eclectic listing of recommended readings and links. A recommendation does not necessarily suggest an agreement with the contents of the post. For previous shortlists, please visit the site links page.
Blake Andrews, Q&A with Mark Steinmetz. Great interview with a photographer as eloquent as his images. "Maybe back in the day I would have selected photographs for their complexity or difficulty; now it often seems to me the simplest ones are the strongest."
Claire O'Neill, NPR Picture Show, Found In a Closet: A Photo Trove of '60s Icons. Another photographic re-discovery: celebrity portrait photographer Jack Robinson.
David Alan Harvey, Burn Magazine, A Conversation with James Estrin, New York Times Lens Blog. A wide-ranging conversation including the challenges and opportunities for young photographers and the history of the photography business.
Greg Stevens, The Kernel, Fighting Futurism: Why "Progress" Is a Myth. I came across this article amidst the back-and-forth's between writers on different sites about the idea of progress in photography last month. A little big-word-heavy, but readable and interesting.
The Guardian, Is the Age of the Critic Over? Criticism and class in contemporary society.
Jonah Lehrer, The New Yorker, Brainstorming Doesn't Really Work. As best as I know, he didn't make this article up.
Peter Levi, The Huffington Post, Open and Closed Photographs. A short look at a quote from Paolo Pellegrin on the idea of photographs being closed- or open-ended and how that affects the viewing experience of them.
Unless You Will, Issue 11. This is an old issue of the Australia-based online magazine, but I keep going back to it. Unless You Will editor Heidi Romano co-curated this issue with Andrés Marroquín Winkelmann. In particular, work from Amy Elkins, Alexander Binder, Anne Schwalbe, and Robin Friend stand out.
The Visual Experience. Writing to keep an eye on ("Thinking" under the "Articles" tag).
Walker Evans in His Own Words. A short video that includes Walker Evans talking about his own work and footage of him shooting in the field.