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  #1  
Old 9th July 2009, 04:52 PM
Michael Michael is offline
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Default Genius of photography

The BBC series of that name, shown last autumn, is now available on DVD (published 6.7.09). I got mine via Amazon: it's on two discs.
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Old 9th July 2009, 10:51 PM
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Thanks for sharing that Michael - very good news.

Neil
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Old 19th August 2009, 03:33 PM
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HMM! What do/did people think about the "Genius Of Photgraphy" series?

I have seen it twice and not 100% sure what to make of it.

The reason I struggle is because in Europe in the 1930's photography exploded, with the new 35mm format. However the series seemed concentrate on Arget (who is good in his own right) and a little bit on Man Ray. What about all the others that push photography forward like Maholy Nargy, Rodchenko, Ernst Hass and others from the surealist movement. Even Cecil Beaton with his fatastic and lavish theater set ups were all missed, which I think is a shame.

Another thing also is that apart from Sally Mann I don't think any other women photographers were mentioned so missed Lee Miller, Irene Bayer or Dorothea Lange whihc again seems a shame.

Anyway I think I will put the DVD on my Chrimbo wants list
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Old 19th August 2009, 03:45 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by knikki View Post
HMM! What do/did people think about the "Genius Of Photgraphy" series?

I have seen it twice and not 100% sure what to make of it.

The reason I struggle is because in Europe in the 1930's photography exploded, with the new 35mm format. However the series seemed concentrate on Arget (who is good in his own right) and a little bit on Man Ray. What about all the others that push photography forward like Maholy Nargy, Rodchenko, Ernst Hass and others from the surealist movement. Even Cecil Beaton with his fatastic and lavish theater set ups were all missed, which I think is a shame.

Another thing also is that apart from Sally Mann I don't think any other women photographers were mentioned so missed Lee Miller, Irene Bayer or Dorothea Lange whihc again seems a shame.

Anyway I think I will put the DVD on my Chrimbo wants list
Am I correct in recalling that it was made by an American company, so concentrated on the American perspective.
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Old 19th August 2009, 04:56 PM
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Maybe not, Dave. Wall to Wall seem to be a UK company (www.walltowall.co.uk) and the accompanying book by Gerry Badger was published by Quadrille, a UK publisher. That said, there is a preponderance of American input on the commentary side - but people like Larry Schaaf and Joel Meyerowitz are well worth listening to.

I must admit that I still have 3 episodes to watch: once the pseudo-summer is over, there will be time for that. I suspect that knikki is quite right about the under-representation of women photographers in the series. Anna Atkins? Elizabeth Eastlake?
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Old 19th August 2009, 05:17 PM
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I agree with the comments made here, but I was just glad they had a series devoted to photography that was worth watching, in the thirty years since I developed an interest in photography I can only remember 2 series that were more than a how to do it approach. There have been some good one off programs but it would be good to have a few more series of the Genius ilk.

Neil
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Old 20th August 2009, 07:42 AM
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having missed the recent repeats it's on my (am I allowed to mention it in 28 degrees heat) Christmas list!

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Old 20th August 2009, 11:28 AM
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It is a bit of a shame that the second half of the six episodes go to the US and pretty much stay there but I think this is dictated largely by the fact that most of the experts on the series are from the US. The US also took to photography as an art form a long time before the more conservative European art circles ever did (indeed, many still do not...). Also, I suspect, like a lot of these things, although it was produced by a UK company it may have been financed by a US network.

I think Dorothea Lange was mentioned as I recall Migrant Mother was covered but the emphasis as they got closer to the present became art-world photography. I do agree that the absence of Lee Miller is a strange omission from a UK made series tho'...

I guess the bottom line is that having six one-hour episodes devoted to historical and contemporary photography is a rare treat, despite some shortcomings in coverage.
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Old 20th August 2009, 05:37 PM
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Bob,

If my memory of the series is correct, 'genius of photography' didn't cover much in the direction of Edward Weston or other modernist photographers.

Tom
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Old 20th August 2009, 07:34 PM
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I found the series very disappointing for the reasons expressed. I found it very strange that no mention was made of Lee Miller what so ever while they were discussing Man Ray & especially solarization. Virtually ignored photography in this country. All in all a very poor series, I did record it on DVD
but I've wiped them since.
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