Photographs [antikvár]

Foreword This is a book that leads toward investigation. Heuristic rather than definitive, it proposes possible ways of approaching the George Eastman House collection for pleasure or scholarship, providing just one structure and arrangement out of many that are possible. This book, presented in the museum's 50th anniversary year, is an invitation for discovery, as discovery is vital to the museum's mission. Therese Mulligan, curator of photography, has led the process of selecting and interpreting the images. The categories she has used to group the images, while comprehensive in spirit, make propositions about the collection without defining it. Informed by scholarship, wisdom, and the strengths ofthe collection, Ms. Mulligan's choice of images and her essay are intellectually and emotionally satisfying because they are contingent and personal. And while each ofthe pictures may be considered to be a representation of the collection as a whole, the selection is in no way proportionate to the sum ofthe collection. David Wooters, the photo archivist for nearly two decades, often speaks of the invitation to discovery the collection offers its visitors. In this way the collection is a lure that summons the joy of interpretation, and this book extends a special invitation to that educational process. Mr. Wooters' essay suggests the pleasures of looking, and looking repeatedly viewing a selection of images in such a way that a history is reflected as it was created - with purpose and at random, always with surprise. A close reading ofthe text with reflection upon the images points to the very human narrative of how this collection was developed, assembled through a series of contingencies and opportunities, through both chance and plan. The result of collecting over the past 50 years is a body of work that stands for quality not only because of its aesthetic or educational value, but also because of its diversity Its value ascribed through breadth as well as depth, social content as well as cultural