[ BOOK LIVES ] Bending The Frame by Fred Ritchin

Bending The Frame
by Fred Ritchin
Aperture
ISBN 978-1-59711-120-1

Many of my learned friends swear by Susan Sontag’s On Photography.

Honestly, I have tried reading that a few times and never finished. How many of you who quote from that actually read it?

I must say I much prefer her other book – Regarding The Pain of Others.

If forced to choose, Mr Ritchin, who teaches at Tisch, is my #1 scholar of photography writing.

I just read the short preface to this book and every sentence evokes. This short segment is mostly of rhetorical questions that need to be asked.

Let me quote what is allowed:

“What do we want from this media revolution? Not just where is it bringing us – where do we want to go? When the pixels start to settle, where do we think we should be in relationship to media – as producers, subjects, viewers? Since all media inevitably change us, how do we want to be changed?”

Mind you, that is just first paragraph of the preface.

I think I have all books by Ritchin (I hope I do), but you’ll know why.

If you are looking for big bombastic discourse and intercourse, look elsewhere. Mr Ritchin’s economy of words will bore you.

I will stand by my man.