Chapter 1 of Charlotte Cotton’s The Photograph of Contemporary Art, entitled “If This is Art,”
explores different ways photographers have molded the world around them
intentionally to create a piece of art designed for the camera; in doing so,
these photographers have challenged the traditional ideas of the ways a
photographer creates work. Here, the artist strategically manipulates an event
specifically for the camera, instead of grasping at an image in a moment of
passing. The piece of work begins not as an image is taken, but long before, as
the artist plans his or her idea. Such plans include capturing performance,
creating alternate realities, or simply photographing everyday life. Instead of
searching and waiting for the perfect moment of profundity to photograph, the
artist’s work is highly preconceived. The photograph functions not as a means
of documentation of past actions, but as the product of the artist’s planning.
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