The Photography as an Art Object Summary

In her article “The Photograph as an Art Object,” Felicity Cole describes the evolving idea of photography, and how the theme of the physical nature of photography is growing. She describes various ways in which photographers manipulate prints and negatives, using such methods as sculpture, painting, and embroidery. In doing so, these artists push the traditional notion of photography and manipulation, creating unique “objects” that work against the easy reproduction that is so widespread among digital work today. Cole provides four examples of artists who combine various media within photography: Julie Cockburn, a sculptor; Aliki Braine, another sculptor; Darren Harvey-Regan, who blurs the lines between what is sculpture and what is photography; and Nathalie Hambro, who works with the idea of the photograph as an object in the form of photobooks. All of these contemporary artists combine photography with other media, and in doing so, challenge the boundaries of photography to include the concept of photography as a physical object.