How do photographs become works of art?
Debates about how and whether photographs could function as works of art have simmered since the nineteenth century. In this section of the exhibition, we explore strategies for making artistic photographs using different technologies, materials, and practices from the origins of photography up to the end of the twentieth century.
The context in which photographs are displayed also has an enormous influence on whether or not they are understood as art, regardless of the photographer’s intentions or the processes employed in the making of the photographs. For example, the photographs included in this exhibition can all be viewed as aesthetic objects once contextualized in the current exhibition, which was curated by two art historians and therefore privileges questions about form, media, and context that are central to the history of art.
↳ How do photographs become works of art from 1750 to 1850?
↳ How do photographs become works of art from 1850 to 1900?
↳ How do photographs become works of art from 1900 to 1950?
↳ How do photographs become works of art from 1950 to 2000?