El ojo del fotógrafo

This is a new edition of the legendary book by John Szarkowski, who was a photographer and the director of the photography department at The Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in New York as well as the author of numerous books.

El ojo del fotógrafo (The Photographer´s Eye) is an introduction to the art of photography that unites the images of respected masters and unknown photographers. It was based on a 1964 exhibition, and was published for the first time in 1966.

The book investigates the visual characteristics of photographs and the reasons behind them, dividing images in five sections, examining the alternatives that the artist faces: the thing in itself, its detail, frame, time and best position. It enquires into photographic tradition and style with the possibilist sense that the photographer applies to his work today.

The invention of photography resulted in a radically new method of creation of images based on selection, not synthesis. The main difference is that paintings are created and built based on a group of traditional beliefs, skills and attitudes; to the contrary, photographs are taken. This difference introduced a new type of creative problem. How could this mechanical and automatic process offer images that were significant in human terms: images endowed with clarity, coherence and perspective?

Since then, the history of photography has not been so much a journey as growth propagated from an epicentre that has penetrated in our awareness.