Charlotte Cotton 'The photograph as contemporary art'

I know that some fellow students have not enjoyed the experience of getting to grips with this survey of contemporary art photography but I both enjoyed and found Charlotte Cotton's work useful. The book aims to give a 'sense of the spectrum of motivations and expressions that currently exist in the field ' (p.7) It gives the reader an excellent illustrated overview of a great number of photographers who merit a mention in any discussion on contemporary art. I enjoy visiting contemporary art exhibitions (I don't always like what I see but I enjoy looking at what the exhibition might present). So I found this introduction stimulating, partly from the way the subject matter is divided into into eight categories meriting a chapter each and from being able to see so many different examples of the work described. 

Some photographers I had come across before e.g. Sophie Ristelhueber and Luc Delahaye ( at a recent study visit to the Tate's Conflict, Time, Photography exhibition )and it was interesting to read Cotton's take on them ; others I recognised from my tutor's  recommendations ( Reneke Dijkstra ) or from my own reading and research ( e.g.Martin Parr, Stephen Shore ) but the majority of photographers presented were ones that I had not come across...

There is a lot to digest. The chapters range from considering how photographers devise strategies, performances and happenings especially for the camera to a consideration of the idea of a photographic aesthetic or a focus on emotional and personal relationships as in chapter five or photography 'where the very nature of the medium is part of the narrative of the work'(p.10 ). I'll admit that there were elements of the book that did not resonate or register that clearly from an intellectual point of view as I'm not that experienced in reading this kind of writing. I have a very visual memory so the visual delight of this book will last longer at the moment than my recall of many of the concepts...that said, this will be a book that I will return to..