Gary Saretzky Photo Books
Annuals. Photography Year 1973 by the Editors of Time-Life Books.
Annuals. Photography Year 1973 by the Editors of Time-Life Books.
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Time-Life Books, 1972. Featuring Diane Arbus (including some photos not published in her monograph), Margaret Bourke-White, Judy Dater, Andre Kertesz, Strand, George Tice, et al. Very good, hardcover. Summary:
Photography Year 1973, published by the Editors of Time-Life Books as a vital addition to the LIFE Library of Photography series, serves as a comprehensive annual review of the rapid shifts, monumental shifts, and emerging talent shaking up the photographic world in 1972. It uniquely balances a somber look at passing 20th-century titans with the rise of a highly psychological, postmodern vanguard.
The Passing of Icons & Retrospectives
A major thematic portion of the book serves as a historical archive and final salute to masters who shaped the medium:
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Diane Arbus: Published shortly after her tragic death and coinciding with her ground-breaking posthumous 1972 Museum of Modern Art retrospective, the annual features her deeply personal, haunting imagery. It includes reflections on her unique approach to capturing societal "outsiders" and her famous quote explaining her artistic defiance: "When you become an adult you discover that you have the right not to wear rubbers and to see if you catch cold or not."
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Margaret Bourke-White: The volume honors the passing of the legendary LIFE trailblazer, tracking her fearless career from industrial steel mill photography to front-line World War II combat coverage and humanitarian documentation.
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Paul Strand & André Kertész: The book features major reviews and portfolios of these enduring masters, celebrating Strand’s uncompromising, sharp-focus formalism and Kertész’s whimsical, pioneering contributions to spontaneous street photography.
The "New Wave" and Discoveries
The 1973 volume is highly regarded for spotting the changing of the guard in American photography:
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Judy Dater: Highlighting the expansion of the feminist gaze, Dater’s portfolio is featured for her insightful, sharp, and psychologically complex portraiture of modern women, challenging traditional, male-dominated studio standards.
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George Tice: Showcases his exquisite mastery of the large-format camera and traditional platinum printing, focusing on the quiet, vanishing urban and rural landscapes of the American Northeast.
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Emerging Talents: The "Discoveries" section spotlights fresh voices pushing the boundaries of the medium, including Yasuhiro Ihara, Carl Toth, and John Banasiak.
The Marketplace and Technology
True to the Time-Life educational mission, the annual grounds its artistic portfolios with deep industry reporting:
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The Boom of the Photography Marketplace: Documents the massive surge of photography into the fine-art mainstream, capturing how vintage prints and modern museum exhibitions were beginning to command record-breaking prices.
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Tools of the Trade: Reviews the year's significant technological advancements, tracking the refinement of compact 35mm systems, improvements in color film stability, and the growing mainstream popularity of darkroom experimentation.
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In Memoriam: Alongside Arbus and Bourke-White, the book honors the legacies of other late influential photographers, including Ralph Eugene Meatyard, Tony Ray-Jones, and sports photojournalist Arthur Rickerby.
Significance
Photography Year 1973 is an essential cultural time capsule. By positioning the monumental retrospectives of Bourke-White and Strand directly alongside the radical psychological landscape of Diane Arbus and the modern eye of Judy Dater, the editors perfectly mapped a transitional year where photography fully severed its ties to rigid, mid-century magazine photojournalism and definitively claimed its place as an elite fine art.
