Digital Photography: Captured Images/Volatile, Memory/New Montage.

Exhibit catalog. Curated by Marnie Gillett and Jim Pomeroy. SF Camerwork, San Francisco, June 9-August 13, 1988, and three subsequent venues. [Texts and photographs by Paul Berger, Michael Brodsky, Christopher Burnett, Carol Flax, George Legrady, Manual (Suzanne Bloom and Ed Hill), Esther Parada, Sheila Pinkel, Alan Rath, and Ed Tannenbaum.] Wraps, 36 pages, like new. Summary:

Digital Photography: Captured Images/Volatile, Memory/New Montage (1988) is a landmark exhibition catalog published by SF Camerawork (San Francisco). Co-curated by artist Jim Pomeroy and SF Camerawork director Marnie Gillett, the publication documents what is widely considered the first major institutional museum exhibition specifically addressing digital photography and computer-manipulated imagery through the lens of cultural critique.

Key Details & Highlights

• Publisher & Format: Published by SF Camerawork in 1988 as a 36-page catalog featuring theoretical essays, artwork, and technical information detailing early electronic imaging processes.

• Core Subject: Explores the emerging paradigm shift from traditional analog photography to computer-generated and digitally altered imagery. The volume examines how pixels, electronic montage, and volatile digital memory challenge the traditional "truth value," indexicality, and documentary authority of the photographic medium.

• Thematic Scope: Connects early low-tech digital aesthetics (pixelation, scan lines, and transmission noise) to the historical avant-garde photomontage techniques of Dadaism, Constructivism, and Surrealism. It explores the democratization of media production, political commentary, and the potential for computer manipulation to transform viewers from passive consumers into active media producers.

• Featured Artists & Contributors: Includes critical essays by theorists such as Timothy Druckrey and showcases experimental digital works by ten pioneering media artists, including Paul Berger, Michael Brodsky, Christopher Burnett, Carol Flax, George Legrady, MANUAL (Suzanne Bloom and Ed Hill), Esther Parada, Sheila Pinkel, Alan Rath, and Ed Tannenbaum.

• Significance: Serves as a foundational primary text in media history, establishing the early theoretical framework for post-photographic criticism and forecasting the profound impact digital manipulation would have on visual culture, journalism, and fine art.