This is a fantastic anthology of modern photography. I checked this out from the library but I want it for myself. Very inspired by the originality of the photographic creations collected inside.

The premise of reGeneration is an interesting one. Seasoned curators of fine art photography from the Musée de l’Elysée in Switzerland set out to identify 50 young photographers having, in their opinion, the potential to become well-known names by 2025. (They began around 2002, 20 years being the time supposedly needed to “solidly establish themselves.”) Museum curators normally preserve what art they feel is important from the past, so the endeavor was quite a departure. While they admit to some bias, for example the use of only students currently enrolled in (or recently graduated from) art schools, their method seems scientific enough. Art schools from around the world were asked to submit the best work from their most promising students. The names of the schools were not visible during the review process so as to avoid undue influence.

The curators of this project in their introduction make several observations about the submitted works as a whole. For one, black-and-white imagery was almost nonexistent. This was surprising and a bit refreshing given the photographers were all art students being force-fed the theory and history of the medium. This seems to mean many schools encourage unique personal expression rather than adherence to past norms. That possibility is further supported by another observation offered by the curators. These young photographers do not begin with the assumption that photography’s main purpose is to convey truth. So-called “straight” photography was barely represented except where reportage was the stated genre. Manipulation, both digital and otherwise, is commonplace and even central to these emerging artists. It is as if the once celebrated “decisive moment” has been abandoned and entirely relegated to travel photography.

It was a delight flipping through this book. The comments that accompany each set of images are well-written and provide a deeper understanding of where these photographers are coming from generationally and artistically. If nothing else it is, as William A. Ewing puts it in the preface, “an homage paid by one generation to another.” Buy or borrow this book for a glimpse into the future of fine art photography.

“flimsy, empty, trendy”

Part of the show came to my school, I really loved a lot of the work.