Curatorial StudiesCuratorial Studies 10:
Re-reading The Pencil of Nature: The Etymology of Photography
Curatorial Studies 10:
Re-reading The Pencil of Nature: The Etymology of Photography
HOME > Collection Gallery > The 5th Collection Gallery Exhibition 2015-2016 > Curatorial Studies 10: Re-reading The Pencil of Nature: The Etymology of Photography


The Pencil of Nature, Courtesy of Taka Ishii Gallery ©the artist
private collection
Re-reading The Pencil of Nature: The Etymology of Photography
William Henry Fox Talbot's The Pencil of Nature (1844), whch contains 24 calotype prints, is considerd to be the first photography book. To mark the upcoming publication of Masaru Aoyama's Japanese translation of the book, the National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto will present a small exhibition of photographs from the museum collection.
While The Pencil of Nature signaled the rise of photography, it also led to an increasingly disant relatonship with nature which has continued through various technical developments to the present day. By reinterpreting the book, this exhibition sets out to consider a wide range of issues, including "painting and photography," "inventory," "copies,and reproductions," "shadows, or photographs without cameras," and "nature and artifice."
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