Picturing an exhibition : the family of man and 1950s America / Eric J. Sandeen.

Main entry:

Sandeen, Eric J.

Title & Author:

Picturing an exhibition : the family of man and 1950s America / Eric J. Sandeen.

Edition:

First edition.

Publication:

Albuquerque : University of New Mexico Press, [1995]
©1995

Description:

vii, 227 pages : illustrations ; 26 cm

Notes:
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Introduction -- Constructing a world of photography -- Picturing the exhibition -- The family of man on the move -- The family of man in Moscow -- Edward Steichen, Robert Frank, and American modernism.

Summary:

The Family of Man, a photography exhibit curated by Edward Steichen, opened at the Museum of Modern Art in 1955. More people saw that exhibit than any other show of photographs before or since, and the book remains in print to this day. Eric Sandeen presents here the first in-depth study of the exhibit and its influence worldwide. He examines how the exhibit came to be assembled, the beliefs and background Edward Steichen brought to the project, and what he wanted to show about the human condition from his selection of images. He then looks at the politics and culture of the 1950s to determine why the show was so popular at the time. When the United States Information Agency toured the photographs throughout the world in five different versions for seven years, The Family of Man became a projection of American values and the culture of abundance and an American representation of universal values.
The richness and historical complexity of this exhibit have been overlooked, especially in the post-Vietnam decades, as critics have been quick to dismiss it as sentimental. In the context of Steichen's text, the exhibit was an appeal to the emotions, designed to move viewers to cross the ideological barriers of the Cold War. The Family of Man was prominently displayed at the American Exhibition in Moscow in 1959. Sandeen shows the exhibit to be a great deal more than a compendium of beautiful but unchallenging photographs. He also unfolds its multilayered relationship with and reflection of the values of postwar America.

ISBN:

0826315585 (hardcover)
9780826315588 (hardcover)
9780826323668
0826323669

Subject:

Steichen, Edward, 1879-1973 Exhibitions.
Steichen, Edward, 1879-1973.
Steichen, Edward - photographie.
John Capek and the Family of Man
Family of man (Exposition)
Family of Man
Family of man (1955 : New York)
Photography Exhibitions.
Photographie Expositions.
Manners and customs
Photography
Fotografie.
Tentoonstellingen.
culture photographie américaine (Etats-Unis) Etats-Unis 1950 1959.
photographie américaine (Etats-Unis) politique Etats-Unis 1950 1959.
United States Social life and customs 1945-1970 Pictorial works Exhibitions.
États-Unis Mœurs et coutumes 1945-1970 Expositions.
États-Unis Mœurs et coutumes 1945-1970 Ouvrages illustrés Expositions.
United States
USA
1955-1962

Form/genre:

Catalog
Exhibition.
exhibition catalogs.
illustrated books.
catalogs (documents)
Illustrated works
Catalogs
Exhibition catalogs
Exhibition, pictorial works
Catalogues d'exposition.
Ouvrages illustrés.
Catalogues.

Holdings:

Location: Library main 120991
Call No.: ID TR6.A1 S2; ID:96-B597
Status: Available

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