Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

This second edition of a standard biographical directory of photographers contains 100 more entries than the 1982 edition (mostly from Eastern and Western Europe, and the US); however, there are still some surprising omissions (e.g., Cindy Sherman, Ralston Crawford). Organized in the familiar format of the ``Contemporary Arts Series,'' this volume provides basic biographical data, lists of individual and group exhibitions, publications by and about the photographer, usually a brief statement by the photographer, and a longer essay written on the individual's work. Most entries also have a black-and-white reproduction of the photographer's work (the 16 color plates from the first edition have been eliminated). The new edition does provide different reproductions than the first edition for almost half the entries, yet for one entry (Ralph Gibson) where the photo was changed, the artist's statement was not, even though it referred directly to the photo in the first edition. Bibliographies should give more complete citations, and list exhibition catalogs more consistently. Although it overlaps a bit with T. Browne and E. Partnow's Macmillan Biographical Encyclopedia of Photographic Artists and Innovators (CH, Jun '84) and M. and M. Auer's Encyclopedie Internationale des Photographes de 1839 a nos jours (1985), this is still highly recommended for most libraries.-J.H. Carmin, University of Oregon