tion to this, it is at the same time a calling into
question of the reality value of a given image and of
the manner in which the objective is being ‘‘dis-
objectified’’ by the subjectivity of both the creator
and of the spectator, which, in turn, is enhanced by
contextual influences on and conditioning of both
of these. This very ambiguity has been called the
paradox of photography. The art of photography
presents this paradox in its most acute and incisive
manner. Each and every photograph constitutes a
doxa: it is reality as it is, quite often with conclusive
argumentative evidence.
The argument departs from the assumption that
photographs are taking over the place of reality,
because of the simplified and at the same time cred-
ible image that they produce of it. As such, Sontag’s
theory hardly pertains to the pictures by Jo Brunen-
berg, who makes the phallic nature of flowers and
the flower-like aspects of the penis merge, and does
so via the intimacy of partial images, which are kept
almost pictogrammically small.
The American essayist Susan Sontag goes so far
as to label the discoveries of the 1980s as ‘‘mar-
ginal,’’ and adopts a polemic stance with regard to
the inclination of both photographs and critics to
cluster in schools. According to her line of reason-
ing, and as opposed to the art of painting, there is
only one type of photography and, as a whole, it is
of an overall eclectic and global nature, operates by
annexation, and is closely connected with reality.
Theo Derksen is another photographer who
brings together visual images that form a moving
portrait of human existence. The photographs by
Theo Derksen reveal the movement and rhythms
of life, the volatile mysteries, and the loneliness.
His photographic imagery shows a sharp-minded
but passionate vision of every life. They give voice
to the silent spirit of every man, every woman,
and every child who struggles to survive in a
conflict-prone world. By photographing out of
focus, Theo Derksen denationalizes well-known
geographical locations, which after they have
been mixed up form a new, admittedly non-exis-
tent country. And that is perhaps the thread in
this overview: the ambivalence between photogra-
phy’s reference to reality and its openness for the
imaginary is especially interesting for artists who
are investigating how place and the perception of
it can be represented.
JOHANSwinnen
Seealso:Dijkstra, Rineke; Klein, Aart; Stedelijk
Museum; van der Elsken, Ed; Zwart, PietFurther Reading
Boom, Mattie, and Hans Rooseboom.A New Art: Photo-
graphy in the Nineteenth Century. Rotterdam: Rijksmu-
seum, 1996.
Leijerzapf, Ingeborg, and Harm en Botman.Henri Berssen-
brugge, Passie – energie – fotografie. Walburg Pers, 2001.
Merlo, Lorenzo. New Dutch Photography. Amsterdam:
Kosmos, 1980.
Swinnen, Johan.De Paradox van de Fotografie, Een kri-
tische geschiedenis. Antwerpen: Hadewych, 1992.
Van Sinderen, Wim.Fotografie in Nederland. Een anthologie
1852–2002. Gent: Ludion, 2002.BEAUMONT NEWHALL
American
Beaumont Newhall, a gracious and learned New
England patrician, was a pioneering historian, a con-
summate scholar, an enthusiastic teacher, and a pho-
tographer. His unprecedented seven-decade career as
curator, museum director, art historian, teacher,
scholar, author, librarian, and photographer estab-
lished photography’s vital role in art history. Work-
ing in partnership with his wife, Nancy, also a native
of Lynn whom he married in 1936, Newhall created a
basic framework for the discipline of modern photo-
graphic history. He felt his involvement with the
history of photography, which he understood to be
fluid and always changing as more understanding is
achieved, was his greatest accomplishment, not his
achievements at any single institution.The History of
Photography from 1839 to the Present Day,isa
founding document for the field. Understandable to
the general public and valuable to scholars as well,NEWHALL, BEAUMONT