Candid Camera: Australian Photography 1950s-1970s - exhibition catalogue
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Date
2012
Authors
Robinson, J.
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Creative work
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'Candid Camera: Australian Photography 1950s-1970s' presented a survey of Australian documentary photography in the post war period. It explored the influence of international trends towards social documentary and photojournalism on local photographers. It demonstrated the interest of successive generations of photographers in creating unposed, spontaneous and candid records of contemporary life. The exhibition’s main theme was to illuminate a common visual language for documentary photography, involving visual puns, juxtapositions, observations of absurd situations and the pursuit of the ‘decisive moment’ as popularised by the French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson. The exhibition’s research contribution was to identify the ways in which Australian photographers used these elements in widely varied ways. The research further revealed the humanist concerns underpinning much of the work. A 15 page room brochure with a 7,000 word essay explored the manifestation of these characteristics in Australian photography.