
we had this dream of truth the truth of things
maybe in a photograph.
—David Antin
Published in conjunction with an exhibition opening this evening at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, The Uses of Photography examines a network of artists whose experiments with photography during the turbulent, transitional period between the late 1960s and early 1980s opened the medium to a profusion of new strategies and subjects. Working within the framework of Conceptual art, artists such as Eleanor Antin, Allan Kaprow, Fred Lonidier, Martha Rosler, Allan Sekula, and Carrie Mae Weems introduced urgent social issues and themes of everyday life into the seemingly neutral territory of photography, producing works that took on hybrid forms, from books and postcards to video and text-and-image installations.
And, courtesy of our partners at MCASD here’s a behind-the-scenes view of preparators, Nick and Jeremy, installing Fred Lonidier’s GAF Snapshirts.

The exhibition runs through January 2nd, and event programming includes film screenings, panel discussions with the artists, curator talks and more.
To get your own copy of the catalogue, visit the museum, or purchase online at IndieBound, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or UC Press (to save 30% on ucpress.edu, enter discount code16M4197 at checkout).