Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Rochester. Dept. of Art and Art History, 2014.
Despite the status photography now claims in American art institutions and academia, its current position is largely the result of a period of rapid expansion in the 1960s and 1970s known as the "photo boom." This dissertation argues that the city of Rochester, New York, was a crucial hub during this expansion, yet remains largely excluded from the photographic literature. Rochester served as the base of operations for a constellation of figures and institutions working to build an infrastructure for the field, and advocating for photography's inclusion in a broad, interdisciplinary discourse on art, images, and contemporary culture. However, historical accounts of this period typically focus on the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, resulting in a limited understanding of the era's renewed sense of pluralism and critical engagement. Though not intended as a monographic study, this project focuses on the work of Nathan Lyons, the unifying force behind the programs at George Eastman House, Visual Studies Workshop, the Society for Photographic Education, and the Rochester "photo community" at large, and his efforts to investigate the full spectrum of diverse artistic practice that characterized the era. In doing so, this dissertation complicates the persistent historical division between "photographers" and "artists using photography." While other recent studies have attempted to decentralize the history of American photography, none has focused on Rochester. This dissertation aims to fill this important gap in the conventional history of photography while challenging its traditional linear structure.
