Edited sentence: In a selective reading of works by prominent ‘Art’ photographers of the last twenty years (Berndt and Hilla Becher, Jeff Wall, Andreas Gursky, Thomas Struth, Thomas Demand amongst others) Fried asserts that concerns of anti-theatricality and absorption are central to the turn by recent photographers towards large scale ‘for the wall’ works.In a somewhat surprising turn Fried revisits these concerns via a study on recent photography; his oddly titled ‘Why Photography Matters as Art Now as Never Before’ (London and New Haven 2008).It remains to be seen whether this is an opportunistic attempt to reinvest his previous concerns with currency, or a genuinely productive approach to this high profile body of work.Why Photography Matters as Art as Never Before London and New Haven: Yale University Press, 2008