Critical Focus
Other than several essays in photographic monographs, Coleman has not released a major body of writings since his acclaimed Light Readings (LJ 2/15/79). Here he has compiled selections from his "Letter from" series that appeared between 1989 and 1993 in Photo Metro, a San Francisco-based photographic magazine. Coleman is a rigorous critic with a deep, insightful knowledge of the method, theory, and history of photography. Unlike much contemporary criticism that often lapses into dense ideological analysis that is inaccessible to the uninitiated, Coleman's text delights with lucid, well-reasoned analyses of a variety of imagery. Although he states he has tried to expand his perspective to participate in the "international image community," he has not realized his desire. Though several photographers from Eastern Europe and Latin America are represented, most of the essays remain centered on western European and predominantly American photography. Still, he provides a richer understanding of the images of those artists included and doesn't shy from taking to task photographers whose images he feels have "devolved to mere fashion." Recommended for all collections.?Kathy J. Anderson, Indiana Ctr. for Global Business, Indiana Univ., BloomingtonCopyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.