Sarah Charlesworth explored an array of artistic expressions, from conceptual photography in the 1970s, appropriation of images associated with the Pictures Generation in the 1980s, and studio-based photography using props and setups beginning in the 1990s. At each turn, her growth as an artist paralleled the evolution of photography as a contemporary medium. This richly illustrated monograph offers a historical perspective on Charlesworth's art and reflects extensive access to her archive, including notebooks, sketchbooks, diaries, studio logs, test prints, and many never-before-published images, revealing her thought processes over time and their articulation within and across her career. Opening with a chronological essay followed by examinations of particular aspects of the artist's evolving practice, the book reevaluates and clarifies Charlesworth's impact as a photographer, writer, and theorist.
Introduction and acknowledgments / Rochelle Steiner -- Tools and magic wands / Rochelle Steiner -- Works -- To meet, to talk, to work together: Sara Charlesworth seeks a new way to make art / Thomas Lawson -- Works -- Modern history / Mark Godfrey -- Works -- Real and of my world: the objecthood of images in the work of Sarah Charlesworth / Rebecca Morse -- Works -- Picturing style: Sarah Charlesworth in the studio / Eric Crosby -- Acknowledgments / Lucy Poe and Nick Poe -- Works: captions -- Contributors.