Sekula, Allan (b. 1951), American photographer, historian, and theorist of photography as a social practice. Sekula's writings explore the ways in which meanings generated by photography are continually shifting and are historically and culturally determined; in other words, the photographic sign is always in dialogue with the world. His work on the photographic archive, in which the dissociation of meaning and use is particularly evident, has been especially influential. In his own photographic practice he has investigated the economic and social conditions of late capitalism through series on work, war, and global commerce. Sekula the photographer seeks to address what is aggressively ignored; for him, the act of making photographs is above all a political act. Through his writings and photography, he has stimulated discussion on both sides of the dialogue described in his essays.
— Molly Rogers
Bibliography
- Sekula, A., Photography against the Grain: Essays and Photo Works, 1973-1983 (1984)
