February 28, 2005
yesterday: in a new light
The National Library's 'In a New Light: Australian Photography 1930s–2000' enables us to engage with the history of the modern period through photographs.
We need to start reading Australian photographs as disclosing our history in the twenteith century
Jeff Carter, Tobacco Road [1955 or 1956]gelatin silver photograph; 30.8 x 26.8 cm,National Lbrary
Where is the man? Driving the car?
Australian rural life during the twentieth century was shaped by the processes of modernity.The photo indicates that life on a dairy farm was pretty simple. It was even more primitive as a pastoralist:
Axel Poignant, Artesian Bore, Gordon Downs 1947, gelatin silver photograph; 61.0 x 51.0 cm, National Library
It was pretty bleak landscape:
Robin V.F. Smith, Stranded Motorists Drank Beer While They Waited for Assistance When Trouble Occurred at Rough Grids, Western Queensland [between 1960 and 1964],gelatin silver photograph; 20.5 x 25.4 cm
National Library