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A New Chapter in the History of Photography Revealed in Words on Pictures

By: Issuewire
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Romana Javitz and the New York Public Library's Picture Collection

New York City, New York Feb 27, 2021 (Issuewire.com) - Words on Pictures: Romana Javitz and the New York Public Library's Picture Collection   Edited by Anthony Troncale. Photo | Verso Publications LLC New York 2020. ISBN 978-1-7346409-0-8

In a Google "images" world we can all relate to ready access of visuals of all kinds. But we could also use a bit of historical perspective in navigating our image-immersed lives. The impact of today's image-immersed social media has yet to be fully understood. We are relying more and more on information that we see and consume visually. It is important to have the ability to discern between truth and obfuscation, reportage and propaganda, fact and fiction, information and misinformation, within the digital realm.

In the pre-digital era, the age of mechanical reproduction, the New York Public Library's Picture Collection provided the free circulation of prints, photographs, postcards, and other clippings to the public, including its large constituency of artists, illustrators, advertisers, and businessmen. Since its initial beginnings in 1914, the Picture Collection has been a unique public service for New York City's thriving educational, cultural, and commercial enterprises, both as a muse and as a critical resource.

The story of the Picture Collection is also the story of Romana Javitz (1903-1980) who headed the Picture Collection from 1928 to 1968. Words on Pictures presents previously unpublished writings and interviews by Javitz, revealing her remarkable understanding of the social impact of print and film media, especially photography and cinema.

It is through Javitz's words we can witness history over the decades as it happened. It's all in her writings, speeches, and annual reports covering the years 1929 thru 1953. You will read bout Ruth Reeves and Diego Rivera borrowing pictures for their respective commissions at Rockefeller Center; Javitz writing to Holger Cahill describing the birth of the Federal Art Project's Index of American Design. Roy Stryker, sending FSA photographs to the Picture Collection as organized exhibits and additions to the stock; Military planners commandeering its geography files which play a key role in the Allied campaign; Famous artists like Ben Shahn, Joseph Cornell, and Andy Warhol browsing its picture stock, looking for inspiration and resource materials.

In Words on Pictures, Javitz's words live on to instruct others in the ways of seeing pictures objectively.  It is a written record by a woman who was there and made it happen. For today's students, teachers, and historians, or if you are interested in the social sciences, design, photography, or the arts, Words on Pictures is a good read.

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Source :New York Public Library's Picture Collection

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