Susan Bright, FEAST FOR THE EYES, 2017

From basic sustenance to the most appetizing dishes, food awakens the senses and touches private and public life. It can be political, religious, aspirational, commercial, creative, symbolic, national and regional. The complexity of the shapes and meanings of food – and the fact that it is often at hand – have made it a much photographed subject throughout the history of photography. In recent years the interest of photography in food has increased, and this represents the first book that deals with the rich history of food photography, not only in the auteur genre, but also in crossover ones such as commercial and scientific photography and photojournalism. Susan Bright’s introduction and commentary accompanying the photographs brings insight and intelligence to this spectacular subject and traces the progression of the genre from the beginnings of photography to the present day, with artists from all eras: Roger Fenton, Nickolas Muray, Edward Weston , Irving Penn, Stephen Riva, Laura Letinsky, Wolfgang Tillmans, Nobuyoshi Araki and Martin Parr, just to name a few. Through key images, Bright explores the important figures and movements of food photography to provide an essential picture.