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World of Francis Cooper is a biographical exploration of Francis
Cooper, who practiced photography as an aesthetic recreation while
a medical student at the University of Pennsylvania. It offers an
unusual perspective on turn-of-the century American photography by
examining the work of an unknown avocational photographer.
Cooper was a native Philadelphian of sufficient means to indulge
in several recreations: competitive shooting, bicycling, and photography.
From 1896 to 1901 he traveled to the Pennsylvania countryside to
hunt, fish, bicycle, court his wife, and photograph landscapes,
genre farm scenes, and the spoils of his hunts. In the city he took
snapshots of his family, and of his friends and colleagues, as well
as candids and genre studies of the romance of city life. Largely
confined to this five-year period, his work in photography ranged
over several photographic practices from landscapes clearly attributable
to the naturalistic school to pictorialist cityscapes.
The World of Francis Cooper represents a social approach
to photographic history and argues for a cultural understanding
of photography as social practice. Reflecting on the life and work
of Francis Cooper is a way to deepen our understanding of the place
photography has assumed in the lives of many Americans while at
the same time having the pleasure of seeing his wonderful photographs. |
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