Shared Intelligence

Shared Intelligence, companion catalog to the exhibition of the same name, explores the stimulating and productive relationship between painting and photography in American art. The essays in this beautifully illustrated book describe how this dynamic developed, beginning in the nineteenth century and continuing to the twenty-firstÑfrom Thomas Eakins to the Stieglitz circle and Georgia OÕKeeffe to contemporary art. The book shows that while the initial proponents of photography were struggling to secure its place among the fine arts, photographyÕs inherent expressiveness was leading painters to use the camera in their work. And as cameras and photographs became part of American culture, photographic seeingÑhow a photograph freezes, flattens, enlarges, and crops its subjectÑbegan to affect artistsÕ visual representations. This gorgeous volume, which also includes interviews with artists Robert Bechtle, Barkley Hendricks, and Sherrie Levine, documents the complex ways in which painting and photography have influenced one anotherÑnot to undermine eachÕs originality, but to celebrate the deep, continuing connections between them.