Undercover

California Museum of Photography

October 7 - November 27, 2010

Shown in conjunction with the re-opening of UCR/California Museum of Photography's library and print study room, Undercover features a selection of rare books from the museum's collection. The exhibition includes scientific texts that utilized photography such as C. Piazzi Smyth's Teneriffe, an Astronomer's Experiment (1858), the first book to include published stereographic photographs, and The Yosemite Book (1869), a geological survey that featured twenty-eight original albumen prints by Carleton Watkins. Also featured are key examples of photographic books as art, including a rare 1905 edition of Camera Work, Alfred Stieglitz's seminal photography journal, Will Connell's satirical In Pictures (1937), and Ed Ruscha's influential artist book, Every Building on the Sunset Strip (1966). The publications in Undercover demonstrate the varied ways in which writers and artists have used photography in books, and illustrate how these printed materials complement the museum's photographic collections.

Undercover highlights some of the most significant books in the museum's collection. UCR/CMP's 10,000-volume library includes journals, monographs, exhibition catalogs, auction catalogs, and camera manuals that aid in the study of the museum's collection of photographs, negatives, and cameras. The library and permanent collection are open by appointment.