Vernacular Photo

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About Vernacular Photo

Submissions to the pool should generally be vintage, original, and fit the "vernacular" theme. Given that the term "vernacular photography" has many different definitions, we'll keep the pool open to a broad interpretation. Photographs that obviously don't fit or for whatever reason are inappropriate to the group can be removed by the administrators without any warning or explanation.

Here's an explanation that I really like:

"Aesthetically unpretentious, generally functional images made by amateur snapshooters or grass-roots professionals (e.g. itinerant tintypists, photowallahs, or jobbing local portraitists) for everyday purposes such as creating keepsakes or recording mundane objects. In 1964, John Szarkowski mounted an exhibition at MoMA, New York, that combined both ‘art’ and (often anonymous) vernacular works under the title ‘The Photographer's Eye’; a book with the same title appeared two years later. Its aim was to elucidate the formal questions common to all branches of the medium. However, some critics saw the juxtaposition as tending to subvert the authority of the ‘canonical’ pictures - just as they were beginning to be taken seriously by museums and dealers. Later, in a celebrated 1976 essay, ‘Diana and Nikon’, Janet Malcolm reviewed the issues and noted both the continuing growth of historical and market interest in vernacular work and the spread of a ‘snapshot’ aesthetic in the avant-garde. Both trends have persisted into the 21st century. — Robin Lenman"


Examples of categories (By No Means All Inclusive):

Family Snapshots
Travel Photos
Photo Booth
School/ID Photos
Amateur Portraits
Amateur Real Photo Postcards
Souvenir Type Photos
Works by Itinerant Photographers

Check out the Wikipedia page for Vernacular Photography found here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vernacular_photography

This group was originally a web project organized by students at Tufts University exploring vernacular photography.

The goal of this group is to promote the appreciation and study of vernacular photography.