New Topographic
This term "New Topographic" was introduced in 1975 at an exhibition held at the George Eastman
House in Rochester, New York. The subtitle for the exhibition was "Man Altered Landscape." It
presented a new way of looking at landscape. At that time the concept of showing landscapes
populated with people, their buildings, cars etc., was not really thought of as landscape
photography. Prior to that time, landscape photography was thought of in terms of the works by
photographers such as Ansel Adams and Eliot Porter.
All this being said, it is still difficult to know what the boundaries are of the genre. The comments by
exhibition goers in 1975 serve as suggestions, "boring,” "banal,” and "flat" being heard by visitors.
“What I remember most clearly was that nobody liked it,” Gohlke told the LA Times thirty-five years
later. “I think it wouldn’t be too strong to say that it was a vigorously hated show.”
My New Topographics
This is my interpretation of what NT looks like. Basically to me it should represent a landscape with man made objects or humans. I've seen many images which are great but they are just architecture sans landscape. Street photography also in my opinion is NOT NT. Search google images for Robert Adams, Stephen Shore, Frank Gohlke and you will find what NT was originally thought of.
