The History of Photography in Pen & Ink

In a set of forty-three pen & ink line drawings, Charles Woodard levels the history of photography through his own unique brand of stylistic primitivism. Originally produced as pragmatic study aids for a 19th and 20th century history of photography survey course, these comical (and sometimes tragic) ball-pen ink drawings seamlessly bring together photographers as stylistically disparate as Robert Capa and Ed Ruscha. By bringing these crude renderings into the context of the book format, Woodard asks us to consider not only the humorous aspect of these flash cards, but also the reductive nature of image recall and how that relates to our more profound engagement with the world through memory.

43 drawings by Charles Woodard