Memory of Fire: Images of War and the War of Images edited by Julian Stallabrass
While photography has played a role in the portrayal of large-scale conflict since World War I, Iraq was the first war of the digital age. With digital photography, we no longer had to wait for film to be delivered or developed. This meant that the expected output for war photographers increased greatly. It also meant that pretty much anyone with a cell phone could capture war imagery.
Memory of Fire: Images of War and the War of Images is a collection of what art historian and curator Julian Stallabrass describes as “loosely associated essays and interviews” on political images and the politics of image-making during war, with a focus on the recent war in Iraq. While photography has played a role in the portrayal of large-scale conflict since World War I, Iraq was the first war of the digital age. Journalism has always placed a premium on timeliness, but with digital photography, we no longer had to wait for film to be delivered or developed. As photojournalist Ashley