In the previous century, photography helped shape art; in the current one, it has begun to dominate it. Not only are major international museums and galleries mounting blockbuster exhibitions, but art photographers are also being celebrated as contemporary masters and their work commands unprecedented prices. This indispensable survey presents the work of 76 of the most important and best-known art photographers in the world: Andreas Gursky, Thomas Struth, Cindy Sherman, Jeff Wall, Sophie Calle, Wolfgang Tillmans, Nan Goldin, Martin Parr, Allan Sekula, Boris Mikhailov, Inez van Lamsweerde, Stephen Meisel, Philip-Lorca diCorcia, Sam Taylor-Wood, and many more are featured in its pages. Susan Bright, former Curator of Photographs at London's National Portrait Gallery, has organized the book into seven sections--City, Portrait, Document, Object, Landscape, Fashion, and Narrative--and provides an introductory essay for each. Along with each photographer's works, presented in sequence within those divisions, Bright's commentaries provide context and depth, and quotations from the artists themselves offer valuable insights into the motivation, inspiration, and intentions behind the work. Following in the tradition of Photography Past/Forward: Aperture at 50 and the Photography Speaks series, this volume will become an essential resource for curators, collectors, scholars, practitioners, and anyone who wants comprehensive, up-to-date exposure to the state of the medium today.

苏珊·布赖特(Susan Bright)，国际知名的摄影批评家，同时也是策展人和作家，文章散见于各大报刊杂志。她除了举办过许多艺术与摄影的国际性会议和研讨外，曾担任伦敦国家肖像画廊(National Portrait Gallery)摄影部门助理策展人、摄影师协会策展人，以及伦敦苏富比艺术学院(Sotheby's Institute of Art)摄影硕士课程(历史与当代)的执行总监。

本书外，苏珊·布赖特还出版了本书的姊妹篇《自动对焦:当代摄影中的自拍照》(AUTO FOCUS: THE SELF-PORTRAIT IN CONTEMPORARY PHOTOGRAPHY，世界图书出版公司，2013)，现定居于纽约。