Photography at work

This catalogue is published within the context of Allan Sekula: Photography at work exhibition at Beirut Art Center, written by the show's curator Marie Muracciole. The late american artist was an influential photographer, writer, filmmaker, theorist and critic whose works have been a unique reference in debates and conversations about photography, art and politics for over 40 years. Allan Sekula's work is largely invested in social and economic critique, particularly regarding the politics of global commodity exchange and economic processes. Sekula began exploring the american middle-class of the West Coast at the time of late modernism and in its wake. Turning his camera to his own surroundings allowed him to discover the world he was living in, and assess that staging reality critically was the best way to document it. As an artist, he considered photography a medium for continuous social engagement and action.