A photograph is a distilled, charmed, disturbing, intense, and ethereal correspondence with the world: a talisman empowered by the ineluctable mystery of the visual. Tom Normand

Scotland has made a rich contribution to the art of photography throughout the world. From the invention of the new medium, circa 1840, until the present day, Scotland has been an important site of innovation and experiment in photographic technique and artistry. Beginning with the stellar images of Hill and Adamson, and progressing through the vivid landscape and documentary traditions, Scottish photographers have created a resonant and dramatic photographic culture. Today, the radical experimentation of contemporary Scottish photographers continues to push photography to new heights, and towards assuring its own status as an art form.

The book is published by Luath Press and was launched at Street Level in Glasgow and Stills in Edinburgh. Normand gave a presentation on this thematic study which puts Scottish photography onto an international stage.

Normand examines the photograph as an object, a form of documentary, and as a memorial; and the ways in which the Scottish connection has altered or defined these forms. The history of photography from Scotland has never before been given its proper place in world photography; and nor has it been told so well.

Tom Normand was born in Aberdour in Fife. He was educated in Dunfermline, and subsequently took a degree in Sociology and Politics at Glasgow College. His doctoral thesis, in the Sociology of Culture, was taken at Durham University. He taught at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art in Dundee, and, since 1982, has lectured on History of Art at the University of St Andrews. He has published widely in the History of British Art with a special interest in developments in art and photography in Scotland. He has lectured, nationally and internationally, on Scottish art, culture and society.

Book launch was in association with Luath Press.

"This book is a great pleasure to read and offers much insight into a subject which yields a feast of visual engagements. It also serves to illustrate the great cultural value and international recognition that is within our grasp, if Scotland were to build a National Photographic Gallery."
The Scottish Review of Books - Vol 4, Number 1 2008







Hill and Adamson : Dennistoun Monument, Greyfriars Churchyard: The Artist and The Gravedigger 1840s


Calum Colvin : Robert Burns - 2002


Street Photographer : Girl and Monkey - Circa 1960



Fay Godwin : Meall Mor, Glencoe 1988


Dalziel and Scullion : Peat Bog from the project 'Storm' 2003