Friday, October 29, 2010
Portland Museum of Art
"Debating Modern Photography: The Triumph of Group f/64"
In the 1930s, a small group of California photographers challenged the painterly, soft-focus Pictorialist style of the day. This small association of innovators created Group f/64, named after the camera aperture which produces great depth of field and sharp focus. The exhibition revisits this debate and includes images by photographers in Group f/64 such as Ansel Adams, Edward Weston, Imogen Cunningham, Sonya Noskowiak, and Willard Van Dyke, as well as images by such Pictorialists such as Anne Brigman, William Dassonville, Johan Hagemeyer, William Mortensen, and Karl Struss. Modern Photography offers a feast for the eyes while illustrating both sides of a high-stakes debate. Clean edges and bold forms of Group f/64 stand in sharpcontrast to the romantic, hand-crafted Pictorialist work that includes elegant portraits and tonalist landscapes. This exhibit was probably one of the most awesome, surreal shows that I have ever seen. One of my favorite artist is Ansel Adams. His work blows me away with his wide range of photography choices.
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