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A review by tracydurnell
Edward Weston by
5.0
A stupendous book. The photographs are nicely printed on thick paper, large, each singly on a page opposite a brief related excerpt from his notebooks. The quotes add to the understanding of the work more often than not. They also make clear that this was a man fully passionate about his work, and also with no lack of confidence.
The photographs themselves are classic. And yet, many of them are now familiar in form and composition, as he was a leader in the field and others followed his lead. It is interesting to reflect on the photos both as art themselves, and also as objects of their time. How valuable are they as art today? How good are they, now? And how much did they shape the field coming when they did?
The introduction shared Weston's biography, which helped with following his body of work over time. I knew very little about him before, aside from having seen his classic pepper photos and some dune shots.
The cover of the hardback version I have is a brown fabric with an embedded printed photo of his famous folded nude. Be careful about putting it face down, as I scratched the photo a little bit on some grit. The book is large and heavy, so a little awkward to hold, but that allows the photos to be seen in large format, which makes it worth it.
The photographs themselves are classic. And yet, many of them are now familiar in form and composition, as he was a leader in the field and others followed his lead. It is interesting to reflect on the photos both as art themselves, and also as objects of their time. How valuable are they as art today? How good are they, now? And how much did they shape the field coming when they did?
The introduction shared Weston's biography, which helped with following his body of work over time. I knew very little about him before, aside from having seen his classic pepper photos and some dune shots.
The cover of the hardback version I have is a brown fabric with an embedded printed photo of his famous folded nude. Be careful about putting it face down, as I scratched the photo a little bit on some grit. The book is large and heavy, so a little awkward to hold, but that allows the photos to be seen in large format, which makes it worth it.