Ron,
I don't think many would disagree that esthetics and technology are
intertwined, whether it be alt-processes or standard processes. In fact, the
alternative processes by their very nature, that is having far more
variables, much more personal control (or lack of it), bring to the fore,
the esthetic issues.
I too have seen several shows at the getty where their Sessionist period
prints were on display, but my first gestalt was when I saw a show in the
mid-eighties, curated by Arthur Ollman at the Museum of Photographic Arts
(MOPA) in San Diego called "F. Holland Day and his Circle". Steichen, White,
Steiglitz, Coburn, Day and others were represented, and all but a couple of
prints were in platinum. Melody and I noted at the time that none of the
prints showed more than 3 or maybe 4 zones. We spent several hours studying
the prints, a longer time than we usually spend, but then we had a keen
interest in this process. This narrow tonal range is for the modern viewer
an acquired taste. I call it the avocado syndrome, your first taste senses
something is missing, flat, tasteless and bland, but as you get used to it,
there is an exquisite universe of taste bound up in that unassuming little
fruit.
My opinion is that these photographers, known as the Pictorialists, a term
which has now almost become an expletive, were not creating this moody
ambiance in their prints as an imitation of "art", but were skillfully
exploiting the technology and working around its limitations. Many modern
workers can achieve a platinum print challenging the silver print in its
tonality, but the point is often missed. Adams became the high priest of
what Ollman calls the "testosterone laden rocks and roots American
landscape". Early Adams prints were often delicate but the later prints had
tonalities which were were jalapeno and not avocado. (Compare the 1948
"Moonrise" with those of the 80's.) Adams died before the recent platinum
Renaissance took off. Had he printed platinum, he might have discovered its
dirty little tonality secrets and printed lush lovely limited range prints.
It's hard to tell. Adams' worst enemies are his ardent followers and he is
judged more often by our opinion of them than anything to do with him
directly. Adams, Minor White, and others established the standard modern
tonal esthetic (SMTE?) Adams argued against what he called the
misinterpretation of his tonal esthetic, that is all prints must have 9
zones, a pure black and key whites. None of Adams modern prints, as I can
recall, are limited in tonal range, and he certainly did little to criticise
his slavish followers who "misinterpreted" his system.
This has left the modern platinum printer and to some extent all
alt-processes printers with a public, critical and otherwise, who are
blinded the SMTE. Dick Arentz has a letter from a gallery owner sent to him
in the 80's that said his prints were nice but lacked the snap that was
needed to sell them. Dick's prints are in the full tonal range category, or
at least as far as platinum normally goes. We still have a ways to go, and
yes, esthetics has a very important role in this listserve forum.
Dick Sullivan