Re: "CALENDAR ARTIST"

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From: Katharine Thayer (kthayer@pacifier.com)
Date: 09/02/02-09:25:50 AM Z


Keith Gerling wrote:
>
> I saw John Szarkowski's "Ansel at 100" MOMA show not too long ago. HE seems
> to have deliberately avoided making reference to the "Ansel as Calendar
> Artist", featuring small works, and omitting the BIG Adams "trademark"
> works. I just thought I would make mention of this.

I was just about to bring that up, Keith; you beat me to it.
Szarkowski's catalogue essay for the show is thoughtful and respectful
and really seems to get to the heart of the man and his work; he
certainly doesn't dismiss Adams as a calendar artist.

I'd never cared much for Adams until I mentioned in passing to someone
on this list that Adams' work hurt my eyes, and he pointed me to the
earlier work, which I like much better. So I'll have to disagree with
Keith about the show; I prefer Szarkowski's choice of what he considers
Adams' "more important" work to the better known later stuff, while
still agreeing with those arguing that Adams was an important
photographer whose work will pass the test of time; in fact it has
already. There's very little that's been done in the last 20-30 years,
in my opinion, (big names, I mean) that will hold up in the same way as
Adams and Weston have

Katharine Thayer


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