Ansel Adams's magnificent photographs of the American wilderness are recognized and admired the world over. Adams is also a major cultural figure in American history, shaping many of our current views of the natural world through his compelling and accessible images. Despite his significance, little scholarly attention has been paid to Adams's contributions as an artist or his place in photographic history. This work addresses this gap by taking a look beyond the photographer's reputation as a Sierra Club environmentalist and examining in depth his life as an artist and the complexities of his creative vision. Photo historian Anne Hammond provides a nuanced discussion of the evolution of Adams's landscape art and the aesthetic significance of his work. To set his landscape photographs in historical and philosophical context, Hammond traces the development of Adams's prints in relation to his artistic consciousness. She also offers background on the contributions of scientific, literary and artistic individuals who inspired Adams's journey in the arts, including scientists and philosophers Joseph LeConte and Alfred North Whitehead, writers Edward Carpenter and Ella Young, and photographers Alfred Stieglitz, Edward Weston and Minor White. The concluding chapter of the volume provides a detailed criticism of the photographer's best work and shows the relation between these images and their maker's ethical and artistic commitments.
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Editorial Reviews
From Library Journal
As a photographer, artist, and especially gifted contributor to our perception of the American landscape, Ansel Adams seems to be the subject of continual discovery. In this quiet and thoughtful work, photo historian and researcher Hammond (Frederick Evans) gives us still more on Adams's life, aesthetics, methodology, and evolution as an artist. Her book refuses to engage in the fits of impassioned academic overanalysis that usually weigh down critical books about genius; instead, Hammond keeps Adams's biography and her criticism of the images on track. While readers may question the need for yet another book on Adams, Hammond offers a careful portrayal of the photographer and the life that he lived along with his art, placing his work in the contexts of time, place, and influence. This volume makes a solid contribution on several levels, not the least of which is its articulating some very essential notions on the structure of thought and visual objectives within the basics of photography. In the case of Ansel Adams, this structure gave us exceptional, even reassuring art that has made its way into the subconscious of millions of viewers. Recommended for most collections. David Bryant, New Canaan Lib., CT
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
Review
[A] well-written, insightful monograph... -- Choice
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Ansel in a new light!,
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This review is from: Ansel Adams: Divine Performance (Hardcover)
Here you will find information and insight you simply won't find in other books about Ansel. This is not a biography as such but rather a selective investigation into what made Ansel tick. Hammond has brought to bear formidable research talents and excellent writing skills to expose the inner workings, development, aesthetics and strivings of Ansel Adams in fascinating detail. Most highly recommended.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
ansel adams as artist--at last !,
By loraine herbert (Penzance United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Ansel Adams: Divine Performance (Hardcover)
To be an artist a great many thoughts have to pass through your head -in the case of photography, through the lens first into your eye. What this book shows,like no other before it on Adams, is that he was not just( ! ) a master craftsman ,but also a person with a true philosophical turn of mind, carrying him into a spiritual realm to put him on the heights with Scriabin, William James, Edward Carpenter, Alfred Stieglitz, and other leaders in the non-doctrinal world of humane and progressive traditon of turn-of-the-century theosophy. A mind-opener!
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
not what you think,
By Alex F Stop (Jerusalem, Israel) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Ansel Adams: Divine Performance (Hardcover)
This book is NOT a biography of Anselm Adams or a "how-to take your own Anselm Adams-like photos" DIY. It has minimal biographical information (e.g., only 2 pictures of AA, including the cover photo, no information on his marriage or children, etc.). It does have a lot on the philisophical background of AA and his friends that led them to take and value the kind of images they made and admired, and reproduces many images made by AA and friends. It's a good book for what it is, but before you buy it, make sure that this is what you want.
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