Imogen Cunningham: Flora [Paperback]

Imogen Cunningham (Photographer), Richard Lorenz (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2001

As one of the greatest women photographers of the century, Imogen Cunningham (1883-1976) photographed nature with a celebratory spirit while retaining a firm dedication to photographic technique. Her childhood fascination with the beauty and complexities of nature led her to photograph all kinds of plant life, from simple flower arrangements to elaborate compositions of exotic ferns and lilies. This collection of black-and-white botanical images spans 55 years of work and development. The images are accompanied by a biocritical essay by Richard Lorenz, noted photography curator and writer, placing Cunningham's work in the context of her contemporaries and colleagues: Edward Weston, Ansel Adams, Johan Hagemeyer and many other premiere photographers of the botanical world. To complete the celebration of the plant world, the book includes technical notes on illustrated plant species, a chronology and a selected bibliography.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

As seen in this stirring monograph, prepared for a photo exhibit in San Francisco, Cunningham glorifies the form, order and variety of nature's floral aspect with superbly controlled gradations of light, shadow and substance. This pioneering and eclectic California photographer, active from the century's beginning to the '70s, "isolat[ed] her subject;... minimized the background, expanded scale with close-up scrutiny, and formalized presentation" for her floral studies, writes curator-critic Lorenz in a broad-based and sometimes flowery text accompanying 161 photos. Though attuned to pure nature for most of her career, Cunningham was also a "sophisticated aesthete" who "often delighted in upsetting common values"--a startling example being her double-image portrait of the artist Morris Graves, who is "psychically incorporated" into a forested landscape. Through extensive resort to contrasts and affinities vis-a-vis Cunningham's contemporaries--Weston, Adams, Stieglitz et al.--the author encompasses a seminal era in artistic photography, with Cunningham, about whom he has written three other books, as the star.

Copyright 1996 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Prepared in association with an exhibition at San Francisco's Photos Gallery, this exquisite catalog showcases the botanical imagery of the great American photographer Imogen Cunningham (1883-1976). While raising her children, Cunningham began photographing plant life in her garden and West Coast neighborhood. Influenced by the stark lines and objectivity of the German modernists, her close-up, sensual photographs of tree trunks and branches, house plants, flowers, seaweed, leaves, pods, and driftwood often resemble animals, birds, fish, and human forms. Here, the 40 duotone and eight color plates, more than half never before published, convey a simple, translucent beauty. An informative essay, a chronology, and small photos of the plates paired with botanical notes round out the volume. Lorenz has curated many Cunningham exhibitions and written extensively about her (e.g., Imogen Cunningham: Ideas Without End, Chronicle, 1993). Essential for photography and botany collections.
Joan Levin, MLS, Chicago
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Bulfinch (May 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0821227319
• ISBN-13: 978-0821227312
• Product Dimensions: 11.9 x 9.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #747,127 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Incredible photographer! Inferior Printing!!, January 8, 2006

By 

T. Monson - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Imogen Cunningham: Flora (Hardcover)

Out of all of the members of the famous Group f/64, Imogen Cunningham created the greatest body of floral still life work. This beautiful collection of images has been totally undermined by a horrible press run. It's a surprise that Bulfinch would even put their name on this book. Aperture should have probably printed it. Granted, the book has a gorgeous design, and the body of work chosen for the book is definitely of her greatest masterpieces. But, when all is said and done, the print is solely the photographer's art, and poor reproductions of a photograph, especially a "Group f/64" style photograph, renders the art ineffective.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great Choices of Subjects Marred by Poor Printing, April 23, 2001

By 

Donald Mitchell "Jesus Loves You!" (Thanks for Providing My Reviews over 109,000 Helpful Votes Globally) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Imogen Cunningham: Flora (Paperback)

Imogen Cunningham is one of my favorite photographers. So I was very disappointed when I saw the reproduction quality of the 92 duotone plates, 59 black-and-white photographs, and 8 color images. The ink is very heavy and dark on these succulent morsels, and almost all the images look like they are of vegetation from the vicinity of Mount St. Helens just after the eruption.

The book contains Ms. Cunningham's famous image of her husband undressed, so if such things offend you, skip over that page. The image is very small, so you'll hardly notice it unless you are looking hard for it.

The essay by Richard Lorenz is a fine one. It makes up for some of the reproduction problems. He captures the ambiguity of her work nicely in pointing out that the "paradox of expansion via reduction becomes vivid when one looks at the visual aspects of nature." This is the familiar fractal observation. Each level of detail is echoed in the next larger and smaller level of scale.

Stylistically, she "empowered her images by isolating her vegetation." What would be lost in a mass is curiously fresh and clear in solitary study. As a result, "negative space is as critical to the composition as the design elements." In fact, she "paralleled the objectivity of the Germans in her work" more so than any other Western photographer. Like Georgia O'Keeffe, she realized and portrays the erotic expressions in vegetation.

Here are my favorite images from the book (as reproduced here):

At Point Lobos, 1921 (like Weston); Thorn Apple, about 1921; Tree at Donner Pass, 1925 (like Weston); Calla, about 1925 (like an O'Keeffe); Colletta Cruciata 7, 1929; Flowering Cactus, about 1930; Calla with Leaf, about 1930; Blossom of Protea, 1935; Fuscha, 1940; Fireworks Plant, 1965; Araujia, 1953; Hand and Leaf of Voodoo Lily. The notes to each image contain horiticultural information.

Ms. Cunningham was "skeptical of physical beauty." Where does nature agree with her? Where can you gain by retaining skepticism, even as you enjoy beauty?

Don't give up on Ms. Cunningham's work. Just go look at it elsewhere!

5.0 out of 5 stars A collection of fabulous photographs, December 16, 2011

By 

Ms. Wonderland - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Imogen Cunningham: Flora (Hardcover)

This collection compiled by Richard Lorenz of the Imogen Cunningham Trust is a must for any photographer. When one considers that Imogen Cunningham began her career in an era of big, bulky cameras and had to develop her own work, she is quite amazing. This book gives an overview of her 70-year career which is also amazing. It belongs in every library, public or private.