Peter Fetterman Gallery

#Curated Views
Part IV: Gesture, narrative, archetypes and symbols
INTRODUCTION #PART I #PART II #PART III #PART IV #PART V

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The concept of fine art photography as a collectible art form was pioneered by museum curators from its' earliest beginnings, and more widely from the early twentieth century onwards. The first commercial gallery devoted exclusively to photography 'Limelight', was opened in 1954 in New York by Helen Gee, exhibiting and selling historical and contemporary photography until 1961. Sotheby's became the first international auction house to offer regular sales of Photographs in 1971 in London and 1975 in New York. New generations of photographers emerged outside of the pages of newspapers, magazines and journals and straight onto the walls of galleries and into the homes of private collectors.

A path can be traced through these years as the visual language of photography was explored, honed and distilled, as minimal gestures and detail represented increasingly abstract ideas - a new narrative of visual story-telling, and the symbolism of graphic and sculptural forms.

What becomes apparent only when viewing these artworks in person, is the role of the physical print - the capturing of light and shadow in crystals of silver, suspended in a layer of gelatin; a golden era of print-making - and collecting - that will soon draw to a close.
The power of photography #506
Andre Kertész (1894-1985) Melancholic Tulip, 1939

“My work is inspired by my life. I express myself through my photography. Everything that surrounds me provokes my feelings.”

~ André Kertész

New York winters are often cold and extremely harsh and often provoke sad feelings and dark introspective moods. Such was the case for André. This winter day, February 10th, 1939 to be precise, was no exception. On a brutally cold day he was missing his golden years in Paris where he was treated with great warmth and respect as an important 20th Century artist on a par with his many friends and contemporaries like Mondrian and Chagall. He comes to America with a desire to create strong and inventive work and is basically treated as a hired hand by the NY editorial elite with no recognition of his former artistic achievements. He becomes alienated and disillusioned by his lack of success.

Yet still in this state of rejection he manages to create one of his most important images. Using a parabolic mirror that he had brought with him from Paris he creates a highly original distorted Still Life that is also a self portrait of the artist as a wilted flower, that nevertheless has the power and beauty of a quiet and haunting masterpiece.
Artworks
The power of photography #230
Manuel Alvarez Bravo (Mexico, b. 1902-2002) "Portrait of the Eternal" / Retrato de lo eterno, 1935

“The invisible is always contained in the work of art which recreates it. If the invisible cannot be seen in it, the work of art does not exist.”

~ Manuel Alvarez Bravo

Don Manuel was not only Mexico’s greatest photographer but certainly was one of the medium’s greatest artists of all time. At Tina Modotti’ssuggestion he sent Edward Weston a box of his photos to review. Westonreplied on April 30th, 1929, “It is not often I am stimulated to enthusiasmover a group of photographs.”

This for sure bolstered Manuel’s self confidence and he embarked on hisnew career full-time with earnest. He was at the center of Mexico’s cultural life and was close with the great Russian director Sergei Eisenstein who was in Mexico shooting his film “Que Viva Mexica”. It was on the set of this film which was never completed that he met the celebrated poet, sculptor, printmaker Isabel Villasenor and photographed her. The composition and mood of this image is sublime. She is sitting in half shadow. Intruding through an unseen window is a prism of light whose shape forms an expanding echo of her profile. She stares into a pocket mirror. It is really up to the viewer to form the meaning of this magical photograph for themselves.
The power of photography #3
Wynn Bullock (1902-1975) Woman's Hands, 1956

"In a photograph, if I am able to evoke not alone a feeling of the reality of the surface physical world but also a feeling of the reality of existence that lies mysteriously and invisibly beneath its surface, I feel I have succeeded. At their best, photographs as symbols not only serve to help illuminate some of the darkness of the unknown, they also serve to lessen the fears that too often accompany the journeys from the known to the unknown."

~Wynn Bullock

Wynn Bullock, to my mind, is one the greatest 20th Century photographers. Often eclipsed by his more well known contemporaries, Edward Weston and Ansel Adams. This is a haunting portrait of his mother’s hands taken in his modest house in Carmel in 1956. The beauty of the print just knocks me out and is the definition of the word “primal”.
Artworks
The Power of Photography #417
Minor White, Ivy, Portland, OR, 1964

“The spring tight line between reality and photography has been stretched relentlessly, but it has not been broken. These abstractions of nature have not left the world of appearances; for to do so is to break the camera’s strongest point - it’s authenticity.”

~ Minor White

Minor White was so much more than just a great, important 20th Century photographer. He was also a seminal teacher, writer, editor and founder of Aperture Magazine and a philosopher and a mystic. He inspired a whole new generation of photographers as he too was inspired by Alfred Stieglitz’s notion of images as metaphors and equivalents of emotions and feelings.
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Don Worth, Plumeria Blossoms, Hilo, Hawaii, 1991/ printed 2005
Artworks
The Power of Photography #689
Ruth Bernhard (1905-2006) Two Leaves, 1952

“My images reach dimensions words cannot touch. My quest through the magic of light and shadow is to isolate, to simplify and to give emphasis to form with the greatest clarity. To indicate ideal proportion, to reveal sculptural mass and the dominating spirit is my goal”

~ Ruth Bernhard

Ruth is of course best known who her portrayal of the female nude. But this was only part of her extensive and unique body of work. This image is so much more than a representation of two leaves. It is about the intensity of a relationship and the power of life itself.
The power of photography #14
Flor Garduño 1957 La Bendición, Isla del Sol, Bolivia, 1990
I met Flor Garduno over 30 years ago when she was given an exhibition by Foto Fest. She did not speak any English and my Spanish was limited at best. I saw her exhibition “Witnesses of Time” which brought me to tears. It was so powerful and haunting. I went up to her and just put my hand on my heart and wiped the tears from my eyes. I hugged her and after that we started to work together.

“The Blessing” is part of a wedding ceremony she witnessed. It comforts me and gives me hope every time I look at it.
The power of photography #405

“We have to make a separation between what the intellect is chattering about and what it is really tapping into. I can’t give you the physics of it, how it actually functions; I simply know it works and if I leave it alone and not try to invent a mousetrap to catch it, the more it comes. Feelings will apprehend the spirit more quickly than the mind ever will."

~ Paul Caponigro

In the 1990’s Paul experienced some serious health and family issues which curtailed his ability to work. Fortunately for us he regained his strength and creative impulses and produced work equal to if not greater than some of his earlier accomplishments. This image is one of them. Its sheer physical beauty when one contemplates it quietly on a wall I cannot even begin to articulate. One is speechless and almost in a trance.
The power of photography #354
Ralph Gibson. Bastienne's Eye, 1987

“The print transcends the original experience and the original perception. My theory is that the medium is bigger than the practitioner. The photograph is better than the photographer.”

~ Ralph Gibson

Ralph extracts the essence of femininity and allure by focusing on the eye and playing with negative space to produce an image of such beauty and timelessness.
Artworks
The power of photography #
Edith, Chincoteague, Virginia, 1967 (Printed 1982)

“To Edith,
My mind and heart follow her through gestures, rooms, and days.
At night, we have curled together as foxes for warmth."

~ Emmet Gowin

I don’t think there is a more powerful, romantic, tender, intimate image inthe history of photography than this one. Just thinking about it brings tears to my eyes. Emmet Gowin has spent many years photographing his wife Edith. They are more than just a series of images of her. He has created a novel about her. I find the emotion permeating this special one so intense and universal. It is almost a summation of a life fully lived through all its stages in one single frame. But in the end it is really about what it is to love and be loved.
The Power of Photography #36
René Groebli (b. 1927) Eye of Love #516, 1952

“Being by nature romantic, I take pictures of moods and emotion, reinforcing them, if necessary, through manipulation in the darkroom, entirely in the spirit of the Swiss photographer, Gotthard Schuh. We each take pictures only of what we see. And we each see only what corresponds to our nature.”

~ René Groebli

The history of Photography is full of examples of the Muse as Inspiration, think Alfred Steiglitz and Georgia O’Keeffe, Edward Weston and Charis Wilson, Harry Callahan and his wife Eleanor throughout their 63 year old marriage. But none is as powerful or poignant as René Groebli telling ofhis honeymoon in a simple, small Paris hotel as his “Eye of Love” series. To my mind, it is the greatest love story ever told in still images. Now in his 93rd year, René is a source of constant inspiration. A true life force.
The Power of Photography #658
George Tice (b. 1938) Country Road, Lancaster, PA, 1961

“If photography comes down to vision and craft, vision is more important than craft, but I do make a nicely crafted photograph.”

~ George Tice

This one of George’s most beautiful physical prints. It is the perfect combination of vision and craft. It came about as a complete accident. George was working on his much celebrated Amish project. He was expecting a horse-drawn buggy to come around the corner when lo and behold an old VW Beetle suddenly appears. Being the ever ready artist he is George seized the moment and made photographic history. It is one of his most challenging negatives to print but well worth all the effort to get his desired result.
The Power of Photography #349
Brett Weston (1911-1993) Gondolas, Venice, 1971

“Composition is the strongest way of seeing. There are no rules. I see things in terms of powerful form, beautiful light.”

~ Brett Weston

This is one of the most beautiful, rare Brett Weston prints I have everseen. It was secluded away in the private collection of his only child Erica given as a special gift to her by her father. It is large, impactful and as powerful as any great abstract painting by Franz Kline, Jackson Pollock, Robert Motherwell, Mark Rothko, Willem de Kooning et al that you will ever see at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Unlike his West Coast colleagues Ansel Adams, Wynn Bullock, Imogen Cunningham and even his esteemed father Edward Weston, Brett traveled extensively outside of California. Mainly in Europe but also in Japan and created equally important work inspired by what he saw there. What this work has in common with his classic American imagery is the supreme craft and beauty of the physical print, which is unrivaled.
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