Ansel Adams Speaks The summer | turned 15 my family went camping in California's Yosemite National Park: While out hiking around the valley one day with my brother we came across a bearded jolly gnome-like man speaking to a _group of people at a log circle. Next to him stood an 8x10 view camera on a tripod and people were looking through the back of it underneath a black cloth. Even though we weren't part of the group the photographer invited us to take a look too. There upside-down on the ground glass was a beautifully composed image of El Capitan. | was impressed. | wanted a camera like that. We sat and listened to the photographer speaking to the group. He talked about the connection between originality of vision and the technical skill necessary to express that vision. The main point of his talk was that there were no longer any original photographers — Currie Hotel was owned by Ansel Adams’ wife’s family and on the main floor was the Ansel Adams Room which offered his photos and books of High Sierra scenery. What a sweet set-up. The display of gorgeous, crystal clear, tonally vast, black and white photographs was something I, and probably most visitors, had never seen before. | wanted to make pictures like these. | also wanted to be a rocket scientist. Twenty years passed and my life’s course followed photography, not space travel. | was teaching at the Vancouver School of Art. Randy Bradley and myself went down to Carmel, California, to attend the annual Society for Photographic Education conference of North American photo teachers. The keynote speaker was none other than the legendary octogenarian Ansel Adams. He talked about the connection between originality everybody just copied the true masters of the medium. He also bemoaned the lack of technical skill shown by modern photographers whose work he described as uncontrolled and sloppy. He ended his talk by inviting everyone to see his prints in the Ansel Adams Room at the Currie Hotel. In the centre of the loveliest meadow in Yosemite Valley sat the Currie Hotel, an old turn-of-the-century beauty which served as the luxury accommodation for those distancing themselves from car camping. The of vision and the technical skill necessary to express that vision. The main point of his talk was that there were no longer any original photographers — every- body just copied the true masters of the medium. He also bemoaned the lack of technical skill shown by modern photographers whose work he described as uncontrolled and sloppy. —Henri Robideau, November 16, 1996. Holger Hermann Drive By Shooting Black and White Photograph Before You Pay Tribute by Rod Slemmons | once heard Jorge Luis Borges defend Rudyard (take up the white man’s burden) Kipling as one of the greatest writers in the English language. Why does PoA’s request for some words about Ansel Adams remind me of that sly exer- cise? When people speak of Ansel Adams and photography as an art form in the same breath, | get confused. | have them stored separately. Ansel’s only connection with art with a big A, in my mind, was his incredible skill at making miniature versions of the paintings of Thomas Moran, Albert Bierstadt, Frederic Church, and of earlier Hudson River school painters like Asher Durand and Thomas Cole. While these artists occasionally introduced evidence of modern life into their religiously idyllic scenes, they mainly represented Nature as an untrammeled temple in which man could worship his own superior status on the planet, cele- brate his ability to transform chaos and unimaginable geo- logic depth and time into visually manageable grandeur, and compare himself to God. As my friend Paul Berger is fond of saying, their attitude toward nature was, “It’s big, it's beauti- ful and it’s ours.” lam exaggerating a little, of course. Adams nodded toward what we now and usually have called photographic art in his 1936 show at Alfred Stieglitz’s gallery, An American Place. The rather abstract close-ups of common everyday item — scissors, thread, architectural details, tombstones, etc. - could be connected to The New Objectivity in Germany if one ignores that the latter peaked a decade before and actu- ally had a rationale. Adams also nodded toward socially responsible photojournalism in Born Free and Equal, his essay on Manzanar, the concentration camp in the Owens valley in California for Japanese American citizens from 1941 to 1944. The book was suppressed and withdrawn shortly after publi- cation in 1944, however, and it has never been quite clear how or why this happened. (It has recently been repub- lished.) Adams was strongly criticized for the book by people who had lost sons in the war. There is correspondence between Adams and Edward Weston at the time in which they agree that photography in the service of social reform is essentially misdirected and futile, especially for people like themselves of superior aesthetic sensitivity. We are all grateful, whether we think about it or not, for his translation of the H and D characteristic curves into the famous Zone System, since we use it all the time. Establishing the instruction of photography as a ghettoized craft rather than one art language among many, and showing us how to make even our worst pictures last forever are more dubious achievements. But there is a dark side to the decoration he called art. The essentially Pictorialist, faux Romantic/ Transcendentalist view of nature he and the Sierra Club promulgated acts as a red herring leading the general public away from ecological depredation and the destruction of non-renewable resources, or, more bluntly, from knowing what it really means to regard nature as a resource. Get up in a plane at 30, 000 feet over B.C. or Washington State, look down, and work out your own definition of “supernatural” or “evergreen.” Robert Adams speaks eloquently to this issue in his Beauty in Photography - Essays in Defense of Traditional Values. (New York: Aperture, 1981). Ansel Adams and his clones, who con- tinue to be extruded from art schools, has made our need to “December 1996 / Planet of the Arts 29 Old Faithful Mixed Media Installation Concourse Gallery November 9 - 18, 1996 Nicola Sampson Deconstruction Of An American Myth Mixed Media Installation understand our relationship with the rest of life on the planet much more difficult to identify — it is not just visual and visible, and it is obfuscated by 19th century notions of Nature. As an educator | am supposed to be fair. So if you are interested, check out Ansel’s autobiography to get the story straight from him. (New York Graphic Society/Little Brown and Company, with Mary Street Alinder, 1985). And take another look at Rudyard Kipling - there must be something socially redeeming there. Rod Slemmons can be reached at: 4023 Eastern Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98103 fax 206 548 1016 Ansel Adams Speaks The summer | turned 15 my family went camping in California's Yosemite National Park. While out hiking ‘around the valley one day with my brother we came ‘cross a bearded jlly gnome-tike man speaking to 9 ‘group Of people at a log cic. Next to him stood an ‘8x10 view camera ona tripod and people were looking through the back of it underneath a black cloth. Even though we weren't part of the group the ‘photographer invited us to take a look too, There ‘Upside-down on the ground glass was a beautifully ‘composed image of El Capitan. | was impressed. wanted a camera like that. ‘We sat and listened to the photographer speaking to the group. He talked about the connection between, ctiginalty of vision and the technical skill necessary to ‘express that vision. The main point of his talk was that there were no longer any orginal photographers ~ everybody just copied the true masters of the medium. He also bemoaned the lack of technical skill shown by ‘modern photographers whose work he described as ‘uncontrolled and sloppy. He ended his talk by inviting everyone to see his prints in the Ansel Adams Room at the Currie Hote. In the centre of the loveliest meadow in Yosemite Valley sat the Currie Hote, an old tur-of-the-century beauty which served as the luxury accommodation for those distancing themselves from car camping. The by Rod Slemmons "once heard Jorge Luis Borges defend Rudyard (take up the white man’s burden) Kipling as one ofthe greatest ‘writers in the English language. Why does Posts request for some words about Ansel Adams remind me of that sy exer- se? When people speak of Ansel Adams and photography as an art form in the same breath, | get confused. 'Thave them stored separately. Ansel's only connection with art with a big A, in my mind, was his increible skill at ‘making miniature versions of the paintings of Thomas ‘Moran, Albert Bierstadt, Frederic Church, and of ealier Hudson River school painter ike Asher Durand and Thomas Cole. While these artists occasionally introduced evidence of ‘modern lfe into their religiously idyllic scenes, they mainly represented Nature as an untrammeled temple in which man ‘ould worship his own superior status on the planet, cele- brate his ability to transform chaos and unimaginable geo- logic depth and time into visually manageable grandeur, and ‘compare himself to God. As my friend Paul Berger is fond of Saying, ther attitude toward nature was, “Its big, it's beauti- full and is ours." |'am exaggerating a lite, of course. Adams nodded toward what we now and usually have called photographic art in his 1936 show at Alfred Stieglitz’ gallery, An American Place. The rather abstract close-ups of common everyday, item scissors, thread, architectural details, tombstones, etc ~ could be connected to The New Objectivity in Germany if Before You Currie Hotel was owned by Ansel Adams wife's family ‘and on the main floor was the Ansel Adams Room ‘which offered his photos and books of High Sierra ‘scenery. What a sweet setup. The display of gorgeous, ‘rystal clear, tonally vast, black and white photographs \was something |, and probably most visitors, had never seen before | wanted to make pictures ike these, | ‘also wanted to be a rocket scientist. “Twenty years passed and my life's course followed photography, not space travel. was teaching atthe Vancouver Sthool of Art. Randy Bradley and myself went down to Carmel, California to attend the annual Society for Photographic Education conference of North American photo teachers. The Keynote speaker ‘was none other than the legendary octogenarian ‘Aasel Adams. He talked about the connection between originality of vision and the technical skill necessary to express that vision. The main point of his talk was that there ‘were no longer any original photographers -every- ‘body just copied the true masters of the medium. He ‘also bemoaned the lack of technical skill shown by ‘modern photographers whose work he described as ‘Uncontrolled and sloppy. Henri Robideau, November 16,1996. Sant) Soe Pay Tribute ‘one ignores that the latter peaked a decade before and actu- ally had a rationale. Adams also nodded toward socially responsible photojournalism in Born Free and Equal, bis essay ‘on Manzanar, the concentration camp in the Owens valley in California for Japanese American citizens from 1981 to 1944, ‘The book was suppressed and withdrawn shorty after publ ‘ation in 1944, however, and it has never been quite clear how or why this happened. (it has recently been repub- lished) Adams was strongly criticized for the book by people ‘who had lost sons in the war. There is correspondence. ‘between Adams and Edward Weston at the time in which ‘they agree that photography in the service of social reform is ‘essentially misdirected and futile, especialy for people ike ‘themselves of superior aesthetic sensitivity. ‘We are all grateful, whether we think about i or not, for his translation of the H and D characteristic curves into the famous Zone System, since we use it all the time. Establishing the instruction of photography as a ghettoized craft rather ‘than one art language among many, and showing us how to make even our worst pictures ast forever are more dubious ‘achievements 'But there isa darkside to the decoration he called art ‘The essentially Pictoraist, faux Romantic Transcendentalist View of nature he and the Sierra Club promulgated acts asa ‘ed herring leading the general public away from ecological