I think I’m just going to relay some quotes from the Ansel Adams/Georgia O’Keefe exhibition at the National Museum of American Art. This is a special, fasiniating exhibit to see, even more so, since I saw it a few months ago in Santa Fe. Beautiful to see Adam’s Black and White, realistic, liquid and light silver geletin prints, beside O’Keefe’s abstract, colorful, soft and bold paintings of the same landscapes, churches, natural elements. I enjoyed the show more in Santa Fe because it took place in the much smaller Georgia O’keefe Museum and the quotes from the artists were displayed large on the walls -and of course because it was in the terratory of the art-making. Only a few of the quotes were shown on the walls at the national art museum. The rest were on the labels. It is nice to see the quotes in any case to know a little more about the world views/perspectives of the artists.
“A great photograph is one that fully expresses what one feels, in the deepest sense, about what is being photographed, and is, thereby, a true manifestation of what one feels about life in its entirety” – Ansel Adams, 1882
“The west, in many ways, is the center of modern creative work in photography. Some would dispute that claiming New York and Boston should be considered first. In the east there is an emphasis on the social aspects of the medium; out here there is a fine balance between the social emphasis on the natural scene and on the abstract and expiramental” – Ansel Adams 1972
“I believe that the artist and his [her] art are only a part of the total human experience; the viewer in the world at large is the essential other part.” – Ansel Adams 1988
I wrote down some quotes from Georgia O’keefe, but I can’t find the receipt I wrote them on!
metamorphosis
14 Oct 2008Sounds like you are taking advantage of your time in DC. I have always been very inspired by theses black and white photographs. They shine with a silver like glow that is amazing. They also really help the viewer to see the magic and grandness of the south west. I am excited for our time to marfa and take pictures of the desert.
Laura
15 Oct 2008i saw that go’k/aa show in santa fe too!
sounds like you’re enjoying my hometown! wish i had as much affection for it…it’s a great city for people who don’t live there. i often wished i could enjoy it like tourists do. if you need hot chocolate and you’re around union station, there’s an italian bakery in the basement (awful foodcourt) called Vaccarro’s. they have the best italian pastry and hot chocolate.
Pages Daily
15 Oct 2008wow, I’ll have to go next time. That is an awful food court – I would not have guessed there was something good in the basement! I do remember, after living there over the summer, feeling it was time to go – but that was because of city noise in general and the humidity. I often wish I could enjoy Maine like tourists do too, not that I can’t now.