Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1997/10/31

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Subject: Re: Master Adams versus frauds?
From: Eric Welch <ewelch@ponyexpress.net>
Date: Fri, 31 Oct 1997 23:28:19 -0600

At 01:11 PM, you wrote:

>approaching the status of diety. My feelings are that he was indeed an
>extraordinary technician, he could, and did, use his materials to the
>maximum that they could produce, but ultimately, he showed himself to be
>not much more than an exceptional postcard producer (hang on a minute while
>I put on my armour and face mask <g>). There was, concurrent to him, Weston
>in particular, and many others who showed a far greater artisitic bent than
>he did. Even today, people who studied, or worked under/with him (John
>Sexton comes to mind), show a more diverse, and consistently more pleasing
>body of work . . .

I disagree on your assessment of his work. I grew up in the West, I lived
in the mountains and vast spaces. I know the big trees. His works are art
of a high order. But like most art, it helps if you are into that kind of
thing (speak, or maybe more like "see," the lingo). People who don't, it
seems to me, tend to think of his pictures as postcards. I think that is
insulting (not intentional!) to depth of his understanding of the land he
lived in, considering the mediocrity of most postcards.  I understand what
he's saying with his pictures. Some I don't like, and many I love. But I
don't think he's for everybody. Neither is Van Gogh. Or Beethoven.
==========

Eric Welch
St. Joseph, MO
http://www.ponyexpress.net/~ewelch

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