[Leica] RE: was Multiple Bodies, now cropping-phooey!

[pklein at 2alpha.net (Peter Klein)]

Ted:  You're a bad, bad boy.  You might as well have gone into a monastery 
in Lhasa Apso and proclaimed the Dahli Lama to be a shallow ashram charlatan.

All this reminds me of the so-called "Brahms vs. Wagner" conflict in the 
late 19th century.  Wagner came to represent, in the minds of his followers 
full-blown Romanticism, the breaking of all musical taboos, "the music of 
the future."  Brahms was said to represent an extension of old craft and 
order, structure, classicism.  The Bramsians thought the Wagnerians were 
hyperemotional lunatics.  The Wagnerians thought the Brahmsians were rigid 
stuffed shirts.  The advocates of each would attend the others' concerts 
just to boo and cause a scandal.  People actually came to blows at concerts.

When asked what he thought of Wagner's music, Brahms said something like 
"Of course, his followers are ridiculous, but the man himself has something 
to say."

Re. Ansel, we have to remember that we all have had a lifetime of seeing 
his images and those of his wannabes.  When he started doing what he was 
doing, he was a pioneer breaking new ground.  He used darkroom technique to 
allow nature to sing with an almost Wagnerian sweep, in tones of black, 
white and grey.

That ain't hay.  Even if today some view him as the Wagnerians viewed Brahms.

--Peter

At 05:18 PM 3/6/05 -0800, Ted Grant wrote:
>The Brits and Ansel groupies
>have no sense of humour and take all this "great photographer" stuff way to
>seriously.