Lee Friedlander : the desert seen. Page no. 44, 45

Lee Friedlander : the desert seen. Page no. 44, 45

Desert seen

A Photographic Look at the New American West (Exhibition : 2008)

Lee Friedlander has focused on a rich variety of subjects during his career, often working on a series of images that become joined into a book. A native of the Pacific Northwest, in 1990 Friedlander turned to pure landscape photography of the American West, specifically the Sonora Desert. An adaptation of technique was needed to capture the intrinsic qualities of parching heat and blinding light that characterize the arid Sonora Desert. A large format camera and an altered printing process yielded the brilliantly harsh results found in this book.

A Photographic Look at the New American West. -- The landscape of the American West has long been a subject for photographers. The advent of photography in the mid-nineteenth century and the development of easier methods of photographic reproduction corresponded with the western expansion of the nation. Photographic documentation augmented the reports issued as part of the United States Geological Survey of the Territories and photography was capturing the wondrous archaeological discoveries being made, as well as capturing the vestiges of Native American culture. Civic boosters, hotel resorts and railway lines were using photography in promotional material to woo visitors to the western states. -- The post-World War II American West was a very different place. As the public claimed what was once open space for development the wilderness that characterized the west became increasingly scarce and therefore more precious. Remaining wilderness areas, such as the National Parks, provided photographic inspiration for photographers beyond the mere documentary, ornamental, or promotional. Images of the West became, in addition, a vehicle for personal expression, whether it was the awe-inspiring grandeur revealed by Ansel Adams, the bittersweet nostalgia expressed by Wright Morris, or the ubiquitous, scarring hand of man found in the work of Robert Adams. -- All of the works shown are from the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute Library.

CAI copy included in Library exhibition titled "A Photographic Look at the New American West" held February 27 - May 21, 2008

Item exhibited open (pp. 44-45)

Exhibition webpage: http://www.clarkart.edu/museum_programs/exhibitions_past_detail.cfm?EID=65

Friedlander, Lee, 1934-

New York : D.A.P., Distributed Art Publishers, c1996

Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. Library

106 p. : chiefly ill. ; 32 cm

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NE2698 F911d

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