Imogen Cunningman: Photographer par excellence

Recently I was asked who taught me about shadows, tones, and textures for my art. I answered,"A big source was making studies from Imogen Cunningham's book titled, Flora, which I had found in a used book store." I thought the photography was wonderful and I wanted to know more about the artist.

Imogen Cunningham (1883-1976)was born in Portland, Oregon. (Her father named her Imogen after the heroine in Shakespeare's Cymbeline.) Growing up, she took art lessons every summer. She found her medium in photography and bought her first camera at 18.

Her further education in photography was at the UW in Seattle where she studied chemistry in order to learn more about photo lab techniques. After graduation, she worked for the famed photographer, Edward Curtis.

Cunningham was about 26 years old when she received a grant to go to Germany for further study of photographic chemistry. She returned to Seattle and opened a portrait studio. (She was the only photographer who was a charter member of the Society of Seattle Artists. )

Her stunning work gained international recognition and exhibitions - Fellow of the National Academy of Arts and Sciences, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and collected by the Smithsonian Institute.

Although it was her plant photos that caught my attention, she was also known for her nudes and industrial landscapes.

Were you familiar with her work? What do you think of her photography?

Stieglitz: The Godfather of Photography

Writing two weeks ago about Mabel Dodge Luhan (Archives:January, 2011) and last week about Pamela Colman Smith made me think more about the role of Alfred Stieglitz (1864-1946) in that early Modern era.

Based on receiving many a quizzical look when I mention Stieglitz, I'd have to say that unless you are a historian of art and photography, his fame seems to be diminishing. It's hard to know why since he was so good at his profession. Furthermore, it was Stieglitz who was largely responsible for the promotion of photography as an art form.

You see, photography was to the late 19th and early 20th centuries what digital art is to the 21st century. The question was and is: Is it an art form or manipulation of something that was invented by someone else? Stiegltiz answered the question by placing photography alongside paintings in his New York galleries.

Stieglitz elevated photography to a accepted medium of fine art. He was also a tireless promoter who influenced photographers, sculptors and painters - including his own wife, Georgia O' Keeffe.

Insofar as his own talent in concerned, here are a sampling of photos taken by him. (Please click on image to enlarge.) It seems that these alone would be cause to remember him. (The hands are those of his wife, Georgia O' Keeffe.)