ku # 466
Saturday, March 24, 2007 at 10:28AM 
Spring break-up • click to embiggenIn a recent email, Brett Kosmider asked; 'I just noticed in the sidebar on The Landscapist you say, "the landscape photography of photographers who have moved beyond the pretty picture". Who might that be for you?..."
Interesting question and, as I try to ponder an answer, the notion that keeps coming to mind is a recent statement I made on The Landscapist about there being too many picture takers and not enough picture makers, especially in the Landscape genre.
In that context, I am still looking for candidates for my 'new elite'. I still cling to some of my old favorites - Meyerowitz, Eggleston, Shore, Adams (Robert, that is), et al. I would also include Burtynsky, Sze Tsung Leong, Geoffrey James, Grusky, and other more recent practitioners in my 'old favorites' in as much as they seem to be somewhat derivative of the former.
That said, I'm looking for even newer practitioners. One who strikes my fancy is Nuri Bilge Ceylan, but even he strikes me as derivative, or, as very-very-very-nice-but-I've-seen-it-before.
I admit to being a little jaded these days. Chalk it up to flickr, photo.net, the blogosphere, et al overload... the sheer number of photographs. Where does one begin?
I also admit to being under the thrall of Jeff Wall at the moment. His pictures are so packed with meaning that they are, at first viewing, overwhelming. He is truly making, not just taking, pictures. Viewing his work at MoMA has left me dazed and confused. I want to continue working in the Landscape genre, but want to start making pictures.
To that end, I am searching for the work of others who might be making Landscape pictures, not just taking them.
PS: in my 'dazed and confused' state, I have in no way given up on my 'straight' photography (or the power thereof) or that of others.
Reader Comments (2)
Have you seen Mary Mattingly's stuff? She was on my mind today and I remembered your Adirondacks without the forever wild association (I've got the name wrong, but you know what I mean) photo a while back.
I'm no art historian, but I am aware of Straight photography (Ansel and the boys) as a direct response to Pictorialism. Pictorialism died away in the 19-teens replced by Modernism. There's some debate as to where postmodernism fits into this... My point is, besides the contemporary urban 'landscape' photograph that seems ubiquitous as of late, who is doing contemporary LAND-scapes? (i.e. wide open spaces, non-anthropocentric) And what should we call them? Straight? Neo-straight? Postmodern?