What Can We Believe Where?: Photographs of the American West, 1965-2005 (Yale University Art Gallery Series (YUP))

Le propre de Robert Adams est que ses livres de photographies sont dénués de textes perturbateurs. Les pages sont sobres, une photographie et rien d'autre. Le regard se concentre, l'esprit en fait autant.Robert Adams cherchait à saisir le beau dans les paysages, afin de soutenir de l'espoir. Cependant, au fil de ses pérégrinations, il y eu des évidences à l'opposé de cet espoir, évidences liés à l'impact de l'homme sur la nature. Des évidences qui gagnent à être reconnues, si les photographies doivent être porteuses de vérité.

In prägnanter Weise wird ein gültiger Querschnitt durch dass bisherige Schaffen dieses bedeutenden amerikanischen Fotografen, der zu den so genannten Topographics zählt, gegeben. Adams' Plädoyer für die Erhaltung der grossartigen Landschaft des US-amerikanischen Westens wird deutlich, wobei er in keinem Fall didaktisch oder sonst aufdringlich wird. Soweit ich weiss, sieht Robert Adams selbst gerade diese unprätentiöse Publikation als Resummé seiner Arbeit an. Das Buch ist in vornehmer Zurückhaltung gestaltet und hervorragend gedruckt.

Robert Adams has been photographing and publishing books since 1970, and so far has produced about 40 titles. This volume is a compact but nicely printed summary of his career. It is arranged as a movement forward in time and westward in the landscape, beginning on the prairie (the first section is taken from his book "Prairie", a small volume, long out of print, but one of his best, and "Perfect Times, Perfect Places"), then on to Denver and the suburbs and some of his more difficult and recognizable work, (including "Denver", "The New West", "Our lives and our Children" and "What we Bought"), then westward more to California ("Los Angles Spring" and "California Landscapes"), then on to the more recent "Turning Back" and ending with images from "West from the Columbia" and "Time Passes".For someone who has been following Robert Adams' work for a long time (since I first saw his "New West" show at the Philadelphia Art Museum in 1982), this new book is a little unsettling--it seems to move very quickly, unlike his other books that all seem to reward contemplation. However, it does seem to clarify Adams use of the human figure in the landscape--there are lots of pictures with people in them (about 30 images)--and it seems always that the people in the pictures are interacting with the landscape in typical ways. One of my favorite pictures in this book is of a group of people gathered in a suburban driveway--another is of a woman walking with her arm stretched into the wind.This book is both accessible and affordable, and is a very good value for those just beginning to appreciate Robert Adams' work. But it seems more a starting point than a summation of his career--it points back to the huge volume of work he has completed over the decades. It is far too modest a book to summarize the great body of work this man has created. It reminds me of Linus's comment about reading a condensed book: "it's not unlike drinking diluted root beer".

Robert Adams has been very influential in expanding the traditional landscape formula. He focuses on the ongoing changes in the American West. His use of development, presentation, and an emphasis on hand held capture helps focus attention on the changing landscape of the American West. His You Tube presentations, his books, and this book which is kind of a career perspective are mentally challenging and artistically enjoyable. He tends to expand the boundaries of landscape photography.

Nice presentation of Adams's photos.