Edward Weston: Forms of Passion

Rating:
Summary: A Weston Must-Have
Review: Anyone curious about Weston or wanting to own a representative selection of his work should buy this book. This IS Weston. This is not a few selected prints of his on a single theme, this is a wide representation of the best of Weston's work. One will find for oneself that ALL of Weston's pictures are about passion, that's what makes a picture a Weston. Here in this book are beautifully reproduced plates of his finest images, every one exuding shape and energy, and exquisite composition, none just ordinary. There are images of factories, fields, sand, wood and also the human body, all of which have been captured in all its glory by Weston. He teaches us that there is energy, art and passion in an amazing number of ways. Don't miss this fine book.

Rating:
Summary: A Weston Must-Have
Review: Anyone curious about Weston or wanting to own a representative selection of his work should buy this book. This IS Weston. This is not a few selected prints of his on a single theme, this is a wide representation of the best of Weston's work. One will find for oneself that ALL of Weston's pictures are about passion, that's what makes a picture a Weston. Here in this book are beautifully reproduced plates of his finest images, every one exuding shape and energy, and exquisite composition, none just ordinary. There are images of factories, fields, sand, wood and also the human body, all of which have been captured in all its glory by Weston. He teaches us that there is energy, art and passion in an amazing number of ways. Don't miss this fine book.

Rating:
Summary: The first time
Review: It was a nude Weston's photo of Tina Modoti, layed down on a rural house floor, in México, that had put me on the trail of both. Since then I've been delighted with the sensibility and the astonishing "color" of the B&W photos of them, nudes bodies, "nude" nature, what ever... It was the first time, almost ten years ago.

Rating:
Summary: The first time
Review: It was a nude Weston's photo of Tina Modoti, layed down on a rural house floor, in México, that had put me on the trail of both. Since then I've been delighted with the sensibility and the astonishing "color" of the B&W photos of them, nudes bodies, "nude" nature, what ever... It was the first time, almost ten years ago.

Rating:
Summary: good homepage
Review: no commen

Rating:
Summary: Best Overall Volume of Edward Weston's Work
Review: Review Summary: Edward Weston was trained as a portrait photographer and expanded his vision to include many natural shapes, including seashells, nudes, vegetables, trees, landscapes, and eroded rocks. He also did a little industrial photography, where the forms he saw also revealed pure shapes of interest to him. These shapes usually had a modernist feel to them that brings to mind Plato's theory of forms, pure ideas behind what we see every day. This book is fine overview of all phases of Mr. Weston's career, and contains many interesting and valuable essays about his career. The book is improved by having over 80 images that had not been published before this volume. The 320 duotone images are on very fine paper and are extremely well reproduced. Many would have benefited from being printed in larger sizes. If you decide to own only one book of Edward Weston's work, I suggest you choose this one.

Viewer Caution: This book contains many nude images of women, men and children that would surpass what would allow the material to obtain an R rating as a motion picture.

Review: Edward Weston's photography reveals a personal fascination with form, shape and shadow that provide a unique vision into the natural world. He was especially intrigued to see how the shapes of one object or subject could complement another. For example, his female nudes are often posed outdoors in sand dunes or beach settings where the gentle curves play off of one another. Where he focuses on eroded rocks, each one combines with another to express the equivalent of an abstract sculpture, standing out exposed by the erosion around the harder rock that forms the image.

While his landscapes could be every bit as majestic as Ansel Adams's best work, Weston's tastes and interests developed mostly independent of the leading photographers of his time. That independence gave him a greater versatility as a photographer and a more personal style. Few would mistake his ability to locate the patterns within nature and human-made objects for the work of any other photographer. To me, the artist closest to his vision was Georgia O'Keeffe.

My favorite images from this book include: Ruth Shaw, a portrait, 1922; Armco Steel, 1922; Nude, 1925; Dancer, 1927; Chambered Nautilus, 1927; Cypress, Point Lobos, 1929; Bedpan, 1930; Pepper, 1930; Soil Erosion, Carmel Valley, 1932; Church at "E" Town, 1933; Nude, 1935 (first one); Bug Tracks in Sand, 1935; Whale Vertebrae, 1934; Dunes, Oceano, 1936; Nude Series of Charis, Oceano, 1936; Zabriskie Point, 1937; Tree, Lake Tenaya, 1937; Point Lobos, 1940; Dillard King, Monteagle, Tennessee, 1941; Civilian Defense, 1941; and Nude, 1945.

While you look at these works, you will imagine that Edward Weston is at your side . . . pointing out details that you might not have noticed. His photography always has that character of being a reflection of his eye, rather than what the casual observer would naturally see. Both realities have equal validity, but your mind and eye will prefer Weston's.

In the biographical material, you will learn about his weakness for changing partners and how that helped to provide his muse. Many of the models for his female nudes are his lovers (including his second wife, Charis) and his nudes of children are of his son. His passion for Tina Modotti brought him to Mexico and helped draw his attention to many fascinating scenes.

After you finish enjoying this work, I suggest that you think about what inspires you. What would you be happiest and most proud being remembered for as your source of inspiration? How can you express yourself in more personal ways that show your most inner self?

May your passion inspire the goodness in others!

Rating:
Summary: Best Overall Volume of Edward Weston's Work
Review: Review Summary: Edward Weston was trained as a portrait photographer and expanded his vision to include many natural shapes, including seashells, nudes, vegetables, trees, landscapes, and eroded rocks. He also did a little industrial photography, where the forms he saw also revealed pure shapes of interest to him. These shapes usually had a modernist feel to them that brings to mind Plato's theory of forms, pure ideas behind what we see every day. This book is fine overview of all phases of Mr. Weston's career, and contains many interesting and valuable essays about his career. The book is improved by having over 80 images that had not been published before this volume. The 320 duotone images are on very fine paper and are extremely well reproduced. Many would have benefited from being printed in larger sizes. If you decide to own only one book of Edward Weston's work, I suggest you choose this one.

Viewer Caution: This book contains many nude images of women, men and children that would surpass what would allow the material to obtain an R rating as a motion picture.

Review: Edward Weston's photography reveals a personal fascination with form, shape and shadow that provide a unique vision into the natural world. He was especially intrigued to see how the shapes of one object or subject could complement another. For example, his female nudes are often posed outdoors in sand dunes or beach settings where the gentle curves play off of one another. Where he focuses on eroded rocks, each one combines with another to express the equivalent of an abstract sculpture, standing out exposed by the erosion around the harder rock that forms the image.

While his landscapes could be every bit as majestic as Ansel Adams's best work, Weston's tastes and interests developed mostly independent of the leading photographers of his time. That independence gave him a greater versatility as a photographer and a more personal style. Few would mistake his ability to locate the patterns within nature and human-made objects for the work of any other photographer. To me, the artist closest to his vision was Georgia O'Keeffe.

My favorite images from this book include: Ruth Shaw, a portrait, 1922; Armco Steel, 1922; Nude, 1925; Dancer, 1927; Chambered Nautilus, 1927; Cypress, Point Lobos, 1929; Bedpan, 1930; Pepper, 1930; Soil Erosion, Carmel Valley, 1932; Church at "E" Town, 1933; Nude, 1935 (first one); Bug Tracks in Sand, 1935; Whale Vertebrae, 1934; Dunes, Oceano, 1936; Nude Series of Charis, Oceano, 1936; Zabriskie Point, 1937; Tree, Lake Tenaya, 1937; Point Lobos, 1940; Dillard King, Monteagle, Tennessee, 1941; Civilian Defense, 1941; and Nude, 1945.

While you look at these works, you will imagine that Edward Weston is at your side . . . pointing out details that you might not have noticed. His photography always has that character of being a reflection of his eye, rather than what the casual observer would naturally see. Both realities have equal validity, but your mind and eye will prefer Weston's.

In the biographical material, you will learn about his weakness for changing partners and how that helped to provide his muse. Many of the models for his female nudes are his lovers (including his second wife, Charis) and his nudes of children are of his son. His passion for Tina Modotti brought him to Mexico and helped draw his attention to many fascinating scenes.

After you finish enjoying this work, I suggest that you think about what inspires you. What would you be happiest and most proud being remembered for as your source of inspiration? How can you express yourself in more personal ways that show your most inner self?

May your passion inspire the goodness in others!

Rating:
Summary: MUSCAE VOLITANTES - FLYING FLIES
Review: Weston is one of the neglected visual diarists of the twentieth century. His distinction, for this viewer, is the extraordinary warmth - and, ironically, color - of his voluminous subjects, all presented with a kind of boylike, off-the-cuff innocence. There is some experimentation, but what strikes one in this comprehensive selection is the full-grown vision evidenced from the start. A great, emotive stylist, who, like O' Keeffe, calls us back to the humbling beauty of nature's elegance and strangeness. There is a medical/Latin phrase - muscae volitantes (literally flying flies) - which denotes the "floaters" we see but don't see before our eyes in normal everyday life. This, comprehensively, defines Weston's grasp. Unlike, say Ansel Adams or Man Ray (wonderful observers), this is a book with a beer in its hand - an inciting, inviting book that will prompt you to look into Weston's scribblings, his biography, his angelic forces.