“Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.” This quote by Georgia O’Keeffe rings true throughout every period of history. Art is a method of communication that requires no words. It can express a truth, feelings towards an event, the artist’s feelings, or even express a message to those looking at the painting, drawing, or photography. In the article “The Art of Disengagement: Edward Weston and Ansel Adams” by David P. Peeler, the author assess unique photographers: Edward Weston and Ansel Adams. Although Weston and Adams claimed to be disengaged from society in their photographs, Peeler felt that the two photographers were not as disengaged as they declared to be.
Weston and Adams were two of the most influential photographers of the 20th century and therefore attracted a lot of attention from critics and admirers. They mostly concentrated on natural subjects with Weston focusing more on small close ups of objects such as fruits and vegetables, and Adams leaning towards huge mountains and waterfalls. Since both photographers focused on objects instead of social events and political statements, they achieved a sort of timelessness in their works. All generations can enjoy and understand Adam’s photograph capturing a magnificent waterfall in Nevada Fall, Yosemite National Park or Weston’s image of the simplicity and beauty of a mollusk shell in Shell.
Through the specific images that Weston and Adams focused on, one can see that they believed an artist should remain beyond the turmoil and confusion of current events and concentrate more on the beauty of nature (“The Art of Disengagement: Edward Weston and Ansel Adams”). With their unique photographs, Weston and Adams believed that they had achieved properly disengaged art and devotion to natural beauty. According to Peele, this is not the case. As the Great Depression eased, Weston and Adams slowly began to acknowledge the social world around them and even embraced some forms of political activism by taking pictures of the effects of World Wars II. However, the bulk of their work remained focused on landscape and nature, but they no longer seemed to live on their own little island entirely separate of the rest of humanity.
As Weston and Adams slowly edged into the American social sphere, they grew concerned with the qualities of art and life and saw materialism and commercialism as contaminants of the world (“The Art of Disengagement: Edward Weston and Ansel Adams”). This led to more political and social stances that appeared in their pictures. In fact as their fame increased, so did the demand of Weston and Adams as photography teachers. From formal classes to single devotees, photographers everywhere desired Weston and Adams to teach, thus dragging both photographers beyond their individual visions of disengagment.
However the most important event that forced Weston and Adams from their idea of being “disengaged” photographers was World War II. As the years of the war passed, Weston and Adams’s images of impressive forest landscapes morphed into images of troops and relocation centers. In fact, army life thrilled Weston, which led to an eventual obsession with the war. For hours he would stare into the Pacific searching for Japanese planes and ships. After throwing themselves into the American war effort, they turned their attention racism of Japanese-Americans. Despite the years of avoiding social criticism, Weston and Adams opening attacked the wartime treatment of Japanese-American, who were sent to concentration camps and stripped of their property.
Out of the numerous photographers in America’s history, Ansel Adams and Edward Weston are two of the most famous and influential American photographers of the 20th century. Through their clever use of lighting, shadow, and black and white images, they captured both the timelessness of nature and the dawn of the 20th century onto film, allowing future students to look at their pictures to appreciate the beauty of nature and to catch a glimpse of the past.
Works Cited
Peeler, David. “The Art of Disengagement: Edward Weston and Ansel Adams.” Journal of American Studies 27.3 (1993): 309-334. Print.
Image: http://www.thecitrusreport.com/2010/headlines/nothing-like-finding-an-ansel-adams-worth-a-cool-couple-hundred-million-at-a-garagae-sale/
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