Black and White Photography Blog, Vol. I

I was thumbing through the Ansel Adams autobiography [isbn 0-8212-1787-9] which has been a longtime touchstone for me.  There was a quote about clouds that I could never find.  Instead, I found an exchange of letters between Adams and Strand from 1933.

September 12th, 1933

Dear Paul Strand,

… I have opened a small gallery… I would like to have a show of your photographs - 25 to 40 things.  I do not know your attitude towards exhibits, but I can assure you there is enough interest in photography in San Francisco to provide a large and grateful attendance to a Strand show…

Yours,

Ansel Adams

I was surprised when he refused me, stating:

…Nevertheless I cannot say yes to an exhibition of my things at the present time.  Actually I have little interest in exhibitions because at the basis they exploit the artist to entertain the public free of charge.  I can never get used to the idea that pictures are free entertainment in the U.S., elsewhere too, that the people who claim to enjoy a thing never support the individual who makes what gives them pleasure…

[Strand continues that his prints may not hold up well in the mail.]

Can you imagine Paul Strand in the photoblog age?

With music (Lone Pilgrim).