[Leica] Mortensen, was The Worst Photograph Ever Made?

[mark at rabinergroup.com (Mark Rabiner)]

William Mortensen during an age when photography was coming into its own as
not a cheat to something that looked like real art and here he was doing all
those things that Adams and the rest had just chucked off. He was making it
look like "real art".
But sylistily there were bound to be people who had this preference.
In music you have composers writing classical music during the following
romantic period. Romantic & late romantic during the modern 20th century
period. There's no law that everybody has to be up to date right up to the
minute with what's going on.

But he spent his life doing it. Was a professional. Did work. Hung shows.
Sold prints. And survived. And his work evolved.
His client list was not short.
His work had integrity.
Just not the prevailing integrity.
Had more than his share of cheap shots thrown at him by people who in
photography knew a little and wanted to make it sound like a lot.
Not that there's a law that you have to like the guys stuff.


Mark William Rabiner



> From: "durling@cox.net" <durling@cox.net>
> Reply-To: Leica Users Group <lug@leica-users.org>
> Date: Thu, 26 Feb 2009 08:29:13 -0500
> To: <lug@leica-users.org>
> Subject: Re: [Leica] Mortensen, was The Worst Photograph Ever Made?
> 
> I've swung between hate and love of Mortensen's work over the years.  On
> one hand, the guy with the fingers in the eyes is arguably one of the worst
> photos ever made, not taken.  Yet there is something in his technique that
> is appealing.  He had a way with working with the surface textures and his
> pre-digital manipulation is very interesting.  He had a good eye for light.
> Some of the theatricality is best forgotten, but it is an essential part of
> the work.
> 
> Someone who took his techniques and used them on more conventional subject
> matter is Robert Balcomb, one of Mortensen's students.   His work can be
> seen at
> http://www.thescreamonline.com/photo/photo06-01/balcomb/photonotes_balcomb.h
> tml  There is a link to an article about him at the bottom of the page.
> 
> Mike Durling
> 
> Original Message:
> -----------------
> From: Mark Rabiner mark@rabinergroup.com
> Date: Wed, 25 Feb 2009 23:43:01 -0500
> To: lug@leica-users.org
> Subject: Re: [Leica] The Worst Photograph Ever Made?
> 
> 
> And they're excellent.
> An astonishingly excellent photographer.
> http://www.geh.org/ar/strip35/htmlsrc2/mortensen_sum00003.html#78:1643:0052
> 
> 
> Mark William Rabiner
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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