Sunday 1 May 2011

Weekend Inspiration: A Passionate Collaboration

Bank Holiday weekends should be long and lazy. Mine has been filled with various pursuits of everyday procrastination but none have been more fruitful than a flick through a recent second hand book store find. Margrethe Mather & Edward Weston: A Passionate Collaboration explores the relationship between two of my favourite photographers and provides inspiration at every turn of page. Whilst offering a glimpse of California Bohemia, A Passionate Collaboration features work by both artists, chronicles their twelve-year association and sheds much needed light on Mather, whose artistry, sexual identity, and mysterious past were overshadowed by the massive reputation of Edward Weston.

Mather was, without doubt, an extraordinary photographer on her own merit. She was a pacesetter and innovator. With her unerring eye for spare, elegant design, her unflinching capacity for editing an image to its very essence and her obsession with technical perfection, Margrethe Mather was an artist of real substance and significance. As much as I enjoyed reading about their complex relationship it was the selection of plates that really left me inspired. I just had to scan a few of them to share with you.

Margrethe Mather -Wild Joe O Carrol (1919)
Margrethe Mather - "Wild Joe" O'Carrol (1919)

Margrethe Mather - Frayne Williams (1920)
Margrethe Mather - Frayne Williams (1920)

Margrethe Mather & Edward Weston - Max Eastman at Water's Edge (1921)
Margrethe Mather and Edward Weston - Max Eastman at Water's Edge (1921)

Margrethe Mather -Johan Hagemeyer (1921)
Margrethe Mather -Johan Hagemeyer (1921)

Edward Weston - Roi Patridge (1922)
Edward Weston - Roi Patridge (1922)

Margrethe Mather - The Abandoned Car (1925)
Margrethe Mather - The Abandoned Car (1925)

Margrethe Mather - Japanese Combs (1931))
Margrethe Mather - Japanese Combs (1931)

5 comments:

Syed said...

Ooh hello, another book to add to my Amazon list. That photograph of Roi Patridge is amazing.

Jonas said...

Now this is inspiration! I don't really feel like I can ask you to do more finds like this one (the odds seem pretty slim ;), but still, more articles in this vein would be great.

Adam said...

Good find. Thanks for sharing.

Prince of Darkness said...

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Wendy Houser Blomseth said...

thanks for sharing these images. I own this book also and just rediscovered it this weekend.

My husband and I are photographers and we want to create own our photo exhibit that is a result of "A Passionate Collaboration."

Look forward to reading more of your posts.
Wendy Blomseth
Minneapolis Minnesota photographer
"Seeker of Light. Still Seeking."

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