My disappointment with recent issues has been the non-mention of the superb Ansel Adams exhibition at the Edinburgh City Art Centre. I e-mailed the ed as follows:
"Dear Ed.
Most photographic folk would agree that Ansel Adams was the most influential b&w photographer of the 20th century. The City of Edinburgh Museum and Gallery currently (9/2 to 19/4) is showing 150 prints by Adams from the George Eastman House Collection - a fantastic coup for the Gallery and the Scottish photographer, Lindsay Robertson, who made it possible. This is the ONLY UK venue for this exhibition. It is a stunning collection of prints from his early to late work - an absolute must-see for any lover of b&w - enhanced by a fascinating 53 min film with footage of AA from childhood to venerable and venerated old age.
And yet - correct me if I'm wrong - I have seen no mention of this momentous event in your magazine! Is Adams now so familiar through the ubiquitous calendars etc. or so old hat that he's not worth a mention? Surely not. Or are you so southern England centred that Scotland is off your radar? Perhaps Elizabeth Roberts is ' in the frame for this' !"
Finally, a notice has appeared in issue 84, which is not on general sale until 27 Mar, for an exhibition which began 9 Feb and finishes 19 April. And unfortunately, the photo illustration is not by Adams but by Lindsay Robertson!
My disappointment with recent issues has been the non-mention of the superb Ansel Adams exhibition at the Edinburgh City Art Centre. I e-mailed the ed as follows:
"Dear Ed.
Most photographic folk would agree that Ansel Adams was the most influential b&w photographer of the 20th century. The City of Edinburgh Museum and Gallery currently (9/2 to 19/4) is showing 150 prints by Adams from the George Eastman House Collection - a fantastic coup for the Gallery and the Scottish photographer, Lindsay Robertson, who made it possible. This is the ONLY UK venue for this exhibition. It is a stunning collection of prints from his early to late work - an absolute must-see for any lover of b&w - enhanced by a fascinating 53 min film with footage of AA from childhood to venerable and venerated old age.
And yet - correct me if I'm wrong - I have seen no mention of this momentous event in your magazine! Is Adams now so familiar through the ubiquitous calendars etc. or so old hat that he's not worth a mention? Surely not. Or are you so southern England centred that Scotland is off your radar? Perhaps Elizabeth Roberts is ' in the frame for this' !"
Finally, a notice has appeared in issue 84, which is not on general sale until 27 Mar, for an exhibition which began 9 Feb and finishes 19 April. And unfortunately, the photo illustration is not by Adams but by Lindsay Robertson!
JA
Are you sure that the exhibition organisers advised the editorial staff of the event? Are the organisers actually aware of this magazine? Bear in mind that the events page is probably laid up about 2 months in advance of publication, but if they aren't told about forthcoming events it will be difficult to include the details.
Quote:
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Originally Posted by John Anders
My disappointment with recent issues has been the non-mention of the superb Ansel Adams exhibition at the Edinburgh City Art Centre. I e-mailed the ed as follows:
"Dear Ed.
Most photographic folk would agree that Ansel Adams was the most influential b&w photographer of the 20th century. The City of Edinburgh Museum and Gallery currently (9/2 to 19/4) is showing 150 prints by Adams from the George Eastman House Collection - a fantastic coup for the Gallery and the Scottish photographer, Lindsay Robertson, who made it possible. This is the ONLY UK venue for this exhibition. It is a stunning collection of prints from his early to late work - an absolute must-see for any lover of b&w - enhanced by a fascinating 53 min film with footage of AA from childhood to venerable and venerated old age.
And yet - correct me if I'm wrong - I have seen no mention of this momentous event in your magazine! Is Adams now so familiar through the ubiquitous calendars etc. or so old hat that he's not worth a mention? Surely not. Or are you so southern England centred that Scotland is off your radar? Perhaps Elizabeth Roberts is ' in the frame for this' !"
Finally, a notice has appeared in issue 84, which is not on general sale until 27 Mar, for an exhibition which began 9 Feb and finishes 19 April. And unfortunately, the photo illustration is not by Adams but by Lindsay Robertson!
JA
Are you sure that the exhibition organisers advised the editorial staff of the event? Are the organisers actually aware of this magazine? Bear in mind that the events page is probably laid up about 2 months in advance of publication, but if they aren't told about forthcoming events it will be difficult to include the details.
Dave
We're not talking about a small exhibition in, say, a private gallery in a not so prominent location by a not very well known photographer. This is a major exhibition by a major photographer in a major gallery in a major city (sorry about all the majors!). It has had some serious press coverage. I would have thought that a mag devoted to B&W would have had its finger on the pulse (sorry about the cliche). In fact, I would have thought that it was worthy of more than just a notice in 'In the frame'.
Whatever (as the young say), it's a brilliant show which non-photographer friends have been bowled over by. Go on, you can get there!
JA
Actually John I saw a "Major" exhibition of his work a few years ago at the Haywood Gallery in London a few years ago, and was seriously under-whelmed. However that will not stop me going to the "Minor" exhibition of AA's work in Oxford in a few weeks time. May be, just may be I will see the light and be converted.
Hi-jacking this thread for a moment (I'm sure David won't mind) why don't some of those from North of the Border arrange to call in at the APUG meeting scheduled for Seahouses shortly. I'm sure that most of the prints being passed around on Friday and Saturday evenings will rival AA's in effort if not in content.
Actually John I saw a "Major" exhibition of his work a few years ago at the Haywood Gallery in London a few years ago, and was seriously under-whelmed. However that will not stop me going to the "Minor" exhibition of AA's work in Oxford in a few weeks time. May be, just may be I will see the light and be converted.
I am going to go, if for no other reason than to be able to say I have sampled AA's work at first hand. I have only ever seen a limited section of his prints in books such as " The Print". Maybe it was simply the quality of the reproduction but I too was seriously underwhelmed. In content terms I have seen as good and better in APUG but I'll try and go with an open mind.
I often wonder if AA's aren't better simply because they are AA's. A bit like Beckham's goals from free kicks.
Actually John I saw a "Major" exhibition of his work a few years ago at the Haywood Gallery in London a few years ago, and was seriously under-whelmed.
I saw this too (Ansel Adams at 100) - and travelled specially to London from Holland to see it - and I thought it was great.
I'm considering not renewing my subscription too. I think the new editor, who has some 'previous' with the digital glossies has tried to please everybody, for example Les MacLean's darkroom workshop, but its definitely going too far towards the pixel end. One article which annoyed me in particular one of Lee Frost's usually excellent assignment series, where he takes 2 or 3 readers to a location to see what photos they can produce. The test this time was to capture some images using a cheap compact digital camera. Why a digital one? A better task along the same lines would've been to give the participants £20-30 and ask them to search the junkshops, ebay, local paper small ads etc for a film camera, then go on the shoot. In a junkshop/antique shop here in Minehead you can pick up an Olympus SLR with lens for around that amout, or cheaper point and shoot models. A missed opportunity I think.
Maybe I'll have to accept that in future only half the magazine at most will interest me, but it wiould still be worth buying for the other half. Besides, its all we've got.
Actually John I saw a "Major" exhibition of his work a few years ago at the Haywood Gallery in London a few years ago, and was seriously under-whelmed. However that will not stop me going to the "Minor" exhibition of AA's work in Oxford in a few weeks time. May be, just may be I will see the light and be converted.
Dave
I'm sorry (in the sense that we want others to share our enthusiasms) that the AA exhibition at the Hayward Gallery left you under-whelmed. Perhaps it was not the full monty. The show at Edinburgh - to quote - "is a UK exclusive.....
the most comprehensive overview of Adam's career ever exhibited in the UK.....curated by the prestigious George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film, the exhibition includes 150 original prints from the 1920s to the 1960s...including portraits, still lifes and abstract studies"
That is why I wrote that I was "disappointed" that B&W had not given it more attention. I am a fan, with reservations, of the mag - I have every issue from 1 onwards. As someone just wrote, it's all we've got.
I'm getting boring on this topic! The rest from me is silence.
John A
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However that will not stop me going to the "Minor" exhibition of AA's work in Oxford in a few weeks time. May be, just may be I will see the light and be converted.
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