In the Shade of the Sun: Pictorial Photography on the West Coast
Friday, April 8, 2011, 7:00 - 8:00 PM
Henry Auditorium
Henry Members FREE | General Admission $5
At the turn of the 20th century, an international Pictorial photography movement began in opposition to the growing prevalence of snapshot photography. Pictorialists used the language of painting, often focusing on the craft of the medium to emphasize photography’s place among the fine arts. Though the Photo-Secession is the most well-known group of pictorialists in the United States, other groups with talented photographers formed throughout the country. These photographers continued to pursue this style until the 1940s, well after the Photo-Secession ended, creating works that challenge stereotyped notions of Pictorial photography. Dennis Reed will examine the unique aspects of West Coast Pictorialism, highlighting the work of the Japanese Americans who were a part of this movement prior to their forced relocation at the onset of WWII.
Dennis Reed is a curator and the author of Japanese Photography in America, 1920-1940, and co-author of Pictorialism in California: Photographs, 1900-1940, jointly published by the Getty Museum and The Huntington. Among his recent essays are “The Wind Came from the East: Asian American Photography, 1850-1965” in Asian American Art, published by Stanford University. He is Dean and Professor of Art at Los Angeles Valley College.
Shadows of a Fleeting World: Pictorial Photography and Seattle Camera Club