Meatyard Landscapes

[Struan Gray]

I don't know what sort of camera Ralph Eugene Meatyard used, but I hope the Tuan and the moderators will indulge me if I sneak in a question about him at LFinfo: people here seem more interested in and knowledgeable about photography in general than the other forums I frequent.

I've been reading the Phaidon 55 on Meatyard and among the mask and kids pictures I knew he was famous for was an intriguing winter landscape that the text states was explicitly influenced by abstract impressionism, particularly Pollock. I had one of those 'yippee, someone else does this sort of thing too' moments, since I have been making landscapes and other images with a strong calligraphic component, with the abstract painters of the 40s and 50s as a major compositional inspiration.

I would like to see more of these sorts of images, and the lights-on-water ones, and the multiple exposures, and the zen twigs - but where to go? I would really appreciate any recommendations of places or publications where I can see more of Meatyard's landscapes. Of the books which are fairly available (the Aperture monograph, "Americal visionary", "Unforseen wilderness"), can anyone say which has the best selection of this sort of photograph? Are there any other Meatyard resources I should look at?

Now before the peanut gallery get started: inter-library loan is incredibly slow and expensive for me, and postage charges and/or snippy european booksellers make buy and return a non-option. Essentially, I have to buy and keep any photography books I wish to look at, so asking here is isn't just an attempt to avoid my local library or the amazon website.

[Gem Singer]

From the peanut gallery:

I just did a google search, entered the name Ralph E. Meatyard. Literally hundreds of referrences popped up. Looks like a good place to begin your search for Meatyard's landscapes.

[austin granger]

I'm afraid this isn't a direct response to your question, but if you like Meatyard (I do very much myself) you might also check out Frederick Sommer, Clarence John Laughlin, and also Aaron Siskind.

[austin granger]

Oh, sorry, I forgot to add that I have this huge tome called "A New History Of Photograhy" edited by Michel Frizot that has a chapter entitled; "Beyond Reality-the Subjective Vision" with photos by Meatyard, as well as the other photographers I mentioned, among others.

[Brian Ellis]

I'm not familiar with Meatyard's work other than the masks but for double exposures I think Harry Callahan was one of the best, ditto for somewhat offbeat landscapes. The book "Harry Callahan" published by Bullfinch Press, ISBN 0-8212-2727-0, has a lot of his photographs as well as interesting text by Sarah Greenough. The paperback version sold for about $30 through Amazon a couple years ago, you probably can find one used there for less.

[Kevin M Bourque]

I remember reading that he used a Mamiya TLR. He may have used other cameras, of course.

[Kirk Gittings]

I believe he used a twin lens rollie. There was a traveling exhibit of his landscapes around two summers ago. I saw it at the Chicago Cultural Center. You might contact them.

[Frank Petronio]

Would have been hard to double-expose a Rollei TLR...

[jim Ryder]

The Unforeseen Wilderness, Kentucky's Red River Gorge by Meatyard and Wendell Berry Northpoint press San Francisco 1991

[Frank Lahorgue]

A dumb question:

Meatyard's name is only in my reading vocabulary, so how on earth does one pronounce the name properly?