Minor White at The Getty .

[Michael Clark]

Went to the Getty Museum for there Minor White exhibit , nice prints and a lot of them too.

http://www.getty.edu/museum/exhibitions/

[Doug Howk]

Would love to see the actual prints but the catalogue will have to suffice for me. Its "Minor White: Manifestations of the Spirit" by Paul Martineau. A very good read.

[Harley Goldman]

It is an excellent exhibit. I caught it a few weeks ago.

[chuckcars]

Many thanks. I subscribed to the newsletter.

[Drew Wiley]

I consider Minor White a "must see" for anyone interested in the history of modern silver printing. His style is downright claustrophobic to me it's so intense, but that's a reflection of how well he translated his psyche into the prints themselves. Kinda like Stieglitz on steroids when it comes to "equivalents". Otherwise, a genuine kook as far as I'm concerned, the ultimate high priest of a world that was created in eight official zones of gray, with each zone having some metaphysical
connotation. He even looked like that wacko professor in Back to the Future.

[Darin Boville]

Thanks, Michael, for the post. Not sure if I can make it to the show but I did order the catalogue.

--Darin

[Michael Clark]

You are welcome Darin,I would not have known about the White exhibition had my wife and me not taken my Mom to the Getty, she loves paintings.

Thanks, Michael, for the post. Not sure if I can make it to the show but I did order the catalogue.

--Darin

[Michael Clark]

Like to add the exhibition is well lighted, much better than the A.A. exhibition last month, it is also in a different room than Ansel's.

[Sal Santamaura]

Like to add the exhibition is well lighted, much better than the A.A. exhibition last month, it is also in a different room than Ansel's.

I didn't see Getty Center's Adams exhibition, so can't comment on how it compared to this one. Except to say that if Minor White: Manifestations of the Spirit is "much better lighted," then Adams work must have been in extreme darkness similar to what prompted the "Why do Edward Weston's prints suck?" thread (http://www.largeformatphotography.in...on-prints-suck).

Despite my suggestion to boycott museums that hang poorly illuminated photography, I capitulated to my wife's request that we spend our wedding anniversary yesterday visiting Getty Center. Given its massive endowment, staying away probably wouldn't have been noticed or effective anyway.

This is the third time we've been there in more than a decade. We enjoyed most of our visit, but, as with earlier ones, were once again deeply disappointed by the photography exhibition. Despite what must be a huge budget, this institution just won't go to the expense of using anti-reflection coated acrylic glazing. Since, as in most modern museums, prints are illuminated at very low levels, and the frames are attached flat against walls (paintings tilt down from their hanging wires), one ends up staring at one's own reflection rather than the photographs. Minor White didn't print as dark as Edward Weston, but many of his images do contain substantial low value areas, making for an excellent mirror effect.

There were other displeasing aspects of the presentation, such as universal use of 8-ply overmats, casting shadows on the top of some pieces; dead-center image placement in frames (even White's own private book, part of the exhibit, showed that he mounted with weighted bottoms); and the jarring practice of putting some horizontal images in vertical frames. I could have excused those latter faults if only there was adequate illumination and appropriate reflection control.

As for the rest of Getty Center, non-photographic installations are excellent and worth a visit. I've never been impressed with Gehry's monument to himself (the facility). Its biggest practical drawback is that one travels from building to building to see the entire thing. Which means that, after having walked in blazing southern California sunlight reflecting off white marble everywhere, there's a period when one's vision must adapt to the darkness inside. Then, on the way to another building, that solar retinal assault is repeated. Over and over again. Not very conducive to appreciating Getty collections.

[Andrew Plume]

.................yes

I've always enjoyed MW's work, very very different to that of, say, AA, who MW from memory said that Ansel was "......a good calendar artist......" or something along those lines

thanks for starting this thread Michael

regards, andrew