Imogen Cunningham
Imogen Cunningham was an American photographer known for her botanical photography, nudes, and industrial landscapes. Cunningham was a member of the California-based Group f/64, known for its dedication to the sharp-focus rendition of simple subjects. Members of Group f/64 thought that “photography, as an art-form, must develop along lines defined by the actualities and limitations of the photographic medium, and must always remain independent of ideological conventions of art and aesthetics that are reminiscent of a period and culture antedating the growth of the medium itself”. Dismissing Pictorialism, f/64 proposed that the appearance of the photograph was more important than the subject matter. Cunningham found influence in the groups’ philosophic interest in natural forms but sought her own style. Whilst many other members of the group were mainly concerned with form, Cunningham focused on texture and light. She published an article called Photography as a Profession for Women in which she encouraged women to develop their own style in photography.
With the help of her chemistry professor, Dr. Horace Byers, she began to study the chemistry behind photography; she subsidized her tuition by photographing plants for the botany department. After graduating in 1907 she went to work with Edward S. Curtis in his Seattle studio. This gave Cunningham the valuable opportunity to learn about the portrait business and the practical side of photography. In San Francisco, 1920, Cunningham refined her style, taking a greater interest in pattern and detail as seen in her works of bark textures, trees, and zebras. As the mother of three young children, she was mainly confined to photographing her children and the plants in her garden and sought to expose the visually profound in the mundane. She became particularly interested in photographing flowers and abstracting the shapes of the petals and leaves. Cunningham undertook an in-depth study of the magnolia flower between 1923 and 1925. The importance of natural form in Cunningham’s abstract images has led to them being compared to the undulating forms in Georgia O’Keeffe’s paintings. Although the two artists worked at the same time, Cunningham claimed she was not aware of O’Keeffe’s work until years later.
“ANYBODY IS INFLUENCED BY WHERE AND HOW THEY LIVE.”
Georgia O’ Keeffe
Georgia Totto O’Keeffe was an American artist. She was best known for her paintings of enlarged flowers, New York skyscrapers, and New Mexico landscapes. O’Keeffe has been recognized as the “Mother of American modernism”. In 1905, O’Keeffe began her serious formal art training at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, but she felt constrained by her lessons that focused on recreating or copying what was in nature. During the summers between 1912 and 1914, she studied the principles and philosophies of Arthur Wesley Dow, who created works of art based upon personal style, design, and interpretation of subjects, rather than trying to copy or represent them. This caused a major change in the way she felt about and approached art.
Analysis:
O’Keeffe’s dramatic use of colour palette, line and composition presents flowers in an alternative way. Her works range from abstract responses of nature, zoomed-in and almost unrecognizable, to detailed, life-like responses that emphasize the beauty of floral subjects as they come. From the curves of flower petals to the rich tones and shadows within the composition, O’Keefe looks at flowers very similar to which Cunningham photographs, furthermore responding in artistic medium. Her vibrant works with colors that glow with energy and vitality, explore the amazing and intense colours that the environment has provided in natural forms. O’Keeffe often pushes the boundaries of the art world, in some cases quite literally with lines and forms racing off the edge of the canvas, yet somehow she always manages to maintain a sense of stability and produce works that are visually engaging. Her use of a variety of media—pastel, charcoal, watercolor, and oil—combined with her sense for line, color, and composition produce deceptively simple works. Her confidence with using these elements makes her style of painting look effortless.
“I FOUND I COULD SAY THINGS WITH COLOR AND SHAPES THAT I COULDN’T SAY ANY OTHER WAY – THINGS I HAD NO WORDS FOR.”
