10-29-2021, 02:09 PM
West of Eden: A History of the Art and Literature of Yosemite by David Robertson
Mr. Robertson goes through the history of the artists of Yosemite, painters, writers and photographers from 1850 to the present. For Mr. Robertson the present is 1984, but that doesn't matter. It could be argued that most of the great art focusing on Yosemite has already been done.
The book is broken down into chunks. There is the first group when the whole park was an untamed wilderness including the valley. The second chunk is when the valley becomes more settled and the artistry more commercial but doesn't really add to what came before. Then there is the Ansel Adams phase.Then you have the people living on Adams legacy. The final chapter is almost a rebellion to the legacy as artists try and find their own unique responses to Yosemite.
The book does a good job of introducing to the artists and their works. Robertson does go into detail about why certain pieces of work are good and how they achieve artistry, a discussion I hadn't come across before. In my previous picture book it was mainly here is the artwork and this is who did the artwork and when it was done. It made me think a lot about my own photography.
Mr. Robertson goes through the history of the artists of Yosemite, painters, writers and photographers from 1850 to the present. For Mr. Robertson the present is 1984, but that doesn't matter. It could be argued that most of the great art focusing on Yosemite has already been done.
The book is broken down into chunks. There is the first group when the whole park was an untamed wilderness including the valley. The second chunk is when the valley becomes more settled and the artistry more commercial but doesn't really add to what came before. Then there is the Ansel Adams phase.Then you have the people living on Adams legacy. The final chapter is almost a rebellion to the legacy as artists try and find their own unique responses to Yosemite.
The book does a good job of introducing to the artists and their works. Robertson does go into detail about why certain pieces of work are good and how they achieve artistry, a discussion I hadn't come across before. In my previous picture book it was mainly here is the artwork and this is who did the artwork and when it was done. It made me think a lot about my own photography.
As a matter of fact, my anger does keep me warm