The Wow factor in the photographs of Ansel Adams

 Tetons and the Snake River
 Words fail when one is confronted with this image--captured for all eternity by the master of light--the American photographer and champion of wilderness and conservation--the great Ansel Adams. This and several thousands of such extraordinary photographs that he took enrapture all who view them. Photography as an art form has never been the same after his time--everyone began to view the medium differently--as something that could hold a place of its own in the world of the best of fine art. Ansel Adams was taken with a profound passion for the great parks and expanses of natural beauty--such as Yosemite. Besides producing a colossal output of writing and trying to make a living as a commercial photographer,  he spent enormous energy travelling around America making exquisite records of lakes, mountains, trees and landscapes--all of which resonate with an ennobling, uplifting spirit. Don't know about you but I simply can't get enough of them! Just a few for sampling below.
The last one is a unique picture (not taken by Adams) of two of my favourite artists together--guess who the weathered, stately woman is...
Vernal Fall


Jeffrey Pine, Sentinel Dome


Frozen Lake and Cliffs


White House Ruin



Ansel Adams and Georgia O'Keefe, photo by Alan Ross

Starry starry night

 

It is not possible to talk of anguish, pain and suffering in the artistic world without at once thinking of Vincent Van Gogh. The swirling colours, the deep and strong lines and the vivid images he created are eternal testaments to the beauty only an artist with a great emotional connection to the world could recreate. The irony was that in spite of Van Gogh's obvious lust for life and an abiding compassion for other poor souls, he was still destined to lead a largely lonely existence. But the vitality, the sheer vividness of his vision finally got the better of him--and he took his own life--unable to get a hold of his inner demons.
This lovely song is a poetic tribute to him, composed by Don Maclean

Anguish and Release

Sometimes, in fact, very often, art is not pretty--it is not easy to come to terms with its urgency and call for release. It seethes with emotions that we would rather not face. Although this may sound contradictory, artists such as Van Gogh and Edvard Munch, never set out to paint "beautiful" things--yet their most unbelievably painful, twisted works of art have come to be known as some of the most authentic representations of the human condition.
 In the life and paintings of Edvard Munch (famous Norwegian painter and writer) we glimpse at a tortured being--an artist, who expressed an anguish so deep that he was considered psychotic. Today, his painting The Scream, is said to embody the pain of humanity itself, in turmoil, raging against the vicissitudes of modern man.
Munch too became reclusive during his middle years, living in solitude.
Seen below is Vampire and The Scream. Munch maintained a journal where he described his experience about the first painting thus:
"The deep purple darkness settled itself over the earth. I sat under a tree--whose leaves had begun to yellow, to wither. She had sat by my side--she had bowed her head over mine. Her blood-red hair entangled me--it had wrapped itself around me like blood-red snakes--its finest threads had wrapped themselves around my heart. Then she stood up--I don't know why. Slowly she moved towards the sea--further and further away. Then a strange thing happened--I felt there were invisible threads binding us. I felt that invisible strands of her hair were still wrapped around me. Even when she disappeared over the ocean--I still felt the pain where my heart was bleeding, because the threads could not be torn away."

Out of the Labyrinth

For this post, I am allowing myself to use this phrase I just heard from artist, Robert Genn: "Out of the labyrinth". Art allows you to step out of the labyrinth--of life, of being caught in a constant round of unceasing outward activity, getting drawn into more pursuits that do not always satisfy. Art offers repose... a private place of joy.

Below are two photos that I took in a small grove--it was drizzling and as one looked out from beneath the sheltering leaves, the clouds parted and there was a sudden burst of light. These pictures symbolise this sense of moving away from too much "busy" ness to emerging into a free, open space--the light ahead beckons with the promise of a fresh, new beginning! It is almost as though the whole world is holding its breath--waiting...
Click on the pics for expanded view!