Minor White, Unburdened: Photographs from the Collection of Lindsay W. Marshall
Saturday, October 12, 2019 - Sunday, December 15, 2019
"One should not only photograph things for what they are, but for what else they are."
This intimate exhibition features works by influential American photographer Minor White alongside a selection of photographs by his mentors, friends, and students including Edward Weston, Ansel Adams, and Rose Mandel. Seen together, these works highlight the photographers' shared interest in nature as subject, transfiguring form, and masterful processing and printing. A selection of White's journal writings and excerpts from letters accompany the photographs. They reflect upon what White viewed as his photographic successes and failures as well as his lifelong personal struggles with religion, sexuality, the constitution of the spirit, and his own contribution to the field of photography. They reveal a deeply spiritual, intellectual, and introspective man, at times isolated but desirous of human connection.
The most positive relationship of White's early life was with his grandparents. In a 1973 oral history for the Archives of American Art, Minor White speaks tenderly about their influence. The memories come across as snapshots, mental images taken by the ten-year-old White that would prove formative in his life and work. He remembers his grandfather "making photographs", hand-coloring 4x5 slides with a good friend, and giving lectures on photography to small audiences on the out-skirts of Minneapolis. He recalls being "brought up" in his grandmother's large garden—exploring and playing by her side and on his own—and how these images were "fixed" in his mind, much like a photograph.
White graduated with a degree in botany from the University of Minnesota but soon realized that he lacked the passion for science that would be required to make a career of it. In 1937, White decided to pursue photography instead, hoping it would engender a connection to the world around him and help him overcome his profound sense of isolation. He made his way to Portland armed with an Argus C3 35mm camera. Having inherited both equipment and interest from his grandfather and gleaned some experience with film processing in college, White then devoured the public library's collection of photography books including those of Ansel Adams, Edward Weston, and Alfred Stieglitz, all of whom would later become his mentors and friends.
White's hunger for knowledge, and, perhaps, for a sense of of belonging, led to his almost meteoric rise as an influential photographer. Over the next three years, he started a camera club at the Portland YMCA, was hired as a "creative photographer" for the Portland Art Project, and taught photography at Oregon's La Grande Art Center. In 1941, three of his photographs were part of a juried exhibition at MoMA. He was drafted in the same year and served in the Army's Intelligence Corps until he was discharged in 1945. By 1946, after a brief period in New York, White was teaching alongside Ansel Adams at the California School of Fine Arts (CSFA) in San Francisco.
In 1952, White co-founded the foundational photography journal Aperture, which he continued to edit until his death in 1976. Although his photographic output diminished during this time, editing and teaching immersed White in the issues of interpretation and theory that he loved and also provided him with companionship to combat his lingering sense of loneliness and isolation.
Despite his limited output, Minor White remains one of the most influential figures in American photography. Collector Lindsay Marshall recognized his importance early, becoming one of the first to collect his work. Thoughtfully acquired, lived with, and loved, all of the photographs in this exhibition are drawn from her collection, which she began with her late husband Fray Marshall. These photographs offer a testament to White's influence as artist and teacher and to the enduring presence that he left in his work and on those who knew him well. Indeed, White's search for a universal human connection through photography is evident in these works. From his view of a subject, White created "some-thing else" intended to stir emotion within his viewer. The result is a human connection sought, offered, and undeniably felt.
This intimate exhibition features works by influential American photographer Minor White alongside a selection of photographs by his mentors, friends, and students including Edward Weston, Ansel Adams, and Rose Mandel. Seen together, these works highlight the photographers' shared interest in nature as subject, transfiguring form, and masterful processing and printing. A selection of White's journal writings and excerpts from letters accompany the photographs. They reflect upon what White viewed as his photographic successes and failures as well as his lifelong personal struggles with religion, sexuality, the constitution of the spirit, and his own contribution to the field of photography. They reveal a deeply spiritual, intellectual, and introspective man, at times isolated but desirous of human connection.
The most positive relationship of White's early life was with his grandparents. In a 1973 oral history for the Archives of American Art, Minor White speaks tenderly about their influence. The memories come across as snapshots, mental images taken by the ten-year-old White that would prove formative in his life and work. He remembers his grandfather "making photographs", hand-coloring 4x5 slides with a good friend, and giving lectures on photography to small audiences on the out-skirts of Minneapolis. He recalls being "brought up" in his grandmother's large garden—exploring and playing by her side and on his own—and how these images were "fixed" in his mind, much like a photograph.
White graduated with a degree in botany from the University of Minnesota but soon realized that he lacked the passion for science that would be required to make a career of it. In 1937, White decided to pursue photography instead, hoping it would engender a connection to the world around him and help him overcome his profound sense of isolation. He made his way to Portland armed with an Argus C3 35mm camera. Having inherited both equipment and interest from his grandfather and gleaned some experience with film processing in college, White then devoured the public library's collection of photography books including those of Ansel Adams, Edward Weston, and Alfred Stieglitz, all of whom would later become his mentors and friends.
White's hunger for knowledge, and, perhaps, for a sense of of belonging, led to his almost meteoric rise as an influential photographer. Over the next three years, he started a camera club at the Portland YMCA, was hired as a "creative photographer" for the Portland Art Project, and taught photography at Oregon's La Grande Art Center. In 1941, three of his photographs were part of a juried exhibition at MoMA. He was drafted in the same year and served in the Army's Intelligence Corps until he was discharged in 1945. By 1946, after a brief period in New York, White was teaching alongside Ansel Adams at the California School of Fine Arts (CSFA) in San Francisco.
In 1952, White co-founded the foundational photography journal Aperture, which he continued to edit until his death in 1976. Although his photographic output diminished during this time, editing and teaching immersed White in the issues of interpretation and theory that he loved and also provided him with companionship to combat his lingering sense of loneliness and isolation.
Despite his limited output, Minor White remains one of the most influential figures in American photography. Collector Lindsay Marshall recognized his importance early, becoming one of the first to collect his work. Thoughtfully acquired, lived with, and loved, all of the photographs in this exhibition are drawn from her collection, which she began with her late husband Fray Marshall. These photographs offer a testament to White's influence as artist and teacher and to the enduring presence that he left in his work and on those who knew him well. Indeed, White's search for a universal human connection through photography is evident in these works. From his view of a subject, White created "some-thing else" intended to stir emotion within his viewer. The result is a human connection sought, offered, and undeniably felt.
