After the initial lecture and having a brief looking into the F/64 group, I would like to dig a little deeper and look into the moment, and the photographers in more depth. I feel like this will be a grounding part of research for the body of work that I am wanting to produce. This is because I am interested in the landscape, the power, beauty and purpose and sustainability it has for mankind.
Group f.64, loose association of California photographers who promoted a style of sharply detailed, purist photography. The group, formed in 1932, constituted a revolt against Pictorialism, the soft-focused, academic photography that was then prevalent among West Coast artists. The name of the group is taken from the smallest setting of a large-format camera diaphragm aperture that gives particularly good resolution and depth of field. The original 11 members of Group f.64 were Ansel Adams, Imogen Cunningham, Edward Weston, Willard Van Dyke, Henry Swift, John Paul Edwards, Brett Weston, Consuelo Kanaga, Alma Lavenson, Sonya Noskowiak, and Preston Holder.
Though members of the group represented a wide range of subject matter in their work, they were united in their practice of using the camera to record life as it is, through unmanipulated “pure” documentation. Works associated with Group f.64 include Adams’s dramatic images of Yosemite National Park, Edward Weston’s close-up, high-detail photographs of fruits and vegetables and of sand dunes and nudes, and Cunningham’s studies of calla lilies.
In 1932 the M.H. de Young Memorial Museum in San Francisco presented an exhibit of works by Group f.64, which aroused only mild public and critical interest. By 1935, however, when the group disbanded, its ideas had influenced the direction of photography and are especially evident in the work of photographers such as Dorothea Lange and Walker Evans, who documented the effects of the Great Depression on communities across the United States.
https://www.britannica.com/art/Group-f64
One of the most famous photographic collectives in history, Group f/64 mounted a revolt against the dominant fashion within the art of photography which was to ape the painterly and graphic techniques associated with Bay Area Pictorialism. The members' preference was for a style of art photography that would fully promote the camera's unique mechanical qualities. As the Group declared in its 1932 manifesto: "Pure photography is defined as possessing no qualities of technique, composition or idea, derivative of any other art form [and] The Group will show no work at any time that does not conform to its standards." Indeed, the diaphragm number f/64 from which the Group took its name, is the smallest camera lens aperture possible and thereby lends the image a sharpness and detail in depth that simply could not be replicated by the hand or in real time. The Group used large format view cameras to achieve their effect and they produced images ranging in theme through landscapes, still lifes, nudes, and architectural features.
Key Ideas & Accomplishments
Typically, Straight Photography used large format cameras to create high contrast semi-abstractions and/or geometric repetitions. The images were often reliant on size and context for their full aesthetic affect and these images were thus intended to be exhibited in dedicated galleries before they passed into print publication.
Group f/64 as a whole was committed to photographing ignored or mundane objects to which they brought new perspectives and meaning through their pursuit of the purest image. In short, the spectator was often invited to "take a second look" at what they might have otherwise taken for granted. It was the goal of elevating the world around them to something more "spiritual" that saw them ranked as high-modernists.
During its short existence, the members of Group f/64 remained faithful to the ontology of the photographic image. In other words, their images existed on their own terms and were thus devoid of any social or political reference. Though this approach invited criticism from some quarters, the Group was committed to the principle that photography - or rather pure photography - must be left to stand alone if it was to affect supreme mental attainment in the spectator.
While it was not uncommon for modernists to strive for activity and movement in their photographic images, Group f/64's approach to its subjects was studied and measured. There is then a stillness and serenity to be found in the Group's compositions. This tranquillity gave the images - especially so when viewed in the surroundings of the gallery - an aura that was unique to pure photography.
https://www.theartstory.org/movement/group-f64/
After researching the group itself, without going into much detail about the photographers who were part of the exclusive group, I think that is the premises of the collection of photographers. They did not want change as such in the art world, they wanted people to recognise the importance of straight landscape photography. The exclusive style of the group, only having eleven members suggests some elite thought and highly established people that perhaps were not interested in progressive photography.
Having said this, the work that was produced by the f64 photographers is some of the most famous photography out there so they most definitely earn the position of the standard that they stand on. The work that Ansel Adams completed in the national parks of the United States looks like straight landscape photography. However, it comments on the power and beauty of the untouched land. His large scale landscapes all show sharp focus which captures the perception of size in a way that makes the viewer feel as if they are in the landscape when they are stood over one of his prints.
The group itself has made a famous name for itself. Every photographer knows the names of the f64 group and will recognise one of their photographs. Their manifesto informs us what the group is about, what they aim to do within the group and when you are in, how you must conform within your photographic practice. It is clearly written out and informative. Written in a formal and academic way which indicates the level of education one might have when they are apart of the group.
