Essay On Minor White

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Minor White Minor White was an American Photographer and considered one of the most influential photographers of the post WWII era. He was not only a photographer but a teacher of the medium as well as one of the founders of Aperture Magazine which is still around today (Stamberg). Minor was born in 1908 in Minnesota and died in 1976. It was in 1938 that Minor White moved to Oregon and began his career in photography ("Minor White and His Photographic Work."). This is when he joined the Oregon Camera Club and began taking assignments with the Works Progress Administration taking photos of buildings before they were to be torn down (Stamberg). After his time in the military during WWII he spent some time as an assistant to Ansel …show more content…

At first glance you see fence post and barbed wire but when you look a little deeper it could represent the crucifixion of Christ. The barbed wire as the crown of thrones and the fence post as part of the cross. Someone else may see something very different than what I see in it. It was towards the end of his career that Minors photos became more abstract. He began taking photos of rocks, wood, and water. They were close up photos which represented something more spiritual. A rock was not just a rock but had a deeper meaning behind it. He began placing these photos in a sequence to show the viewer the connection between the photos. “In White's sequences, every photograph is meant to be individually appreciated as well as felt within its sequence. This made the last photograph in a sequence, like the one from Sequence 1967 (1995.563), bear a tremendous amount of weight, but the strength of White's work bore it gracefully.” Lisa Hostetler Department of Photographs, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. I think Minor White photography shows us that there is more to taking photos and that photography is a valid form of art. Yes we take photos to remember events, to celebrate beauty, to capture culture or tell a story. Sometimes those storiee are hidden inside the symbolism of the subject we are

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