Currier Art Museum

"Untitled"

Trees and Branches, Point Lobos, 1951

Brett Weston

"Foster's Pond Millennium, 1/1/2000", 1945

Arno Rafael Minkkinen

These two photographs were some of my favorite in the exhibit, and I was drawn to them for similar reasons. Both photographs have a lot of contrast which I have always enjoyed. They also utilize lines to keep the viewers' eyes busy. Weston's photo displays a trees' gnarled roots and chaotic lines, while Minkkinen's lines are straight up and down through the center of the photograph. Although both photos have similar stylistic choices and organic subjects, they evoke different emotions. Minkkinen's photograph seems serene with the mist above the still water, while Weston's photo is almost chaotic and perhaps just a little eerie. 

I was unable to find the photograph; however, my least favorite piece in the exhibit was an opaque watercolor on paper by Raiston Crawford. It is part of a series called Wharf Objects. The artist first took a photograph, then did an etching of that same photo, and then an abstraction with watercolors. Not only did I dislike the piece, but I feel it was not well integrated. The bright colors and different medium stuck out amongst the other black and white photographs in the exhibit. 

"Morning Mist, Redding Woods, CT, 1969"

Paul Caponigro

I saw this to be the most powerful photograph in the exhibit. I think it has a unique composition and an absolutely beautiful tonal range. The lines intercepting the top and bottom of the photograph are not centered, and don't particularly follow the rule of thirds, however, they keep my eyes moving backwards through the photograph towards the trees through the mist in the background. I am unsure if it reminds me of a place I have seen before, but it makes me feel comfortable and content. 

Overall, I loved the exhibit. I do, however, wish that the photographs displayed were bigger. I kept finding myself being drawn to the bigger photographs and the majority were quite small. I did appreciate the matting and set up of the pieces though.