Troll Posted April 9, 2003 Share Posted April 9, 2003 EW's Daybooks (two volumes) have been out of print for a long time. Wonder why? If I could have only one photography book(s), this would be it. My 25 year old paperbacks are wearing out, and next time, (if they ever return to the shelves), I'll pony up for a set of hardbacks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruce_pollock1 Posted April 9, 2003 Share Posted April 9, 2003 Go to www.abebooks.com/ On-line searchable catalogue of used books from booksellers all over. I just searched and brought up 120 listings for the Daybooks, both hard and soft cover. I agree!! It's one of the all time most important photography books. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henry_suryo Posted April 9, 2003 Share Posted April 9, 2003 Here's one for Mr. Weston...one of my favorites. Between him and Strand, they give me a reason to lug the big camera around still, longing for more and better images. Henry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim_atherton2 Posted April 9, 2003 Share Posted April 9, 2003 You beat me too it on ABE - also, hundreds of great photobooks come up on ebay - often at very good prices (as well as the commonplace, just got a relative bargain on a german copy of Sudek's Praha Panoramika (sic)) but for Weston, try here too: http://www.photoeye.com/OpenSearchRedirect.cfm?RecordID=392 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim_galli4 Posted April 9, 2003 Share Posted April 9, 2003 I'm about 1/2 way through Charis's book, "Through another lens" about her years with Edward. Best read in a long time. I found it on www.half.com for $2.99. Great fun. And I agree, the daybooks are an enchantment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troll Posted April 9, 2003 Author Share Posted April 9, 2003 Hi Henry. Have you noticed that there are no biographies of EW or Paul Strand, although there are two on Tina Modoti and Walker Evans, and at least one on Arbus and Gene Smith and Steichen, and God knows how many on Stieglitz and Adams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim_atherton2 Posted April 9, 2003 Share Posted April 9, 2003 Sorry? There's Edward Weston: His Life. by Ben Maddow in print and others, as I recall, oop, as well as plenty of memoirs of etc. (as well as more than two on Evans) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henry_suryo Posted April 9, 2003 Share Posted April 9, 2003 Hi Bill, good to hear from you again. The Charis book Jim mentioned above is as good a biography as it gets. It's wonderfully written from an "insider's" perspective. The other biography is by Ben Maddow, and it's interesting how Charis on several occasions in her book would ridicule the misinformation he wrote there. I also have all of Tina Modotti's biographies and they reference and include stories of Weston quite a bit. All very interesting. I wish Hazel would do a book for Paul. His images are well published in fine monographs, but I'd love to read more about his life... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troll Posted April 10, 2003 Author Share Posted April 10, 2003 Well, of course I have the Maddow book, and I understand that the revised volume is better, but it doesn't seem to me like a real biography -- more like a detailed outline with a lot of out-of-context quotations from the Daybooks. The first time I read Charis' book (when it had just come out) I was very disappointed. However I re-read it again last month, along with California and the West, and changed my opinion. It is really an autobiography of her, not a biography of him, which is what I was looking for. Also, I didn't truly understand much of the Mexico Daybook until reading the recent Albers/Modoti biography, and discovered that soon after they went to Mexico Tina and Edward were no longer lovers, but just "housemates." He must have really been horny, which explains much of what he was writing. I wish that Nancy Newhall could have left a little more personal stuff in her editing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim_atherton2 Posted April 10, 2003 Share Posted April 10, 2003 Ahhh - a "real" biography - now why didn't you say that :-) Well, some of the Evans ones aren't that great, so do they count...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
art_haykin Posted April 10, 2003 Share Posted April 10, 2003 I remember reading, quite some time back, that Weston, in a fit of depression, destroyed a substantial portion of his daybook notes and some negs as well. Can anyone confirm this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sean_yates2 Posted April 10, 2003 Share Posted April 10, 2003 as I recall, but rather a desire to "protect the innocent" that lead to him purging the Daybooks. The glass plate negatives on the other hand, were destroyed by Cole, et. al., as kids, when Edward set them to scrubbing them clean to use as window glass, among other things. He wanted to divest himself of his early work, which he saw as false, empty, etc....not an uncommon phenomenon in the art world ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark_sampson Posted April 10, 2003 Share Posted April 10, 2003 I was lucky enough to recently find a 1st edition of vol. 1 of the Daybooks for only $20.00. Talk about value for money! And it's sad, but not surprising, to see that there is no official Strand biography. Remember that the books he did himself, masterpieces all, were out of print for decades. But the National Gallery of Art book on Strand from 1990 has a great deal of information, and another book called "On my Doorstep" details Strand's last years. So the information is out there, if you are willing to look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m0002a Posted April 10, 2003 Share Posted April 10, 2003 Weston's early work was of the "pictorial" style that looked more like a painting than a photograph. He also did a lot of studio portraits to support himself. Later, Weston became a member of the f/64 Group, which of course was a complete repudiation of the pictorial style, so it�s not too surprising that he would destroy those early images. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brian_ellis3 Posted April 10, 2003 Share Posted April 10, 2003 A couple comments from a very amateur collector of photography books. I was glad to see Bill say that he didn't care for Charis' book, at least the first time around. I too was very disppointed in it. I thought you had to go a long way to write a boring book about someone as interesting as Edward Weston but she (probably more accurately, her collaborator) succeeded. I'll have to give it another look based on Bill's statements. With respect to the suggestion that Bill look to Photoeye as a source for a replacement, they have a great web site and send out a nice catalog periodically. However, every time I order something from them they tell me it isn't in stock and they will have to back order it. I presently have a book on back order and have several times ended up cancelling an order when it hadn't arrived long after their estimated time of arrival when they back ordered it. There are other dealers out there that actually have books in stock or at least that tell you a book isn't in stock at the time it's listed in their catalog or on their web site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aaron_van_de_sande Posted April 10, 2003 Share Posted April 10, 2003 I actually enjoyed Charis' book as well, but my eyes did glaze over when she spent so much time talking about her background. She definitly gives us a glimpse of EW human side that is devoid from most other sources. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim_shanesy Posted April 10, 2003 Share Posted April 10, 2003 Re: Strand The National Gallery of Art book on him has a lot of good biographical information on him I've not seen anywhere else. Hazel Kingsbury Strand died in the late 1980's. There was, however, an 81 minuted documentary film made about him titled "Strand - Under the Darkcloth". http://www.bfi.org.uk/bookvid/videos/special/strand.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karl_french Posted April 10, 2003 Share Posted April 10, 2003 I am surprised that so many of you didn't like Charis' book right off the bat. Would you want to know only about the time with Edward without knowing anything about who was spending time with him? I think it is a great memoir, that is not meant to be an autobiography or a biography of Edward. I've read it 6 or 7 times. I think the only memoir or biography I've read that I liked better was Ray Monk's biography of Wittgenstein. I've read that Amy Conger is working on a biography of Edward Weston that is slated to be the definitve account. Most references to Madlow's biography that I read are negative. If you are interested in a portion of Edward's life that does not seem to get talked about too much you should check out the book about him and Margrethe Mather. "A Passionate Collaboration" is the title. I thought is was very interesting as well, with some amazing images. Speaking of the hardback daybooks, keep your eyes peeled at used bookstores. I just picked up a set in January at Moe's in Berkeley for under $50. Along with a copy of Avedon's "In the American West", which seems hard to find used. Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merg_ross Posted April 10, 2003 Share Posted April 10, 2003 The Amy Conger biography (to which Karl refers) was printed in 1992 and copyrighted by the CCP in Arizona. It is a massive book with hundreds of reproductions (1,826 to be exact). Priced at $100 and well worth the price. ISBN-0-938262-21-1. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ron_gratz Posted April 10, 2003 Share Posted April 10, 2003 "Have you noticed that there are no biographies of EW or Paul Strand" While not exactly a biography, Aperture published a volume: "Paul Strand - Essays on his Life and Work" back in 1990 that covers a lot of ground. I dont know if it is still in print but used booksellers should have it if it is not. Ron Gratz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark_sampson Posted April 10, 2003 Share Posted April 10, 2003 I thought that "Through Another Lens" was excellent . Another worthwhile (mostly) book is called "EW 100"; a collection of essays about Weston published in '86. Much along the lines of "Paul Strand; Essays on his life and work". One of the best contributions to "EW 100" is by the photographer Robert Adams, whose essay is titled something like "the biography I'd like to read." Thought-provoking and inspiring for any photographer who cares about the pictures and not just the camera, lens, and film. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karl_french Posted April 10, 2003 Share Posted April 10, 2003 I thought the Edward Weston Omnibus? (is that what you are talking about Merg?) was more of a catalog of prints rather than a biography. The little snippet I read seemed to imply that the biography she is working on is something else. What a great job she has, spending all her time writing about Weston and viewing his archive. There are times when I am very tempted to switch from philosophy to art history. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troll Posted April 10, 2003 Author Share Posted April 10, 2003 Well, I hope that SOMEONE is working on it. I ran into two interesting(?) snippets of EW lore recently. Cole was quoted as saying that to the end of his life Chandler really hated his father. Also, that when she got old, EW's first wife, Flora, moved in with Neil's family in Carmel. I wonder if anyone knows when she died? And did she ever remarry? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ed_ogrady Posted April 10, 2003 Share Posted April 10, 2003 Read "Laughing Eyes" Cole's compilation of letters and experiences growing up as Edwards youngest son. It is a quick read with some insiders impressions of life in the Weston household. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merg_ross Posted April 10, 2003 Share Posted April 10, 2003 Karl- Yes, I was referring to the Amy Conger book on the Weston archive at CCP. There is a short (50 page) biography included that is excellent. It is good to hear that Dr. Conger may be working on a more extensive biography. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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