Marvelous Surfaces

By Suzanne Révy

One of photography’s great strengths as a medium is its capacity for description and documentation; in fact, many early twentieth century photographs served as scientific documents of the natural world. The work of Karl Blossfeldt (1865-1932) may have inspired art photographers of the early 20th century to reject expressively romantic or pictorial approaches in favor of more formal and objective qualities in photography. Blossfeldt’s magnified studies of flora were originally made as classroom aids, but  found a wider audience after the publication of Art Forms in Nature in 1928. “All the Marvelous Surfaces: Photography since Karl Blossfeldt” is one of three photography exhibits called “PhotoSynthesis” currently on view at the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum through March 29th, 2020. It considers the significance of Blossfeldt’s epic work in inspiring and influencing ornamentation, form and abstraction in contemporary photography.

Karl Blossfeldt, “Umformen der Kunst” (Art Forms in Nature) page 41, 1928-9, Gift of Arlette and Gus Kayafas in honor of Jennifer Gross, photographed by Clements Photography and Design, Boston.

Karl Blossfeldt, “Art Forms in Nature,” Collection of Arlette and Gus Kayafas of Gallery Kayafas, Boston (Installation photograph by Suzanne Révy)

Presented as a grid, the deCordova opens the exhibit with an installation that invites viewers to look closely at the details patterns and textures of Blossfeldt’s studies. Indeed, there is room to  to back up and take his work in as a a whole. In either case, the self-taught photographer’s ability to create abstract forms from the delicate details of the plants bring the 20th century sculptor Constantin Brâncusi to mind, and reveals a keen eye for texture, shape, and fractal patterns. Using a custom built camera, Blossfeldt would place the specimens between glass to flatten them, keeping the focus sharp, and then stretch the bellows of the camera to create his microscopic views. They were intended as scientific records, but their subtle beauty endow them with the flourish of artistic expression, creating a perfect marriage of science and art. 

“Nature’s Ornament” featuring (L-R) Doug Bosch, “Pollen Terrains” 2000, Audrey Flack, “Time to Save” 1980, Kahn & Selesnick, “The Mugwort” 1997, Harold Edgerton, “Seahorse” 1939, Abelardo Morrell “Flowers for Lisa #14” 2016, Henry Horenstein “Sea Nettle, Chrysaora Fuscescens” 1995-9, Edward Steichen “Miss Fanny Haven Wickes, Newport, RI” 1924 printed 1987. (Installation photo by Suzanne Révy)

Mary Jean Viano Crowe, “Reliquary” 1987-8,  gelatin silver prints, photo toners, collage, gift of the artist in memory of Carmela DiNorscia and Louise Viano. (Installation photograph by Suzanne Révy)

The shapes, curves and contours of vegetation have long been employed in the decorative arts, and curator Sarah Montross includes a salon style presentation employing decorative wallpaper to present several contemporary and historic works which embrace ornamentation. The suite of prints includes images by Edward Steichen, Kahn & Selesnick, Audrey Flak and Abelardo Morrell among others. Though photographers in the early years of the last century may have rejected the decorative, these contemporary artists have re-embraced it by bringing a fresh eye to botanical forms. Two larger pieces, “Converging Territories #22” by Lalla Essaydi and “Reliquary” by Mary Jean Viano Crowe, recall religious altarpieces, which offer a reverence for the symbolic nature of ornamentation. 

Calvin Kowal, from the series “Fractures White Light,” (L-R) “Waves of Another Dimension,” 1977, 1980, “Radial Migration,” 1973, 1980, “Waves of Another Dimension” 1972, 1980, “Fractured White Light #3” 1975, 1980, “Night Shark,” 1977, 1980, Selenium toned gelatin silver prints, courtesy of the NEA Museum Purchase Plan (Installation photograph by Suzanne Révy)

Modernist sculpture of the early 20th century sought to reduce the content to pure form as did the photographers of the F64 group. Similarly, contemporary photographers such as Calvin Kowal and Erin Shireff employ sculptural techniques to create purely abstract works. Kowal’s photograms made by placing sculptures on light sensitive photographic paper, offer a jazzy rhythm of light and shadow while Shireff’s large scale minimalist compositions look like an immersive and oversized book with a careful fold down the middle adding a three dimensional quality to her prints. The simplicity of each  of these works belies more complex meanings, and raises questions around  the content and interpretation of the subject and the transformative nature of photography and art. 

Aaron Siskind, “Siskind and Surface” installation, gelatin silver prints, gifts of Thomas and Margaret Beling, Arlene and Gus Kayafas, Pete and Constance Kayafas, Daniel and Janet Tassel and Nicholas and Bebe Nixon.  (Installation photograph by Suzanne Révy)

Hilary French, “Skin” 1993,(L-R) Photogram, Kodalith transparency, cast Hydorcal, silver gelatin spring; museum purchase. (Installation photograph by Suzanne Révy)

Texture has a role to play in Blossfeldt’s studies as they do in Aaron Siksind’s sublime images of cement, wood and sand which he pushed toward abstraction. Contrasted alongside Lucy Kim’s cast molds of beach surfaces complete with shells and small creatures, viewers will find a dialog between traditional photographic practice with that of an artist employing an alternative method to directly record and interpret the texture of natural surfaces. Ideas around texture are carried through in the second floor galleries with Hilary French’s four different treatments of pantyhose, while Gary Schneider’s touching photograms of children’s hands bring an element of humanity among the many specimens presented here. French’s and Schneider’s work ask viewers to consider how humanity fits into the patterns and rhythms of the natural world,

Ellen Carey, “Pulls with Starts & Stops,” 2005, archival inkjet print, gift of the artist in memory of her parents and brother. (Installation photograph by Suzanne Révy)

The exhibit concludes with a nod to painterly uses of photographic materials and to that most German of photographic practice: the typology. The late David Akiba’s studies of bubbles is starkly contrasted with Neal Slavin’s “Groups” which employ a vernacular aesthetic to reveal arrangements of American sub-cultures, while Ellen Carey, Corin Hewitt and Matt Saunders push and pull their photographs by constructing, destroying and rebuilding images to embrace the yin and yang between description and abstraction. 

David Akiba, “Bubbles 1- 12” 1977, silver gelatin prints, museum purchase, (installation photograph by Suzanne Révy)

For more information

https://decordova.org/art/exhibition/all-marvelous-surfaces-photography-karl-blossfeldt

(Featured Image) Aaron Siskind, “Volcano 114” gelatin silver print, gift of Thomas and Margaret Beling, courtesy of the deCrodova Scupture Park and Museum.