Image 1. Nude (Charis in Doorway, Santa Monica) by Edward Weston. (1936). Gelatin silver print, Image: 9.25 x 7.5 in. (23.5 x 19.05 cm.) Sheet: 15 x 13.5 in. (38.1 x 34.29 cm.)
The photographer Edward Weston is regarded as one of the masters of the twentieth century. With his name come images of anthropomorphic still lifes, striking nudes, dramatic coastal landscapes, and stark dunes that embody the brilliant compositions, sharp focus, and exquisite tonalities of Straight Photography Movement. (Gail Stavitsky, 2015)
I would like to introduce this photography work Nude, Charis Wilson by Edward Weston. It is A black and white photo taken by Edward Weston in 1936 that depicts a nude woman sitting on a blanket in bright sunlight against a darkened doorway while her arms are wrapped around her legs.
The denotation for this photo is a nude woman sitting on a blanket, whereas my connotation for this photo goes to something elegant, untouchable, related to sex and something, or the whole environment is getting worse.
As Edward Weston never express his views and interpretations of this photographic work and few people interpreted this work. I would like to try to interpret this work. We could see that he made this photograph work black and white. I believed it is partly because color photography at that time did not develop so well and the majority of photographers are still taking photos with black and white tones.
The other reason is that I believe Edward Weston is trying to create this sense of rhythm. By using the concept of positive and negative shapes, we could see that the shape that the light cast on this nude woman seems to cover the shadow and is covered by the shadow. I did some processes to this picture to show my interpretation.
I believe that Edward Weston is trying to create this sense of rhythm by laying the positive and negative shapes in a certain sequence. I could also find the same method in other photography works that made by him.
Image 2. Cabbage leaf by Edward Weston. (1931). Silver Gelatin Photograph.
Image 3. Pepper No. 30 by Edward Weston. (1930). Silver Gelatin Photograph.
This deliciated positive and negative shape sequence formed his photograph.
Image Reference List
Image 1. Edward Weston. Nude (Charis in Doorway, Santa Monica) (1936). Gelatin silver print, Image: 9.25 x 7.5 in. (23.5 x 19.05 cm.) Sheet: 15 x 13.5 in. (38.1 x 34.29 cm.) Available from Edward Weston — WESTON GALLERY [Accessed 14 October 2022].
Image 2. Edward Weston. Cabbage leaf (1931). Silver Gelatin Photograph. Available from Edward Weston — WESTON GALLERY [Accessed 14 October 2022].
Image 3. Edward Weston. Pepper No. 30 (1930). Silver Gelatin Photograph. Available from Edward Weston — WESTON GALLERY [Accessed 14 October 2022].
Reference List
Gail Stavitsky, Chief Curator. Edward Weston: A Legacy February 6 - May 15, (2015). Available from Edward Weston: A Legacy; with article by Gail Stavitsky (tfaoi.org) [Accessed 21 October 2022].
My visual-related work.
Thank you.
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