Weston, Kubota and Detroit
March 30th, 2009
We spent the weekend in Canton and Akron. The Weston exhibit at the Akron Art Museum was wonderful. Smaller than the show a couple years ago at the Dayton Art Institute, but the prints were fantastic to see. These were “vintage” prints made by Edward Weston himself and really showed what a master printer he was. If you haven’t seen original Edward Weston prints, well, you haven’t really seen what a great master he was.
The only complaint I have is that I think the gallery was just a little underlit. I understand the need to protect these very valuable prints, but still, there needs to be enough light to fully appreciate them. I’m sure Weston would not have been happy that there wasn’t good strong light to bring out all the detail and the amazing multitude of shades of gray that he worked so hard to include in these prints. Still, if you are anywhere near Akron, Ohio, you really should try to get to this show before it leaves on April 26. And after you see the show I can give a hearty recommendation for dinner at Crave right across the corner from the museum.
Before we drove over the Akron museum from Canton my sister-in-law suggested we stop by the Canton Museum of Art to see the kimono exhibit there. Not something I’m usually interested in, but I went along and wow! What a great surprise that was. These kimonos created by Itchiku Kubota using a once lost method that he re-invented through years of trial and error are wonderful, masterful works of art and simply beautiful beyond words. So, if you are going to Akron to see the Weston museum it’s really worth the half-hour drive over to Canton to see the kimonos.
And, finally, I’m going to have a few prints in a show in Detroit in April. The details are in the flyer below. It’s just a two-day show, April 17 and 18 at the C-Pop Gallery, put together by the Midwest Society of Erotic Photography. I still don’t know why they invited me to join this group, since my work is almost never about the erotic. But they invited me and I decided to accept, since there are a whole lot of very fine photographers in the group. They are also very fine individuals, so I’m happy to be associated with them, even if my work doesn’t really fit in. But there will be a few of my prints on the wall those nights. If all goes well I’ll be there on Saturday night if you want to come by and say hi. And you could always buy a print or two and help support my habit.
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