Weston Book Update

Seems we crashed Lodima Press's bookstore last night for quite some time. It's back up and running now.

At this point it looks very likely that Edward Weston: Life Work will sell out entirely in this sale, and most likely well before Tuesday. So if you find yourself sitting on the fence about it, you may not want to hunker there too much longer.

UPDATE: The edition sold out at about 9:10 p.m. tonight (Friday). (There are a few copies of the deluxe edition still remaining.) Our thanks to everyone who participated—I really hope you enjoy the book!

And my sincere thanks to Michael and Paula for making this possible.

•     •     •

One of the treats of this book is "A Couple Collects Edward Weston," the brief joint essay by Judith G. Hochberg and Michael P. Mattis that introduces the magnificent plates. They manage to convey both personality and erudition, opening a well-lit window into the passion and enthusiasm collectors feel for the objects of their hunt. We're taken from their beginnings in collecting to their decision to concentrate on Weston...

Michael and I both consider Weston the "Picasso of Photography." One needs only to think of his mastery of past modalities and invention of new ones, his success in a variety of genres, his economy of line, his self-knowledge as an artist, his intense relationships with other artists—and with the women in his life.

...all the way to their debt to those charged with the care of the Weston archives and their friendships with the Weston family members who are alive today. Talk about economy of line, or of word...the essays are short and sweet, but insightful. 

I thought it was interesting that the idea of an exhibit of their Weston prints went from a "dream" to an "obligation," and that, by the time the exhibition became a reality, it was the only way they themselves could see all their own Weston prints on the wall at the same time.

Edward Weston, Dunes, Oceano, 1936. This is a JPEG of the Met's print.

My first encounter with Life Work was interesting. Art critics from Ruskin to Berger talk about the "aura" of original art-objects, and I'm sure you know the feeling yourself—the special qualities that convey when you're looking directly at the real thing on a museum or gallery wall. There's a sense of immediacy and connection—Goya touched that!—and a sense that the veil of intermediacy has been removed: you're face to face with the art itself, and all its secrets are there for you to see. It needs no "translation," requires no imaginative help.

I've of course seen many original Westons in my life, and got to know one of them—Dunes, Oceano, a.k.a. White Dunes—intimately, because one of the schools where I taught had an original print of it on the wall. The plates in Edward Weston: Life Work are the first time, I think, that I've ever felt, from a book, that feeling, that sense, you get when looking at the real thing. It's a feeling I know well, and I felt some of it—more than a glimmer—from looking at many of the later plates in the book. Remarkable. I'm not sure any book has ever done that for me before.

I mentioned "Red Ceiling" yesterday, which is apropos, because Eggleston is on record saying that reproductions have never captured it. (And he's right, at least in my limited experience.) He's quoted in this passage from Mark Holborn's introduction to Ancient and Modern:

The first [dye transfer prints Eggleston] had made were of the image of Greenwood Moose Lodge, a sombre, windowless edifice against a blue sky, and The Red Ceiling in 1973. He was so impressed with them that he knew dye transfers were going to provide him with his medium. He immediately sent [MoMA Photography Department Director John] Szarkowski a print of The Red Ceiling, which was to become one of his most famous images. The cross of white cable leading to the potent, central light bulb, was what he described as a "fly's eye view" in the guest room of his friend, a dentist in Greenwood, Mississippi, whose choice of decor included an adjacent blue room; he [that is, the friend] can be seen naked, his walls daubed with graffiti, in The Guide. The house with the red room was subsequently burned down and his friend murdered, yet far from having any sinister connotation, the red room was immensely pleasing to Eggleston. "The Red Ceiling is so powerful, that in fact I've never seen it reproduced on the page to my satisfaction," Eggleston claimed. "When you look at the dye it is like red blood that's wet on the wall. The photograph was like a Bach exercise for me because I knew that red was the most difficult color to work with. A little red is usually enough, but to work with an entire red surface was a challenge. It was hard to do. I don't know of any totally red pictures, except in advertising. The photograph is still powerful. It shocks you every time."

Those of you who own a dye transfer print of your own from one of our two dye sales can probably well imagine what he means.

But I think that, for example, Weston's famous Pepper No. 30, plate 43 in the book, among others, really is reproduced satisfactorily on the page. Of course you're not fooled into thinking you're looking at a real print, but for me, at least, it imparts that same "direct" feeling, the feeling that you're seeing the picture itself, without translation into ink.

Michael A. Smith tells a story about this:

In Edward Weston: Life Work, there are a few photographs that have never been reproduced before, many that have been reproduced very seldomly, and a few that have often been reproduced. One of the latter is the famous Pepper No. 30. We know the collector who owns Edward’s own copy of Pepper No. 30. Edward considered it the best print he had ever made from that negative. Eventually, Edward gave the print to Brett. And Brett gave it to a friend whose father was Brett's closest friend and who had grown up around the Westons. The friend sold it to this collector in 1974. (Way too soon.)

When we showed the collector the book we published, he brought down this print of Pepper No. 30, which we had seen previously, and placed it next to the reproduction. We (me, Paula, the collector and the collector’s wife) looked very carefully at the print and at the reproduction, trying to find differences. There were a few, but they were virtually imperceptible without extremely close scrutiny, and even then, truly, there was hardly any difference between the print and the 600-line screen quadtone reproduction.

After about three minutes of this intense looking the collector's wife said, "You know, I think I like the reproduction better."

Bet her husband didn't like that.

Mike

Original contents copyright 2012 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site.

(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
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Comments

[Hendrik]

I don't mind your praise, actually you do it very nicely and it's a pleasure to read. Still, I'd rather have known more about the actual contents of the book seeing that 140 USD or mailed to Europe 200 USD is a lot of money. There were others with questions in the comments about the selection of motives, their overlap with other Weston books. The best thing to do would be to have a run-thru, err make that leaf-thru, on video posted to yt or vimeo. Maybe you'll consider it for the next project.

N.B. The Weston is currently available from Amazon UK marketplace for 100 quid and cheap shipping.

[Dean Z]

Still waiting a response for an international query on Weston book . . .

[Dean, They don't think they got your email, because all but the most recent inquires have been responded to. I gave them your dzepick email address and they will be contacting you about this. --MJ]

[Bill Mitchell]

Now if you'd just work on getting the "Daybooks" reprinted.

[Mike Johnston]

"Now if you'd just work on getting the 'Daybooks' reprinted."

Bill,
They've actually gotten numerous requests for this but they don't think there's sufficient demand for it because of "generational change." When I was young, everyone a half generation or a generation older than me who was halfway interested in art photography had to have the Daybooks, or at least had heard of them and knew how to find them in the library. And people my age all knew about them. But now, relatively few people have heard of them and they're just not considered a "must-have" like they used to be.

Who knows though, maybe this would be an excellent TOP project. Maybe for that one we could take pre-orders and see if we got enough for Lodima to do a run. We'll keep it in mind.

Mike

[Jeff]

I had a gorgeous vintage Dunes, Oceano on my walls for many years. I wouldn't expect a book version to evoke the same appreciation, but given your experience with prints and books, I might just have to check out the Weston book. Not that I need another one.

[Paul Richardson]

Re: The Daybooks. I own a copy, and to hear it referred to as a matter of generational interest is making my feel old.
Then again, I've had it for over thirty years, so I suppose I am.

[Mike Johnston]

Jeff,
I'm not saying they're exact equivalents, but see if you don't get a small dose of the presence of the real thing.

I'd be interested to know what you think, actually.

Mike

P.S. What happened to your 'Dunes'? Did it just get too valuable to keep?

[Phil Maus]

I like to look at original works by these masters, Weston, Adams, Strand, etc., whenever I have the time and the opportunity presents itself. Usually the Amon Carter in Ft. Worth, sometimes the After Image Gallery here in Dallas, where Ben Breard deals in many of the greats and many one of a kind, original prints can be found hanging on the walls.

I do this because A. It is obviously an inspiration the view these works in person, and B. I am a B&W photographer and printer and I consider it an essential part of my ongoing education and development, especially as a printer, to see these originals first hand and to use them as benchmarks and standards to judge my own prints against. I'm sure I'll never reach those lofty heights myself, but it sure is nice to have something to shoot for!

I am really looking forward to getting this Weston book because, A. I also think he's one of the greatest of the greats and I love his work, and B. With the quality of the reproductions in its pages as high as every one says they are, I'll now have my own set of "reference primts" sitting right on my bookshelf!

[Mike Johnston]

Phil,
You're very lucky. I don't have any place close by to see work like that any more.

You're right, it's essential for a fine printer.

Mike

[John Sarsgard]

The reproductions in this book are the gold standard by which photography books ought to be judged. I love Weston's work, so it was a no-brainer for me to buy it, but even if you do not adore EW, the book is most worthwhile for a printer who strives to do the very best work, or someone thinking of doing a book, who wants it to be the very best it can be. I have fond hopes that we as creative people and as a society can return to values like doing something as well as is possible. This book proves that it is possible to work in an excellent way.

[Dennis Ng]

I noted that they still have a bit imperfect copy in their e-shop may be also get those out fir those who just want the photo and accept an imperfect book

[Rubén Osuna]

Mike:

I want to thank you for this offer. I bought one copy. I live in Spain and I specially thank you and Michael for allowing international shipping.

Thank you very much.

Rubén

[Tom Swoboda]

Bummer. I missed out. By the time I got back to checking after not being able to log on, the sale was over. C'est la vie.

[Richard Quirk]

Thanks Mike for making this happen. I got in just in time. and Michael was a complete gent as well!

cheers

Richard

[Oskar Ojala]

A great offer. A was really on the fence on this one, but decided that since Weston is not in my top-5, international shipping would make this expensive and I'm not really a book collector, it would really be more fair to let Weston afficionados get a chance to buy it. But I applaud the effort, with offers like these success should follow.

[Dennis Ng]

Got mine today in Hong Kong. I do not expect it is so big. Get used to Ansel Adams smallish books.

Cannot stop to look at the pictures whilst the family started dinner.

Really good. Really really good. Thanks, Mike!

P.S. I still like the pepper no. 30 the best though. As for the toilet seat ... not sure.

[Jing Wen]

Just received the book and it is well worth the money. Fantastic reproduction quality! Thanks Mike for having the offer to us.