The "Modern West" exhibit at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art is one of the better curated shows I’ve seen in some time. Despite the heavy curatorial hand making sometimes questionable judgements (Jackson Pollock is a stretch), there is a remarkable array of painting and photography exhibited with equal billing. There’s some Frederick Sommer prints, some Paul Strand and Laura Gilpin platinums, watercolors by John Marin, some Thomas Hart Benton (there’s the Pollock thread), O’Keefe, Adams, Lange, Muybridge, O’Sullivan, and more. It sounds like a Greatest Hits show, but it all makes great sense. If you’re in LA, it’s a must-see.
There was a Weston "Oceano Dunes" photo that just felt off. It was missing a crucial sense of balance. I realized that it was because of an awkward crop on the left side, where the curve of a shadow was lobbed off. I couldn’t believe Weston would have made that decision. The print mat was elevated from the photo, and by peeking under the edge you could see that the mat was intruding on the shot. The image was cropped maybe a quarter inch, but it was a crucial quarter inch.
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