Dune
Artist/Maker
Brett Weston
(American, 1911–1993)
Date1981
MediumGelatin silver print
DimensionsImage: 9 3/4 × 12 in. (24.8 × 30.5 cm)
Mount: 15 × 18 in. (38.1 × 45.7 cm)
Mount: 15 × 18 in. (38.1 × 45.7 cm)
Credit LineRichard Lee Ripin Art Purchase Fund
Object number2015.38.2
Status
Not on viewIn 1931, Brett Weston began to photograph the sand dunes in Oceana, near the Santa Monica portrait studio of his father, Edward Weston. The dunes became a popular motif for both father and son, and Brett returned to this type of landscape across California and New Mexico throughout his career.
The junior Weston approached the sand dunes as an opportunity to experiment with abstraction. In this example, he takes advantage of raking light to emphasize the deep, curving shadows that rhyme with the topography, creating a composition that suggests a two-dimensional pattern. The landscape is further estranged from its context through the elimination of a horizon line.
Exhibition History
The junior Weston approached the sand dunes as an opportunity to experiment with abstraction. In this example, he takes advantage of raking light to emphasize the deep, curving shadows that rhyme with the topography, creating a composition that suggests a two-dimensional pattern. The landscape is further estranged from its context through the elimination of a horizon line.
Form and Light: Brett Weston Photographs
- Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (January 24, 2017 - May 21, 2017 )
Collections
- Modern & Contemporary
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1999
postmarked July 4, 1958
