Exhibition Review: Imogen Cunningham
Self-Portrait with Korona View, 1933
Imogen Cunningham (American, 1883-1976)
Gelatin silver print
10.2 × 8.4 cm (4 × 3 5/16 in.) © Imogen Cunningham Trust
Written by Federica Barrios
Edited by Sophie Yates
Imogen Cunningham, a pioneer for women in photography, is innovative, connecting nature to sensuality and portraiture to reality. The J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles presents a striking retrospective of the artist’s work. Much of her early work is influenced by academic painting styles from the turn of the century, offering ethereal, dreamy interpretations of the artistic process, to the moment where technology replaces the artist’s eye.
The image, Wood Beyond the World 1, reflects Pre-Raphaelites inspirations and Pictorialist techniques that led this beloved artist from platinum printed lulling depictions to what she is most famously known and regarded for, her portraits and her sharp representations of her garden’s flora. Cunnigham’s flawless technique leaves the mind wandering about the thoughts behind her subjects’ eyes when it comes to portraits. Her vision opened itself to the public in 1910 when the artist opened a portrait studio. Her client’s representations were approached in more naturalistic and expressive techniques than her competition’s and history’s rigid, stereotypical conceptions of photography. “You must be able to gain an understanding at short notice and at close range of the beauties of character, intellect, and spirit, so you can draw out the best qualities and make them show in the face of the sitter” was the artist’s response when asked what the secret to portrait is. Cunningham did not only see a person posing behind a lens, but she also saw the potential to portray their authentic identity through a photo.
This women’s month, we recognize the women who paved the way for creative freedom besides disadvantages in the industry. Cunningham began to focus on different aesthetic techniques when she moved to San Francisco. While caring for her children, the artist cultivated a garden from which she photographed her beautiful flowers and plants for a series of botanical studies. Cunningham’s reputation as a feminist resulted from her focus on other women who made a mark in history as almighty in their bodies.
Frida Kahlo Rivera, Painter, 1931
Imogen Cunningham (American, 1883-1976)
Gelatin silver print
29.2 × 23.9 cm (11 1/2 × 9 7/16 in.)
Getty Museum, Gift of Daniel Greenberg and Susan Steinhauser
© Imogen Cunningham Trust
Iconic Frida Khalo paints the honest truth behind the hardship of women as seen through the eyes of a pained, yet passionate woman from Mexico in the 1900s, a time when women did not enjoy the luxuries of equal rights. Using her paintbrush as her weapon, Khalo exposed personal and general ambiguities of the female body and identity with vibrant unapologetic color.
Gertrude Stein, Writer, 1934
Imogen Cunningham (American, 1883-1976)
Gelatin silver print
19.2 × 17 cm (7 9/16 × 6 11/16 in.) Getty Museum
© Imogen Cunningham Trust
American playwright, poet, novelist, and art collector, Gertrude Stein, holds a place in history as a woman who impressed and made her mark in as many aspects of the creative sphere as she could. With strength and prowess, Stein established herself as a literary pioneer who led the minds of modernist favorites while simultaneously developing her own path as an intellectual notable.
Similar to Cunningham, Ruth Asawa’s inspiration is drawn from the beauties of every day, the overlooked beauty of what gives us life, nature. Asawa prided herself in her aesthetically symmetrical, abstract wire sculptures and her art advocacy which was inspired by her experiences of limited opportunity and skewed perceptions of her work as a Japanese American woman.
As a woman, Cunnigham experienced backlash fueled by social constructs, similar to other generations of creative women that came before her.
Imogen Cunnigham’s retrospective will be on display in person at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, California from March 8 to June 12, 2022.
Photo Editor: Chris Zarcadoolas
