OK, I'll get this thread rolling...
ROUND ONE
Despite their differences, the two photographers would seem to be evenly matched. Both are meticulous craftsmen with supreme attention to their technique and methods. Both shoot with Fine Art as their main target, but that's where the similarities end. Adams' commitment to straight photography is legendary, but does that only appeal to the top-end of town? After all how many pictures of Aspens do you see on the average mechanic's workshop wall?
Adams, Art World pin-up boy, is the bookies favorite here, but perhaps Mortensen can surprise the big guy with a few low blows. Both photographers are really just dancing around each other here, throwing feints and bluffing with their opening shots. Adams tosses out a portrait, catching his opponent off-guard. ''Huh? Where did that come from? Didn't Adams just wander around in the desert with a camera the size of a house on his back?'' Ahh- but Adams is keeping his strong-suit of landscapes tucked away for the next round.
The crowd hisses and boos as Mortensen steps up. He too flicks out an innocuous portrait. The crowd Jeers! Pah- a Bromoil that looks more like a pencil sketch than a photograph. Adams grins- he thinks this will be an easy victory. But Mortensen is sneaky.. his big weapon for winning public approval is yet to be seen.
It's a trick as old as humanity itself. Always scoffed in public, but in dark corners it's the sort of image that the masses really go for- BREASTS! Yes, Mortensen really just likes photographing girls without clothes, preferably young and perky girls at that. Of course like all pictorialists, for the sake of decency he dresses them up as scenes from the classics. It's not
him that is a dirty old man- Noo-oo it was those Dutch masters that started it all. Wait until the fellas get an eyeful of those, they'll love them..
http://www.josephbellows.com/artists/william-mortensen/(edited to include this gem below, note the caption.. an
''academic study''? Righto Bill- whatever you say
or will they?
Will the The Fine Art establishment prevail? Or will popular culture and base instincts give Mortensen a slightly soiled victory?
Stay tuned for round two (anyone?)
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