You'll see a theme right now - Ray and I are trying to beat the heat. Fortunately, a good place to escape is a local art museum. After a delightful Tex-Mex lunch at Uncle Julio's, we drove over to the Amon Carter Museum. The featured exhibit was
Moving Pictures: Karl Struss and the Rise of Hollywood. Karl Struss ( 1886-1981) valued photography as an art form. His soft-focus compositions and labor intensive processes enhanced the tone. He did commercial work such as ads for Kodak. He made studio portraits in Hollywood - the glamour shots of Gloria Swanson and more. Film stills were staged, separate from the actual filming of a movie.
He won/shared the first Oscar for Cinematography for
"Sunrise"(1927). He was also nominated for
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931),
The Sign of the Cross (1934), and
Aloma of the South Seas (1941).
He was an innovator and created the Struss Pictorial Lens for soft focus compositions. Struss worked on over 150 films during his career.
The Amon Carter's collection holds over 2,000 photographs and 5,000 negatives by Struss. Very impressive. I always learn something after an afternoon of art and photography. Food for the eyes. (and a great way to beat the heat)
Hi Joanne ... I'm impressed at what they achieved in those (cinema) pioneering days ... as you say food for the eyes ... and knowledge for the brain - a good day out - cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteI love the film/art combo. Part of art history that is fascinating. Well curated exhibit.
DeleteThe point in history where nothing in film was a cliche! 150 films is fast work.
ReplyDeleteOh they churned out plenty of “crap” back in the day. But innovated in the creation. Fun exhibit.
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