Into the Woods: Trees in Photography at the V&A, recommended.

In this free exhibition at the V&A, trees are being presented by different photographers from different periods. The pictures are mostly black and white photographs, but there are also some colour photographs by other well known photographers. In the older photographs the trees are pictured for their botanical interest; in the more recent ones it is their poetic symbolism that catches the eye & the mind.

Photo by Ansel Adams courtesy of Pinterest

In this blog I am not able to write about each individual photographer due to the wide variety of work on display. I will be highlighting some works only. The exhibition features both classic and contemporary images and depicts our relationship with trees over the years; it also highlights the development of photography during this time. Trees are shown as symbolic, as abstract, destined for destruction, for poetry; each photograph is individual, has an individual narrative. It also makes us think about the roles that trees play for us, for example absorbing pollution and cleansing our air, contributing to our  wellbeing.  We should not take them for granted. In the exhibition there are famous photographers such as Ansel Adams, Henri Cartier-Bresson, and Agnes Warburg. There are also examples of manipulated photographs for example the 1839 photograph  by Johann Carl Enslen and recent works by Tokihiro Sato, titled ‘In the Forests of the Hakkoda Mountains’ see pic below. Trees offer an abundance of possibilities, their cycles changing with the seasons,  some wild, some cultivated. The pictures are often lyrical.

Photo by Tokihiro Sato courtesy of Pinterest

One work that stood out for me was the photograph by Tal Shoshat called ‘Rimon (pomegranate) Afarsimon 2011’ see pic. below, a tree ripe with fruits standing in front of a black background lit artificially. It isolates the tree from the landscape and presents it as a monument. It is a symbol of fertility and of endurance. The fruits are pomegranates, at their peak of their growing cycle. This made me think of an artificial garden of Eden, natural and fabricated at the same time,
not to be encountered in real life.

Photo by Tal Shoshat, courtesy of Pinterest

Tal Shoshat cleans the branches and leaves before shooting the photos and takes photographs of trees that grow in Israel. I found the work theatrical, different from all the other photos in the exhibition. It is one of the few colour photographs in the exhibition. Instead of taking a portrait of a person Shoshat takes one of a tree. I found it interesting that Tal Shoshat titled it Afarsimon

which in the Talmud & Midrash means balsam. The ancient Jewish community of Ein Gedi was cultivating it. It was considered to be very precious and used as an oil, the oil of persimmon. Persimmons are very rich  fruits cultivated in large numbers in Israel, the fruit is seen as a  symbol of fertility in many cultures.
Tal Shoshat’s photographs are about the contrast between reality and artifice, they question the honesty of photography as a documentary medium.

Photo by Robert Adams, courtesy of Pinterest

Another photograph I focused on was one completely different in meaning and in nature. This was by Robert Adams, titled ‘On Signal Hill Overlooking Long Beach California 1983’. This is in gelatin silver print on paper. Robert Adams photographic interest is in the connection between landscape & humans, and the impact that humans have had on the American landscape. The photograph in question is black and white. The trees are an image of nature as a whole. Taken on the outskirts of suburbia, they feel lost, fragile, thin, battered, and a reminder of what’s left of nature. The cityscape is suffocated by smog. It’s a powerful photograph showing the results of human activity on the environment. This is in contrast to the 19th century photographs of the American West,  for example by Timothy O’ Sullivan, which showed the American landscape as huge untouched spaces and still wild see pic below. 

Photo by Timothy O'Sullivan courtesy of Pinterest

Robert Adams instead is concerned with the destruction of nature. He transforms the pictures of the trees into a dying presence and rejects the conventions of beauty of the landscape of the 19th century photographers. The trees shown here appear exhausted by the interference of humans and their constant meddling with nature. His photographs are a living document of what is left of the natural world. It is an understated, alluding photograph that opens up a bigger narrative. He is a keen walker, like I am. Some of his greatest photographs have come out of his walking expeditions. Through his photography he depicts the everyday in life and the changes that nature is going through. In his series ‘Turning Back 1990-2003’see pic below, he was focusing on the destruction of the tall trees of the American North West where they used clearcutting despite opposition, and have substantially reduced the original forest. His work records the changes by man on the landscape and I think he grieves about the losses of trees.

Photo by Robert Adams courtesy of Pinterest

I also enjoyed seeing the photograph by Joseph Sudek titled ‘The Window of My Studio 1944-1954’ see pics below; he was also called the Poet of Prague. His photographs are evocative and poetic, and he took many shots from his studio. In this specific photograph he points at the communion between outside and inside, it’s a reflection on the two coming together, the exterior world and the interior world, the relationship between the real world and the mysterious.

Photo by Joseph Sudek courtesy of Pinterest

They are intimate photographs taken in his studio. He was fascinated with light and was a master at pigment printing and thus was able to create very atmospheric photographs, which make the viewer reflect. They are gentle. Few people appear in his pictures; he was considered to be shy and he only had one arm. Despite this he carried his own cameras and was a resilient character. He also took photographs of the wooden landscape in Bohemia. They remind me of romanticism, a period I have been looking to with my own work. He used the camera to explore Prague, and the world around him. Even when the city was ravaged by war he kept focusing on the everyday beauty of life. He used to take walks circling around the town. The resulting photographs came under the series titled ‘Prague Panoramic’ see pic. below.

Photo by Joseph Sudek courtesy of Pinterest

His photographs are intimate and haunting. He was badly injured during World War I.  I always admired his resilience and the way he pushed forward with photography in challenging times.  Sometimes he adjusted the camera using his teeth. I think he created his own style of romanticism. He creates a specific atmosphere in his photographs of his garden and his trees.  He kept taking pictures even when the Nazis were taking over Czechoslovakia, showing sad, melancholic photos of the city under occupation. His studio turned into a hub for other artists. He made use of a view camera which resulted in slow photography,  waiting for a long time before taking the image.

Photo by Jerry Uelsmann courtesy of Pinterest

Finally I liked the image by Jerry Uelsmann called ‘Untitled 1969’ see pic above.

He is interested in the surreal in photography, he creates fantasy scenes incorporating trees. He created this amazing photograph before the use of digital technology by using multiple negatives. We see a tree floating in air above the ground over a lake. It speaks to the viewer’s imagination calling him/her to complete the image. There is no one way of reading it. It takes a lot of skill & hard work to produce his photographs. He loves working in the darkroom. He is not restricted to one single negative.  His work requires skilled assemblage. The image is black and white, it’s a dreamscape with an open psychological meaning; he creates an alternate reality. His picture goes beyond actual landscape, it’s more a work of imagination and prompts the viewer to tap into the unconscious see pics below, it’s an emotional work away from the conceptual.

Photos by Jerry Uelsmann courtesy of Pinterest