PEOPLE IN AMERICA - Edward Weston

PEOPLE IN AMERICA - September 8, 2002: Edward Weston

By Mario Ritter

Point Lobos
VOICE ONE:
I’m Mary Tillotson.
VOICE TWO:
And I’m Steve Ember with the VOA Special English program, PEOPLE IN AMERICA.

Today, we tell about the American photographer Edward Weston.
((THEME)
)
VOICE ONE:

Edward Weston is one of the most recognized of all American photographers. He is probably most responsible

for helping¹ people to see photography as an art form.
Today, art experts consider photographers who took pictures like Mister Weston’s to be part of the art
movement called Modernism. The kind of photographs Mister Weston took are called “Straight Photography.
”
No unusual effects were used to change the image of the subject. The photographs appear to show reality in
a
pure and clear way.

Yet, Mister Weston did not always use his camera to take pictures that way. At first, he took pictures influenced
by the popular photographs of his time. Photographers, then, made pictures that did not appear sharp and clear.
Instead, they appeared “soft.” They were similar to painted pictures that tried to be beautiful, not realistic.

((MUSIC BRIDGE)
)
VOICE TWO:
Edward Weston was born in Highland² Park, Illinois, in eighteen-eighty-six. When he was sixteen, his father gave

him one of the early cameras made by the Kodak company. Edward soon showed some of his photographs at the

Chicago Art Institute.
In nineteen-oh-six, Edward Weston decided³ to move west where he worked for a railroad company. He briefly
returned to Chicago to study at the Illinois College of Photography. But, he soon returned to California. He
married Flora⁴ Chandler in nineteen-oh-nine. They later had four sons.

VOICE ONE:

Edward Weston owned a store in the area of Glendale, California. He made and sold pictures of people. He also
had some of his writing on photography published.
Several important photographers he met in southern California influenced him. Imogen Cunningham and

Margrethe Mather were two of them. Mizz Mather worked with Mister Weston on several pictures. Mizz
Cunningham praised Mister Weston’s work. She gave moral support that led Mister Weston to seek out other
photographic influences.

((MUSIC BRIDGE)
)
VOICE TWO:
Edward Weston decided to travel to New York City in nineteen-twenty-two. He wanted to meet the most


influential⁵ American photographers in the east. He expected to be praised by members of the artistic⁶ community
there.

Alfred Stieglitz was the most influential photographer in the United States at the time. He was the reason for
Mister Weston’s trip to New York City. He was responsible for a magazine called Camera Works. Mister
Stieglitz helped many of the photographers whose work he liked, including Paul Strand⁷ and Ansel Adams.

Alfred Stieglitz met with Edward Weston two times. He did not say that he liked Mister Weston’s work. Mister
Stieglitz would point to some parts of the pictures he liked. Then he would point to something he did not like.

VOICE ONE:

Edward Weston discovered an art community in New York that he had never imagined before. He met many
people who, today, are recognized as important American photographers and artists. One of them was Georgia
O’Keeffe.

Mizz O’Keeffe became one of America’s most famous woman painters. Mister Weston saw some of her work
in New York. He wrote that he would remember it for many years to come.

Edward Weston felt good about his visit to New York, although he was criticized there. He wrote to a friend
saying that his artistic sense was changing. He said Alfred Stieglitz had not changed him—only intensified⁸ him.

VOICE TWO:

The photographer Ansel Adams said that in the early nineteen-twenties Mister Weston had a growing business
taking pictures of people. Yet, he gave up his business and left his family to travel to a foreign land. In February
of nineteen-twenty-three, Mister Weston wrote, “I leave for Mexico City in late March to start life anew.
”

Mister Weston traveled to Mexico with Tina Modotti. The two had developed a relationship in Los Angeles. Both
were active in the artistic community of southern California. They spent most of three years in Mexico. At the
time, many artists and writers were gathering⁹ in the Latin American country.

Mister Weston depended on Mizz Modotti a great deal. With her help, Mister Weston was able to experience a
cultural life that was completely foreign to him. He could not speak Spanish, so she helped him communicate.

For a time, the two had both a working and personal relationship. Mister Weston agreed to teach Mizz Modotti
photography. In return, she ran his photography business and helped organize shows.

VOICE ONE:

Soon, Mizz Modotti became a well-known photographer on her own. The two photographers met many famous
Mexican artists during their stay. Painters Diego Rivera and Frida Kalho were among them. Mizz Modotti
photographed many of Mister Rivera’s wall paintings. Mister Weston made one of his best known pictures by
capturing the intense expression of another Mexican painter, Jose Clemente Orozco.

((MUSIC BRIDGE))

VOICE TWO:

In Mexico, Edward Weston started to sharpen the “Straight Photography”
way of taking pictures that he had
begun to develop before his trip to New York. He took pictures of people he met and of objects and buildings.
His pictures appeared to represent the true nature of his subjects. He also took many photographs of cultural
objects called folk art. At that time, many artists were reconsidering the importance of folk art. They began to
realize that traditional forms of art are as important to culture as the art that normally is shown in museums.

Mister Weston’s experience in Mexico changed his ideas about photography. He returned to California
permanently¹⁰ in nineteen-twenty-six to continue his own work. Mizz Modotti became involved in political
activism. She traveled to Europe to photograph the rise of Fascism there before she died mysteriously in
nineteen-forty-two.


((MUSIC BRIDGE)
)
VOICE ONE:
After Edward Weston returned from Mexico he began producing fully¹¹ developed work. He now made simple

photographs that were sharp representations¹² of their subjects.

 

A sea shell and a vegetable called a green pepper (pictured) were the subjects of two of
his most famous photographs. The idea he presented was that simple objects are, in fact,
beautiful forms. He would often take pictures of rocks, coastlines, vegetable life and even
the unclothed human body. Mister Weston’s goal was to celebrate the beauty of shapes.

VOICE TWO:

Edward Weston’s life began to change. His marriage to Flora Chandler ended and he
married Charis Wilson. They moved to Carmel, California.

Mister Weston spent a lot of time at a nearby place on the coast called Point Lobos.

Many of his best known pictures show the beauty of the rocky coastline of northern
California. His pictures often were of unusual rock formations. His new wife, Charis, was
his most important model during this time.

In nineteen-thirty-seven, Mister Weston received the highest honor of his lifetime. He was
given the first Guggenheim Fellowship¹³ ever presented to a photographer. The award
signaled that photographers were now considered “serious artists.
”

((MUSIC BRIDGE)
)
VOICE ONE:
Edward Weston continued to work through the nineteen-thirties and forties. Yet, he never earned much money.

He lived in a small house that his sons built for him in Carmel, California. In nineteen-forty-five, his second wife,

Charis, left him.
Mister Weston had to stop work three years later. The effects of Parkinson’s disease ended his ability to take
photographs and process them. His sons took care of him until he died ten years later in nineteen-fifty-eight.

VOICE TWO:

Experts say that Edward Weston helped change the way Americans understood photography. Photography had

been thought of mainly as a way to record information. Edward Weston showed that photographers worked to
capture the same forms that other artists did in their search for beauty.
((THEME)
)
VOICE ONE:
This Special English program was written by Mario Ritter. It was produced by Caty Weaver¹⁴. I’m Mary

Tillotson.
VOICE TWO:
And I’m Steve Ember. Join us again next week for another PEOPLE IN AMERICA program on the Voice of

America.

 

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1 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

2 highland   

n.(pl.)高地，山地

参考例句：

• The highland game is part of Scotland's cultural heritage.苏格兰高地游戏是苏格兰文化遗产的一部分。
• The highland forests where few hunters venture have long been the bear's sanctuary.这片只有少数猎人涉险的高山森林，一直都是黑熊的避难所。

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 flora   

n.(某一地区的)植物群

参考例句：

• The subtropical island has a remarkably rich native flora.这个亚热带岛屿有相当丰富的乡土植物种类。
• All flora need water and light.一切草木都需要水和阳光。

5 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

6 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

7 strand   

vt.使（船）搁浅，使（某人）困于（某地）

参考例句：

• She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ears.她把一缕散发夹到了耳后。
• The climbers had been stranded by a storm.登山者被暴风雨困住了。

8 intensified   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Violence intensified during the night. 在夜间暴力活动加剧了。
• The drought has intensified. 旱情加剧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

10 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

11 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

12 representations   

n.陈述，投诉，抗议；表现( representation的名词复数 )；陈述；表现…的事物；有代理人

参考例句：

• Naturally, we tend to use old representations in our new environments. 同样很自然的，在新的环境里，我们习惯于采用旧的表达方式。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• They made representations to the college cook about the bad food. 他们向学校厨师抗议伙食太差。 来自辞典例句

13 fellowship   

n.伙伴关系，团体，奖学金，研究员职位

参考例句：

• You'll lose your fellowship if you do that.你如果做那件事就会丧失研究员职位。
• It looks that they'll be admitted to the fellowship.看来他们要被吸收入会了。

14 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。