Brett Weston: Land, Sea, and Sky

Recent Gifts from the Christian Keesee Collection
March 15-June 1, 2014

Organized by the Oklahoma City Museum of Art, this exhibition celebrates a recent gift of 150 photographs by Brett Weston from Christian Keesee. Between 2004 and 2011, Christian Keesee has donated 360 photographs—transforming the Oklahoma City Museum of Art into a major repository of the photographer’s work. This exhibition will include examples from 1940 to 1985, and consist predominantly of mud, rock, and ice abstractions, in addition to examples highlighting Brett’s travels to Baja California, Alaska, Hawaii, and Japan.

Brett Weston was the second son of photographer Edward Weston. At the age of thirteen his father took him to Mexico where he began taking photographs with his father’s Graflex 3 ¼ x 4 ¼ camera. While there, he was exposed to the works of revolutionary artists including Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco, and Tina Modotti, who influenced his sense of form and composition. Brett returned to California with his father in 1926 and began to exhibit his own works, while assisting Edward in his portrait studio. Brett’s work received international attention after being included in the important 1929 Film und Fotoexhibition held in Stuttgart, Germany.

Along with his father, and fellow photographers such as Ansel Adams and Imogen Cunningham, he exhibited with Group f/64 in 1932. Brett’s work often incorporates the use of close-ups and abstracted details, displaying a preference for high-contrast imagery, which reduces his subjects to pure form. Throughout his career, he has repeatedly photographed subjects including tangled kelp, plant leaves, and knotted roots and has made numerous photography trips to Europe, Baja California, Oregon, Alaska, and Hawaii, among other locations. Brett’s work became increasingly abstract in the 1970s as he began to more fully utilize a 2 ¼ inch format reflex camera. He spent a considerable amount of time taking photographs in Hawaii, during the 1980s, before his death in his Kona home in 1993.

 

  • The Oklahoma City Museum of Art

  • 415 Couch Drive
Oklahoma City, OK 73102
  • okcmoa.com
  • (405)236-3100, ext. 327

Featured Photo

Untitled (Reeds, Japan), 1970 Gelatin silver print


OSU Museum of Art shines light on new Brett Weston exhibit

The work of renowned photographer Brett Weston will be on display at the Oklahoma State University Museum of Art. 

“Shadows and Light: The Photography of Brett Weston,” which will be on view Oct. 29, 2024 - Feb. 1, 2025, showcases Weston’s unique photography style. 

Weston (American, 1911-1993) was mentored in photography from a young age by his father, Edward Weston. By the age of 13, Weston’s father removed him from school to work on a photography project together in Mexico. While there, Brett Weston was exposed to the work of famous artists such as Tina Modotti, Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera. 

Weston’s unique photography style played a major role in securing him a spot as one of American’s most prominent photographic artists. By working with lighting and placement of objects, Weston blended objects into the background while still showcasing how they’re two separate entities. 

Weston’s work often amazes and confuses viewers with its complex relationships between subject and background. The most well-known strategy of representational photography, where the subject is brighter than the background, is upended in Weston’s photographs. In his work, the subject and background are seamlessly blended while still being distinct. 

Andy Mattern, OSU associate professor of art, graphic design and art history, has emphasized how everyone can benefit from viewing Weston’s work in various ways. 

“Exhibits like Brett Weston’s are an important resource not only for students studying the history of photography, but also those who wish to expand their appreciation for photography as an art form,” Mattern said. “Especially in our hyper-digital age, seeing this type of highly crafted photographic work in person represents a unique chance to understand the development of the medium and perhaps begin to see the world in a new way.” 

Weston understood the immense difference between a camera’s perspective and human vision. This understanding laid the foundation for Weston’s success. 

This exhibition showcases Weston’s artworks and invites viewers to ponder his captivating yet puzzling work.

“Shadows and Light: The Photography of Brett Weston” is on view Oct. 29, 2024 - Feb. 1, 2025, at the OSU Museum of Art in downtown Stillwater. This exhibition was made possible by donations from the Brett Weston Archive and the Christian Keesee Collection. Learn more at https://museum.okstate.edu/art/shadows-and-light.html.